Leading researchers from the United States and Europe report on new findings on the effect of education on equal opportunity, using economic and statistical techniques to assess the results of education policy reform in countries including the United States, Britain, Sweden, Germany, and Italy. Much educational research today is focused on…

Editor-in-Chief James L. Morrison interviews Scott Howell, the co-editor of a three-volume book series entitled "Online Assessment and Measurement" that was published in 2006 by IDEA Group. In discussing his own research, Howell first highlights the value of test blueprints as a valuable tool for ensuring an effective alignment of…

With schools being asked to accomplish more and more, it is increasingly important to, whenever possible, address multiple goals in teaching. Educating the whole child dictates that we find ways to ensure our graduates are well-rounded, independent thinkers capable of becoming well-adjusted, contributing adults. Thus community service has become a…

Quality control policies towards Dutch vocational schools have changed dramatically because the government questioned examination quality. Schools must now demonstrate assessment quality to a new Examination Quality Center. Since teachers often design assessments, they must be involved in quality issues. This study therefore explores teachers'…

A study investigated the effects of eight sessions of classroom instruction on the ability of adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to produce Wh- questions orally. Preliminary assessment of the students' writing samples enabled classification of two groups: "proficient" (n=6), consistently able to produce written samples…

The collection of data by face-to-face interviews and questionnaires is common and literature in these areas is extensive; but few cases are reported in which respondents have been provided with a blank audio cassette tape, interview schedule, or open-ended questionnaire items, and been invited to record their own comments and forward these to the…

One hundred and sixteen test administrators in Job Service offices throughout the United States who are currently using the automated typing test software were contacted by telephone about the software. Sixty-nine percent have used the software less than 1 year, and 21 percent have used it more than 1 year. In 78 percent of the offices, there is…

"Smithtown" is an intelligent computer program designed to enhance an individual's scientific inquiry skills as well as to provide an environment for learning principles of basic microeconomics. It was hypothesized that intelligent computer instruction on applying effective interrogative skills (e.g., changing one variable at a time…

This guidebook provides information on how to implement authentic assessment. It presents pertinent information in an easy-to-read format and is intended to be a reference for further resources. Chapter 1 defines relevant terms and compares traditional testing practices with authentic assessment. Specifically, it looks at the differences in…

The purpose of this document is to provide teachers, administrators, students, and parents with samples of students' performances that exemplify standards in relation to the 1993 Grade 9 Science Performance-Based Assessment Tasks for the province of Alberta, Canada. A sample of 698 randomly selected students from 31 schools did the…

Two types of computerized testing have been defined: (1) computer-based testing, using a computer to administer conventional tests in which all examinees take the same set of items; and (2) adaptive tests, in which items are selected for administration by the computer, based on examinee's previous responses. This paper discusses an option for…

This study sought to investigate the effect of the use of videos about the Holocaust as part of a study of world history on student knowledge and understanding. The research hypothesis was that the mean achievement of 8th grade students who viewed videos about the Holocaust and World War II (WWII) in conjunction with their regular class…

This special newsletter issue on learning disabilities and juvenile justice includes statistics indicating unfavorable outcomes for many individuals with learning disabilities, presents findings of the Incarcerated Youth Task Force Report, and describes five successful programs for teaching reading. Articles include: "Parents Don't Care!--Or Do…

As the assessments mandated by the British National Curriculum have come into use, teachers have found the core concern to be how to manage the assessment of each student's progress within the framework of the statutory requirements. This book focuses on the assessment of students of ethnic minority backgrounds and presents a collection of…

This study developed, applied, and evaluated a theory-based method of detecting the underlying causes of differential difficulty. The method was applied to two subgroups taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Mathematics (SAT-M), 261 visually impaired students taking Braille forms of the test and 1,985 black students at 3 test administrations. It…