Rapid advancements in computing have enabled automatic analyses of written texts created in educational settings. The purpose of this symposium is to survey several applications of computerized text analyses used in the research and development of productive learning environments. Four featured research projects have developed or been working on:…

Reading difficulties in school are very challenging for teachers due to many different reader subtypes in one and the same class. Moreover, there are few easy-to-use tools enabling teachers to assess reading ability. According to the Simple View of Reading (Hoover and Gough in "Reading and Writing", 2(2), 127-160, 1990), efficient…

At the heart of changing institutional assessment and feedback practices is the need to transform university teachers' ways of thinking about feedback and assessment. In this article, we present a case study of a three-year Master's in Education offered to UK STEMM university teachers as an opportunity to develop critically reflective and…

Instructors of postsecondary classes in statistics rely heavily on visuals in their teaching, both within the classroom and in resources like textbooks, handouts, and software, but this information is often inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired (BVI). The unique challenges involved in adapting both pedagogy and course…

The past decade has seen an emerging interest in mapping (aligning or linking) test scores to language proficiency levels of external performance scales or frameworks, such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), as well as locally developed frameworks, such as China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE). Such alignment is…

The processes to assess students' learning acquired in various non-formal and informal learning environments have become increasingly common in Finnish university language centres in recent years. This paper describes new developments at the University of Eastern Finland to assess students' non-formal and informal learning of English for Academic…

Currently, the government of Indonesia has implemented a computer-based test for the national examination for secondary schools in Indonesia. It is believed that the administration of computer-based national examination (CBNE) would address some challenges related to dishonesty and validity. The present study is aimed to investigate the teachers'…

The Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET), the national examination in Thailand, plays as a high-stakes test at an upper secondary school level as it can be used as a tool for several purposes in education such as gatekeepers for the university entry and measures for the teaching quality evaluation. English, out of the five core subjects in…

This study investigated the extent to which standardized reading performance, individual perceptions of reading and test taking skills, and test anxiety predict the amount of extended time needed to equalize test access for college students with disabilities. Thirty-seven college students with a specific learning disorder (LD) and/or an attention…

The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of culturally appropriate problem-solving instruction (CAPSI) incorporating elements from schema instruction, video modeling, and vocabulary instruction. Culturally relevant information and the students' native language were explicitly incorporated into math problem-solving…

An assumption underlying speaking tests is that scores reflect the ability to produce online, non-rehearsed speech. Speech produced in testing situations may, however, be less spontaneous if extensive test preparation takes place, resulting in memorized or rehearsed responses. If raters detect these patterns, they may conceptualize speech as…

Using data on secondary school social studies teachers (n = 6,702) from the Survey of the Status of Social Studies (S4), a multilevel model, and an Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis, this study examined the associations of state testing policy and school characteristics on secondary social studies teachers' instructional autonomy as it relates…

Perceptual assimilation is a well-known task; however, there is no study on the assimilation pattern of the English monophthongs by L2 Thai learners. The aims of this study are to explore the perceptual assimilation patterns of the British English monophthongs to Thai monophthongs by L2 Thai learners and to examine the effect of L2 experience on…

The end of the school year is approaching in most countries of the EU neighbourhood and Central Asia. Most countries closed schools and all forms of face-to-face education and training in mid-March/early April 2020. As the crisis progresses, a stable picture is emerging. Countries have passed through similar stages since the outbreak: being…

In this technical report we document the development and piloting of the Learning Receptiveness Assessment (LRA) Greenhouse for Prekindergarten. This technological tool was designed to prevent reading disabilities by supporting effective "assessment-guided instructional decision-making" by Preschool teachers. The LRA Greenhouse comprises…