This paper focuses on the Non-Equivalent Groups with Anchor Test (NEAT) design for test equating and on two classes of observed--score equating (OSE) methods--chain equating (CE) and poststratification equating (PSE). These two classes of methods reflect two distinctly different ways of using the information provided by the anchor test for…

The current study examined instructors' discrete-trial teaching responses after a performance-based training procedure in which instructors were required to demonstrate criterion-level performance on written and oral quizzes and on performance demonstrations. Twelve discrete-trial teaching responses were labeled and operationally defined.…

This study employed logistic regression to predict the probability that a student would be successful in achieving a FGPA at various levels, based on that student's SAT scores and high school grade point average. Tables of accuracy rates are appended.

Background: This study presents two experiments that investigated whether children with autism were susceptible to the Thatcher illusion. Perception of the Thatcher illusion requires being able to compute second-order configural relations for facial stimuli. Method: In both experiments children with autism were matched for non-verbal and verbal…

This study explores how social pressure and identity construction patterns interact with the oral performance of secondary and post-secondary learners of Spanish as a foreign language. Data derive from 268 questionnaires probing students' perceptions of Spanish, Spanish speakers, their peers, and their instructors. Ethnographic interviews…

The view that values play a crucial role in how principals conceptualise and interpret school leadership is not new. However, very little of the research underpinning this view has been conducted in developing countries. Drawing on qualitative case study research into how principals in Jamaica conceptualise school leadership, this paper explores…

This article discusses what EFL instructors and their students like and dislike about error correction and paper marking and discusses what this means for classroom teaching. The article lists the benefits and drawbacks of error correction for students' writing and argues for the need to look at preferred methods for both teachers and students. It…

The increasing availability and performance of computer-based testing has prompted more research on the automatic assessment of language and speaking proficiency. In this investigation, we evaluated the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf speech-recognition system for scoring speaking prompts from the LanguEdge field test of 2002. We first…

In order to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004, states must collect valid data as needed to report annually to the Secretary of Education. This requirement, combined with those set forth in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, has led states to collect and analyze data about their programs, districts,…

In preparing this volume, every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the most recent authorities have been consulted, and it is believed that a faithful view is presented of the various sciences embraced, as far as they are at present developed. It is the intention of the author to keep his book up to the times by constant revision, and to…

In this study, we investigated a variety of Reader effects that may influence the validity of ratings assigned to AP® English Literature and Composition essays. Specifically, we investigated whether Readers exhibit changes in their levels of severity and accuracy, and their use of individual scale categories over time. We refer to changes in these…

We describe the item modeling development and evaluation process as applied to a quantitative assessment with high-stakes outcomes. In addition to expediting the item-creation process, a model-based approach may reduce pretesting costs, if the difficulty and discrimination of model-generated items may be predicted to a predefined level of…

This paper examines the nature of confidence in relation to cognitive abilities, personality traits, and metacognition. Confidence was measured as it was expressed in answers to each test item during the administration of reading and listening sections of the TOEFL® iBT. The confidence scores were correlated with the accuracy scores from the TOEFL…

One of the major shifts in education today under the influence of information and communication technologies is that there is an increased tendency toward the use of computers and Internet. The process of ICT integration in schools reaches a considerable level of maturity and teachers and students are optimizing the learning opportunities with the…

This article will provide an overview of computers; an overview of the history of CALL, its pros and cons, the internet, World Wide Web, Multimedia, and research related to the uses of computers in the language classroom. Also, it also aims to provide some background for the beginners on using the Internet in language classes today. It discusses…