Based on the standard setting procedures or the American Board of Preventive Medicine for their Core Test, this article describes how Rasch measurement can facilitate using test content judgments in setting a standard. Rasch measurement can then be used to evaluate and improve the precision of the standard and to hold it constant across time.…

This study of individual differences in performance of a geometric analogies task included four-alternative test items and studied eye movements and confidence judgments as well as latency and error. Results were interpreted using two hypothesized performance strategies: constructive matching and response elimination. (Author/BW)

Describes a study which used a graduate-level business game to examine consequences of objectively determined fit between managers' specialized competence and their functional roles in terms of individual and group performance. The game simulates a work environment of top-level management in industrial firms with responsibility for making…

An examination of the need for academic advising and tutoring for upper division students of the Open University in Scotland reveals a gap between institutional recommendations and the actual use and perception of the services. Clearer guidance is recommended for tutor-counselors, and questions are posed about service needs for further…

As many as two in five recent high school graduates say that there are gaps between the education they received in high school and the overall skills, abilities, and work habits that are expected of them today in college and in the work force. The majority of college students and high school graduates without a college degree say that they have…

A study explored similarities and differences in relative pronoun use by native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of English. The study was conducted with 40 university students, 20 NSs and 20 NNSs. Specifically, the study examined the frequency of relative pronoun use and the spontaneity of subjects' responses in completing a sentence…

The operating characteristics of 114 mathematics pretest items from the Praxis I: Computer Based Test were analyzed in terms of item attributes and test developers' judgments of item difficulty. Item operating characteristics were defined as the difficulty, discrimination, and asymptote parameters of a three parameter logistic item response theory…

Some higher education observers suggest that the increasing complexity of academic governance is a way of characterizing the evolution of social expectations. Others say it underscores the adaptability of higher education's organizational structures and practices. As a general account, increasing complexity fits better during times of growth than…

Meaningful, comprehensible instructional materials that take into consideration the student's proficiency level are recommended for teaching communicative skills. Formulae developed for teaching various language functions (forms of socializing, showing emotion, judging, and getting information) and functional language rhetorical strategies are…

Difficulties encountered by students when solving problems were examined using Program of Actions and Methods (PAM) for systematic problem solving in science. Difficulties encountered included those in analyzing the problem, planning the problem-solving process, executing routine operations, and those related to the ways teachers solve problems.…

Describes a systematic investigation of the understanding of the concept of acceleration among students enrolled in a variety of introductory physics courses through individual demonstration interviews. Describes and identifies some conceptual difficulties and discusses some implications for instruction. (Author/SK)

These experiments focus upon two assumptions of the levels of processing formulation: that context provides exclusive control over the qualitative nature of encoding, and that amount recalled is determined both by cue-trace compatibility and by depth. The results cast doubt upon the validity of each assumption. (Author/MH)

Performance and persistence on the Concealed Figures Test and the Embedded Figures Test decreased: (1) after short-duration failure when subjects were falsely led to attribute failure to task difficulty; and (2) after long-duration failure when subjects were falsely led to attribute failure to lack of ability. (CP)

Experiment 1 suggested that age differences in line-drawing interpretation among subjects between 6 and 24 years reflected changes in short-term memory for features and changes in strategies used to integrate features over space and time. Experiment 2 suggested that older observers were more active in their attempts to interpret drawings and that…

The relationship between gains in student achievement on a concept test and teacher effectiveness ratings without test score feedback was examined in a study involving 235 high school students. Ratings of teacher effectiveness were slightly but significantly correlated with student learning. Rankings were often inconsistent with ratings. (TJH)