Ascertains the influence of the development of receptive phonetic skills on the level of listening comprehension of adults learning French as a second language in a formal setting. Test results indicate substantial gains in phonetics by the experimental group and a significant difference between the performance of experimental and control groups.…

Describes a study of 61 undergraduates that investigated the effects of hypermedia content-structure focusing on learner's structural knowledge acquisition, retention, and disorientation. Use of a Completely Randomized Multivariate Analysis of Variance design for hypothesis testing is explained and implications for hypermedia design are discussed.…

Suggests a role for "authentic measurement" using performance measures in task-based approaches to assessment and describes the implementation of a task-based, performance-referenced test of English for academic purposes (EAP) developed to place English as a Second Language college students. Results suggest that skills-focused tests of EAP ability…

Presents a literature review seeking to answer four questions: (1) What is washback? (2) How does washback work? (3) How can we promote positive washback? and (4) How can we investigate washback? A model is proposed that identifies participants, processes and products which may influence or be influenced by, washback. Strategies for investigating…

Describes Maryland's attempt to implement a system of high academic standards and testing in its public schools. Addresses businesses' support of new student testing plans, highlights the "Maryland K-16" educational improvement program, discusses Maryland's intent to eliminate any need for postsecondary remedial programs for high school…

Discussion of research methodology for evaluating the degree of standardization in multinational corporations' online communication strategies across differing cultures focuses on a research framework for cross-cultural comparison of corporate Web pages, applying traditional advertising content study techniques. Describes pre-tests that examined…

This article discusses problems in the psychological processing theory for learning disabilities assessment and describes the development and potential use of an interactive diagnostic system for testing students' processing skills for learning disabilities. (AEF)

Discusses ARIANE, a representative computerized mother tongue test measuring relevant aspects of communication and presenting test candidates with a varied selection of different texts and audio material, followed by different strategies. Outlines how the test's objectives were specified, its database and strategies developed, and how the test was…

Illustrates the advantages of laboratory research into second language acquisition (SLA) by describing two studies of acquisition of second language syntax. The first, conducted in Wales, addresses the question of whether human morphological abilities can be understood in terms of associative processes, and the second presents a bootstrapping…

Investigates the linguistic abilities of a subgroup of grammatical specific language impaired (SLI) children, focusing on the use of referential expressions in a narrative discourse and providing insight into the underlying nature of grammatical SLI. Findings support the hypothesized modular nature of grammatical SLI children's underlying…

Discusses platform unity, or aligning curriculum content with appropriate test types. Presents findings from a survey of 30 Virginia community college faculty, indicating that the faculty did not plan and test content congruently, tended to overtest content, and were effective but not efficient in test selection. (25 citations) (AJL)

Administered an ability scale to 53 children identified as having a learning disability approximately three years after each had been administered an intelligence scale. Results indicate that the ability scale correlated highly with the intelligence test. Differences in scores in specific measures were nonsignificant. Other findings are discussed.…

In this study, over 100 teachers completed open-ended surveys on how they prepare students for the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and the test's effects on students, teachers, and schools. High-stakes testing has become the object rather than the measure of teaching and learning, negatively affecting curriculum, teacher decision making,…

Addresses phenomena exhibited by young children such as suffixed and free articles, double definiteness, genitives, pronouns, and "nominal style." Shows that analysis of these early data must invoke at least one functional projection above the noun phrase. Findings argue against any claim about the universal absence of functional…

An introduction to a section on e-learning and effective pedagogy notes the explosive growth of instructional technology and the need for guiding principles in its application. It focuses on two areas: the instructional needs and anticipated outcomes for personnel preparation programs in special education and electronic student assessment.…