Describes the outcomes and discusses possible implications for the development of assessment with a Computer Algebra System (CAS) when a group of undergraduate mathematics students, familiar with using a CAS in examinations, tackled an assortment of traditional (i.e., non-CAS type) questions. (Author/MM)

Many of us have an intuitive understanding of physics that works surprisingly well to guide everyday action, but we would not attempt to send a rocket to the moon with it. Unfortunately, the authors argue, our policy makers are not as cautious when it comes to basing our school accountability system on intuitive test theory. Intuitive physics…

A line-bisecting test was administered to 250 highly skilled right-handed athletes and a control group of 60 right-handed age matched non-athletes. Results revealed that athletes made overwhelmingly more rightward errors than non-athletes, who predominantly bisected lines to the left of the veridical center. These findings were interpreted in the…

This study explored select psychometric properties of the Everyday Discrimination Scale in 120 Black adolescents (65 males and 55 females). Youth completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale and the Child Behaviour Checklist-Youth Self-Report Form. A t-test analysis revealed that Everyday Discrimination Scale scores were not significantly different…

In order to determine students' achievement, science teachers have to develop their own assessment tools. This study attempts to find out the relationship between the teachers' assessment tools and students' cognitive development according to the teachers' teaching experiences. Six open-ended survey questions were developed and delivered to 59…

Coefficient alpha, the most commonly used estimate of internal consistency, is often considered a lower bound estimate of reliability, though the extent of its underestimation is not typically known. Many researchers are unaware that coefficient alpha is based on the essentially tau-equivalent measurement model. It is the violation of the…

This paper compares the approach and resultant outcomes of item response models (IRMs) and classical test theory (CTT). First, it reviews basic ideas of CTT, and compares them to the ideas about using IRMs introduced in an earlier paper. It then applies a comparison scheme based on the AERA/APA/NCME "Standards for Educational and…

The construct validity of the Australian version of the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory-Revised (MSAI-R) was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Rasch analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a sample of 1,400 Australian students enrolled in Years 8 through 12. The EFA revealed a strong replication of the MSAI-R's…

This research paper describes the benefits of using an activity-based rhetorical perspective to develop English for specific purposes (ESP) test specifications. This approach expands the potential of ESP test specifications to analyze and describe target language use (TLU) situations, TLU tasks, and ESP test tasks. Multiple activity systems are…

The web-based formative assessment developed in this research is named Formative Assessment Module of the Web-based Assessment and Test Analysis System (FAM-WATA). FAM-WATA is a multiple-choice web-based formative assessment module containing six effective strategies: 'repeat the test', 'correct answers are not given', 'query scores', 'ask…

Relationships between Bayesian ability estimates and the parameters of a normal population distribution are derived in the context of classical test theory. Analogies are provided for use as approximations in work with item response theory (IRT). The following issues are addressed: (1) the relationship between the distribution of the latent…

A person's obtained score on a test provides an estimate of the individual's "true" score on that test. The obtained score is considered to have two parts, the true component and the error component. Classical test theory assumes that obtained scores for an individual over multiple administrations of the same test will lie symmetrically…

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a general framework for qualitatively analyzing the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) extended constructed-response questions. The framework dimensions were based on information about the NAEP extended questions and linked to important ideas in mathematics education and…

Some applications of Bayesian decision theory to intelligent tutoring systems are considered. How the problem of adapting the appropriate amount of instruction to the changing nature of a student's capabilities during the learning process can be situated in the general framework of Bayesian decision theory is discussed in the context of the…

This study examined four measures of creativity as predictors of mathematics and science performance in a program for talented high school students (N=29). Correlational analyses indicated that the How Do You Think Test (HDYT) and ratings on the Teachers' Evaluation of Students' Creativity (TESC) were predictive of the students' performance in the…