In low-stakes testing, the motivation levels of examinees are often a matter of concern to test givers because a lack of examinee effort represents a direct threat to the validity of the test data. This study investigated the use of response time to assess the amount of examinee effort received by individual test items. In 2 studies, it was found…

Across the U.S., a growing number of schools are turning to ePortfolio assessment technologies to help them monitor and evaluate student progress in a variety of disciplines--and to help them and their students do even more. Across the board, educators report that their ePortfolio efforts have revolutionized the learning process, and the…

It is not what is taught that has the most influence on students' study behaviour, but rather what is assessed. Computer-assisted assessment offers the possibility of widening the scope of the material that is assessed, without placing excessive burdens on either staff or students. This article describes a computer-assisted assessment scheme…

The research reported in this paper explores which variables predict native and non-native speaking teachers' perception of fluency and distinguish fluent from non-fluent L2 learners. In addition to traditional measures of the quality of students' output such as accuracy and lexical diversity, we investigated speech samples collected from 16…

This paper describes part of the results of a study investigating how adolescents, between the ages of 14 and 15, construct and share meaning about their local environments. Specifically, the results presented focus on how adolescents perceive and interpret spatial and three-dimensional data presented in various formats, such as in terms of…

Curriculum-based measurement is a system for monitoring students' progress and formatively evaluating instruction backed by 25 years of validation research. Most of this research has been conducted in elementary schools. In middle and high school classrooms, where there is an emphasis on mastering content knowledge, elementary-level measurements…

Latent semantic analysis (LSA) is an automated, statistical technique for comparing the semantic similarity of words or documents. In this article, I examine the application of LSA to automated essay scoring. I compare LSA methods to earlier statistical methods for assessing essay quality, and critically review contemporary essay-scoring systems…

This study was designed to address two frequent criticisms of the SAT essay--that essay length is the best predictor of scores, and that there is an advantage in using more "sophisticated" examples as opposed to personal experience. The study was based on 2,820 essays from the first three administrations of the new SAT. Each essay was…

This report contains results of a field test conducted to determine the relationship between a Graduate Records Examination (GRE) linear computer-based test (CBT) and a paper-and-pencil (P&P) test with the same items. Recent GRE examinees participated in the field test by taking either a CBT or the P&P test. Data from the field test…

This Monte Carlo study examined the effect of complex sampling of items on the measurement of differential item functioning (DIF) using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Data were generated using a three-parameter logistic item response theory model according to the balanced incomplete block (BIB) design used in the National Assessment of Educational…

This paper presents preliminary, but statistically significant, findings from a study that compares two methods of measuring instructional effectiveness: global evaluation by experts and systematic observation using the SCRIBE Ob.2 software developed at the University of Texas at Austin. Hierarchical instruction of a performance skill…

Research has produced mixed results in evaluating whether people are influenced more by computer output than by other information. The present study examined how teachers' perceptions of psychological reports differ when the reports are identified as being produced by a computer program or by a school psychologist. Subjects were 40 experienced…

The integration of test-banks for computer-based testing, textbooks, and electronic lecture notes in first-year mathematics courses has changed the way mathematics is taught at Bennett College (Greensboro, North Carolina). Classes meet in two electronic classrooms each with 27 computers on a local area network and a projection system. An…

Thousands of older incarcerated youth (17-18 years old) pass through the juvenile justice system every year. Many are not viable candidates for traditional high school graduation because of limited earned credits and large gaps in education. The purpose of this study was to establish an effective and efficient means for determining students'…

Computerized adaptive (CA) testing uses an algorithm to match examinee ability to item difficulty, while self-adapted (SA) testing allows the examinee to choose the difficulty of his or her items. Research comparing SA and CA testing has shown that examinees experience lower anxiety and improved performance with SA testing. All previous research…