Social work education research frequently has suggested an interaction between teaching techniques and learning environments. However, this interaction has never been tested. This study compared virtual and face-to-face learning environments and included active listening concepts to test whether the effectiveness of learning environments depends…

To improve student science achievement in the United States we need inquiry-based instruction that promotes coherent understanding and assessments that are aligned with the instruction. Instead, current textbooks often offer fragmented ideas and most assessments only tap recall of details. In this study we implemented 10 inquiry-based science…

Purpose: The Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving test (RAPS) is a clinical measure of problem solving based on the 20 Questions Test. This article updates clinicians on the RAPS, addresses questions raised about the test in an earlier article (R. C. Marshall, C. M. Karow, C. Morelli, K. Iden, & J. Dixon, 2003a), and discusses the clinical…

Conscientious marketing faculty spend extensive hours grading student essays and projects. As instructors work on grading papers, they may wonder how effective their comments are. The author explored how students in a marketing principles class reported their use of various grading methods. Students generally preferred rubrics with ratings and…

In this article, the authors review the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2003), an individually administered test of intelligence for use with individuals between the ages of 3 and 94. The RIAS represents the newest intelligence test on the marketplace and incorporates the most current intelligence test theory…

A key feature of housing policy in the UK is the transfer of affordable housing stock owned by local authorities to not-for-profit registered social landlords. Such transfers involve local authority tenants to varying degrees in the development and implementation of the transfer proposals. Reporting the findings of a series of interviews with…

America's colleges and universities have long been the envy of the world. But it would be hard to think of a time when the public has viewed American higher education with greater skepticism. It is a tragedy that colleges and universities are increasingly characterized by their high costs, not their high standards. This fifth edition of…

Intended to familiarize persons with the scoring standards and criteria used for the Georgia Basic Skills Writing Test, this scoring manual is in eight sections: (1) an introduction to the scoring dimensions and scale points; (2) definitions of the four scale points; (3) definitions of scoring dimensions and components (content and organization,…

The relationship between true ability (operationally defined as the number of items for which the examinee actually knew the correct answer) and the effects of guessing upon observed test variance was investigated. Three basic hypotheses were treated mathematically: there is no functional relationship between true ability and guessing success;…

This paper describes ongoing work in automated essay scoring that will extend the applicability of models that are currently used for short-essay documents (i.e., less than 500 words). Sponsored by the Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), the project would create norms for documents that might normally be found in an…

This paper reports the results of using several alternative methods of setting cut scores. The methods used were: (1) a variation of the Angoff method (1971); (2) a variation of the borderline group method; and (3) an advanced impact method (G. Dillon, 1996). The results discussed are from studies undertaken to set the cut scores for fourth grade…

Presents a generic rubric to assess postsecondary academic skills, describes its preliminary application in a university setting, and discusses related issues from a research point of view. The rubric was used with four graduate and two undergraduate classes (n=approximately 100 students). Interrater and intrarater aspects of reliability were…

The professional development organizations educate the local decision-makers by reducing the risks of automated scoring technologies to language and writing practices. These automated assessments lead to changes, which benefits private industry and conflicts with research on writing and language.

As automated scoring of complex constructed-response examinations reaches operational status, the process of evaluating the quality of resultant scores, particularly in contrast to scores of expert human graders, becomes as complex as the data itself. Using a vignette from the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE), this article explores the…