This study examined the construct validity of the "e-rater"® automated essay scoring engine as an alternative to human scoring in the context of TOEFL® essay writing. Analyses were based on a sample of students who repeated the TOEFL within a short time period. Two "e-rater" scores were investigated in this study, the first…

Effective group programs with challenging youth need to be grounded in a clear understanding of core principles that guide effective practice. This article examines the operating philosophy of an established outdoor education and therapy program which combines the Re-ED philosophy of Nicholas Hobbs (1994) with adventure education developed by…

This article elucidates criteria which might be helpful in evaluating praxis-related research. The authors explore both sides of the research and development (R & D) project. They examine different ways of understanding contributions to knowledge through research but more especially exploring ideas about contributions to changing praxis. Changing…

This article reflects on the reliability of the evidence contained in the National Qualifications Framework Impact Study, a longitudinal comparative study conducted by the South African Qualifications Authority since 2002. In so doing, the veracity of evidence-based research in determining the impact of the South African Qualifications Framework…

For decades traditional methods of testing have been criticized for saying relatively little reliably about students' ability as well as causing anxiety, which can negatively affect students' recall of learned information. The reform movement with its innovative approaches focusing on learner-centered education perceives assessment as an…

In this qualitative study, various professionals in specialized schools for students who are visually impaired provided information on assessment tools; how information was used to plan Individualized Education Programs; and their opinions on the reliability, validity, and usefulness of various measurements. The implications of the findings for…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) program is exploring a change in Section 3 of the TOEFL test that would replace the vocabulary subpart with additional reading comprehension questions. This study investigated the proposed revision in terms of the length and timing that would be necessary to address concerns of test speededness of…

This report describes how an advisory committee of health occupations education instructors from Missouri schools where tests were given statistically analyzed test items for health services assistant for reliability and validity and then revised the test items. Seventy-five sets of test item booklets were printed. Four test booklets and a…

This is the fourth in a series of reports evaluating the Public Library Statistics (PLS) program, an annual census of public libraries in the United States. The census includes, in addition to a full count of public libraries and their outlets, a variety of statistics about the services provided by and, the financial condition and the staffing…

A modification of the Family Adaptation Scale of Antonovsky and Sourani (1988), was developed for assessing the adaptation of ministers' families. A sample of 317 individuals (ministers, spouses, and children aged 8 to 18) from 135 protestant ministers' families was used to test the scale. The self-report questionnaire was tested for internal…

As individual states and communities work out curriculum and instructional expectations, high quality assessments of communication skills will continue to evolve. An active cycle of setting goals, developing instruction, teaching, testing, and assessing student and system success is the key to the process of renewal and improvement. All types of…

Generalizability theory is used to examine the sources of variability present in a teacher and course evaluation instrument. Two studies were conducted. In the first study, four different forms commonly used by one specific college of a large midwestern university were examined using responses of 915 students. The analysis of variance performed on…

When William G. Perry (1968) developed his scheme of nine stages of cognitive development, most of which are experienced during the college years, he did not attempt to quantify it. Subsequently, T. D. Erwin (1983) constructed a scale that attempted to quantify the Perry scheme. His findings supported the overall conception of student development…

Tests in social studies and integrated science given in Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Dominica were analyzed by the Organization for Co-operation in Overseas Development (OCOD) Comprehensive Teacher Training Program (CTTP) for discrimination, difficulty, and reliability, as well as other characteristics. There were 767 examinees for the…

This paper addresses the problem of how to place students in a sequence of hierarchically related courses from an (empirical) Bayesian point of view. Based on a minimal set of assumptions, it is shown that optimal mastery rules for the courses are always monotone and a nonincreasing function of the scores on the placement test. On the other hand,…