This study investigated the use of writing in a statistics classroom to learn if writing provided a rich description of problem-solving processes of students as they solved problems. Through analysis of 329 written samples provided by students, it was determined that writing provided a rich description of problem-solving processes and enabled…

To some extent, good testing procedure, like good language use, can be achieved through avoidance of errors. Almost any language-instruction program requires the preparation and administration of tests, and it is only to the extent that certain common testing mistakes have been avoided that such tests can be said to be worthwhile selection,…

Two experiments investigated the relationship between subjective interpretation of frequency terms and corresponding objective values. Evidence supported the existence of a nonlinear relationship that is well described by a logarithmic function. The general form of this relationship was consistent across different methods of eliciting subjective…

One of the most challenging aspects of the teaching profession, at all levels, is to identify and illuminate assumptions--one's students' and one's own. This article describes how three members of the Hudson Valley Writing Project (HVWP) at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz worked closely with the National Writing Project's…

Background: Educational researchers have long espoused the virtues of writing with regard to student cognitive skills. However, research on the reliability of the grades assigned to written papers reveals a high degree of contradiction, with some researchers concluding that the grades assigned are very reliable whereas others suggesting that they…

Researchers of high-stakes, subjectively scored writing assessments have done much work to better understand the process that raters go through in applying a rating scale to a language performance to arrive at a score. However, there is still unexplained, systematic variability in rater scoring that resists rater training (see Hoyt & Kerns,…

We investigated the criterion-related validity of four indicators of curriculum-based measurement in writing (WCBM) when using expository versus narrative writing prompts as compared to the validity of passage copying speed. Specifically, we compared criterion-related validity of production-dependent (total words written, correct word sequences),…

We have used letter writing as a means for preservice teachers (PSTs) to develop ability to design effective tasks, in terms of eliciting high levels of cognitive activity from students. Studies on student-dependent task analyses, by assessing the levels of cognitive demand indicated in students' responses, have demonstrated significant growth…

We examined 25 four-year-old pre-school classrooms from a random sample of 15 schools within a large urban city in southern Spain. Observational measures of classroom quality included the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and the Observation of Activities in Pre-school. Findings revealed…

Method: Complete psychometric functions for phoneme and word recognition scores at 8 signal-to-noise ratios from -15 dB to 20 dB were generated for the first 10, 20, and 25, as well as all 50, three-word presentations of the Tri-Word or Computer Assisted Speech Recognition Assessment (CASRA) Test (Gelfand, 1998) based on the results of 12…

Views on testing--its purpose and uses and how its data are analyzed--are related to one's perspective on test takers. Test takers can be viewed as learners, examinees, or contestants. I briefly discuss the perspective of test takers as learners. I maintain that much of psychometrics views test takers as examinees. I discuss test takers as a…

This article analyzes one intermediary organization. It draws on critical policy studies to frame the agency's behaviors amid a discourse of managerialism in the public sector, and critical studies of education markets to explain the relationships between its reforms and education policy. Findings illustrate how the intermediary enacted…

The main goal of the Learning and Teaching Geometry project is to build professional development materials that provide opportunities for teachers to learn about mathematical similarity through the use of videocases, in which specific and increasingly complex mathematical ideas are presented within the dynamics of classroom practice. The central…

Besides focusing on grammar, writing skills, and web-based language learning, researchers in "CALL" and second language acquisition have also argued for the importance of promoting higher-order thinking skills in ESL (English as Second Language) and EFL (English as Foreign Language) classrooms. There is solid evidence supporting the…

This study is part of the core research agenda of the five-year, Goal 3 grant funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, U. S. Department of Education "Improving the Teaching and Learning of English Language Learners: The Instructional Conversation Model." In video review of teaching, bias in evaluation or rating is evident in many…