Finding teaching models and strategies that benefit learners while incorporating skills students will need in the future, such as using technology, is important. This study examined the problem of whether Webquests, an inquiry-based teaching strategy where much of the information is found online, are a beneficial way to integrate technology into…

In writing assessment, there are quite a number of factors influencing the marking stability and the reliability of the assessment such as the attitude towards marking and consistency of markers, the physical environment, the design of the items, and marking rubrics. Even the methods to train markers have effects on the reliability of the…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

This study focuses on the effects of situated learning on students' knowledge acquisition by investigating the influence of individual differences in such learning. Seventy-nine graduates were recruited from an educational department and were assigned to situated learning and traditional learning based on a randomized block design. Results…

Harnessing student energy for the positive use of technology in the classroom requires significant change for many educators. Students today exhibit a one-click mentality when using computers in the classroom, and are frustrated when they are not provided with instant gratification. Gone are the reading and higher level thinking skills of the pen…

The development of a scoring tool to be used with alternative and authentic assessment strategies is discussed, describing the parts of such a tool and the development process. The design is based on the Innovation Configuration (IC) process of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. To begin, components of the test task are identified. Variations that…

In 1991 the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) released a report interpreting the achievement of U.S. students in mathematics on the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress in terms of a set of performance standards. The NAGB had been designing and implementing an approach to defining basic, proficient, and advanced levels of…

In the fall of 1992, the National Association of Test Directors (NATD) surveyed its members on their involvement in the development of performance assessments and scoring rubrics. The extent to which members have developed performance assessments is reported, along with how they went about it, the advice they would offer others who are developing…

Setting performance standards on constructed-response assessments involving polytomously scored exercises presents a challenge for measurement practitioners. Some standard setting methods designed for use with multiple-choice, dichotomously scored assessments entail aggregating item performance estimates across a panel of experts. For these items,…

The degree to which modifications to the format of the scoring rubric and the associated training procedures affect the technical quality of the resulting scores was studied, and the perceived utility of each scoring method for influencing a teacher's instructional decisions positively was investigated. Two different methods were used to score…

Investigates the reliability and validity of scores yielded from a new scoring formula. (Author/DEP)

The system is a comprehensive set of computer programs and procedures for assisting in the preparation, scoring and analysis of multiple choice test batteries. The system may be used with either standardized or locally developed tests. For the upper grades the system accepts pupil responses on mark-sense answer sheets. For lower grades pupil…

Binary, probability, and ordinal scoring procedures for multiple-choice items were examined. In two situations, it was found that both the probability and ordinal scoring systems were more reliable than the binary scoring method. (Author/CTM)

Writing fits well within the realm of outcomes suitable for observation by performance assessments. Studies of the reliability of performance assessments have suggested that interrater reliability can be consistently high. Scoring consistency, however, is only one aspect of quality in decisions based on assessment results. Another is…

A common method used by states, school districts, teachers, parents, and students to assess learning is through use of a scoring guide or rubric. Instructors in a teacher education setting describe their use of rubrics with preservice teachers in the expectation that these teacher candidates would eventually be using rubrics themselves and could…