In examining response style effects on various commonly used fixed-response formats, Likert-type formats were relatively consistently affected regardless of the number of format categories. Nonanchored numbers were less affected. Across types, strong correlations for the linear formats and human faces made their use problematic. (Author/CM)

A study of scores on England's General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations suggested that, compared to females, males perform better on objective tests than they do on other forms of assessment. The fact that nonobjective tests emphasize written communication skills, which tend to be more highly developed in female candidates, may explain…

Dental health is replete with perpetuated misinformation in the classroom. A true/false test and its answers are presented to expose some of the most common dental myths. (JN)

Recounts one school system's attempt to impose competency tests on its teachers and discusses the experience of other districts with standarized tests for teachers and teacher applicants. (IRT)

Discusses educational standards and accountability at open-door colleges. Suggests that reading, organizing, synthesizing, and writing skills are of prime importance and that, in order to strengthen these skills, at least one-third of all course testing should use a subjective format. (DR)

Essay questions have been a stable fixture of teacher assessment activity for decades. Assessment reforms of the early 90's encouraged the development and use of "newer" forms of assessment including portfolios, performance tasks, and authentic assessments. As of late, however, there appears to be a regressive emphasis toward the use of…

The global psychophysical theory of summation and magnitude production of R. D. Luce (2002) had joint presentations of pairs of intensities (measured above threshold) being matched asymmetrically, with 1 component being 0 intensity and the other the matching intensity. For loudness, an intensity pair to the 2 ears is matched by an intensity in…

Web-based homework (WBH) Technology can simplify the creation and grading of assignments as well as provide a feasible platform for assessment testing, but its effect on student learning in business statistics is unknown. This is particularly true of the latest software development of Web-based tutoring agents that dynamically evaluate individual…

Educators are currently exploring the expanded use of a variety of new assessment tools in the classroom in response to pressures to enhance student learning. The present study examined quick writes as a tool in the context of third-grade classroom assessment. Third-grade teachers administered the same brief writing probe before and after students…

This study evaluates the reliability of self-assessment as a measure of computer competence. This evaluation is carried out in response to recent research which has employed self-reported ratings as the sole indicator of students' computer competence. To evaluate the reliability of self-assessed computer competence, the scores achieved by students…

Author directed his thoughts to the problem of preparing students to write, read, speak, and listen so that they can obtain a useful education. (RK)

The USS Constitution, one of the original three frigates in the U.S. Navy, celebrated its 190th anniversary in 1987. To commemorate this event and to study the naval history of frigates, five exercises were created that detail the history and focus on the USS Constitution. The exercises begin with a fill-in-the-blank test that teaches students…

Research indicates that students' learning performance can be improved through techniques of "action-feedback-correction," which involves the student answering questions, feedback on which answers are right and which wrong, and repetition of the process until the right answer is achieved. Such a system can easily be devised using objective…