In Ireland and the UK it is accepted practice that agencies with formal responsibility for delivering school examinations allow examination candidates, and in many cases their teachers, to see their examination papers once they have been marked. Returned papers can carry various pieces of information; as well as the total score given for a…

An examination is an important component of any institution that educates people. It is a form of assessment used to measure the students' understanding of the concepts and principles they would have learnt. Zimbabwe Open University, an Open and Distance Learning institution has been setting its own examinations for the academic programmes…

The purpose of the Test for English Majors (TEM) is to measure the English proficiency of Chinese university undergraduates majoring in English Language and Literature and to examine whether these students meet the required levels of English language abilities as specified in the National College English Teaching Syllabus for English Majors…

This brief research report gives an overview of a visually based methodology that has recently been used to shed light on situated decision-making in a high stakes educational assessment environment. Looking carefully at the feedback interactions taking place between senior and less senior examiners, the project aim was to gain insight into the…

Little research has been conducted on teaching children with autism spectrum disorders to be compliant with dental procedures. This study evaluated a behavioral package to train children with autism spectrum disorders to be compliant with an 8 component oral assessment. After a dental hygienist performed an assessment pretest, noncompliance on…

This paper traces the development of professional doctorates within UK higher education and highlights some of the issues relating to quality and standards that have emerged. It is based on a review of the literature in the field, which is limited at present; interviews with a number of programme directors and examiners; and the personal…

Sex differences in disruptive behavior and sensitivity to social context are documented, but the intersection between them is rarely examined empirically. This report focuses on sex differences in observed disruptive behavior across interactional contexts and diagnostic status. Preschoolers (n = 327) were classified as nondisruptive (51%),…

The oral examination is an important component of the high-stakes "O" Level examination in Singapore taken by 16-17 year olds whose first language may or may not be English. In spite of this, there has been sparse research into the examination. This paper reports findings of an exploratory study which attempted to determine whether there…

Technological developments are impacting upon UK assessment practices in many ways. For qualification awarding bodies, a key example of such impact is the ongoing shift towards examiners marking digitally scanned copies of examination scripts on screen rather than the original paper documents. This digitisation process has obvious benefits,…

This article presents an interview with Dr. Paul Nolting, a national expert in assessing individual math learning problems, developing effective student learning strategies, and assessing institutional variables that affect math success. Since his dissertation in 1986 on improving math success with study skills Dr. Nolting has consulted with over…

There is a growing body of research literature that considers how the mode of assessment, either computer-based or paper-based, might affect candidates' performances. Despite this, there is a fairly narrow literature that shifts the focus of attention to those making assessment judgements and which considers issues of assessor consistency when…

Objective: To examine prospectively the emergence of behavioral signs of autism in the first years of life in infants at low and high risk for autism. Method: A prospective longitudinal design was used to compare 25 infants later diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with 25 gender-matched low-risk children later determined to have…

The article draws on findings from the "PhD Examination Project" at the SORTI Research Centre of The University of Newcastle, Australia. It focuses on an analysis of the roles of examiner and supervisor, in relation to the candidate, as seen through the lens of Habermas's "Ways of Knowing" theory. On the basis of this, it has…

The authors assessed the reliability of the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R). Seven Clinical Examiners evaluated a three and one half year old female toddler suspected of being on the Autism Spectrum. Examiners showed agreement levels of 94-96% across all items, with weighted kappa (K[subscript w]) between 0.80 and 0.88. They were in 100%…

External music examiners play a significant role in assessing, verifying and maintaining musical standards. Educational output endorsed by external examiners serves to verify, modify and legitimise internal behaviour. This article examines some of the "inside practices" of external music examiners in the context of quality assurance. It…