The graphics-decoding proficiency (G-DP) instrument was developed as a screening test for the purpose of measuring students' (aged 8-11 years) capacity to solve graphics-based mathematics tasks. These tasks include number lines, column graphs, maps and pie charts. The instrument was developed within a theoretical framework which highlights the…

Vocational psychologists and career theorists have articulated the importance of social support in the development of career plans for high school youth. More recently, Lent, Brown, and Hackett carefully articulated the location of contextual supports in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) framework. However, there is a paucity of research…

State-level testing programs continue to grow, and the challenge of validation does not wane. Although more than a decade has passed since the 1999 Joint Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing set out a call for the organization of validity evidence into validity arguments, practical examples of such arguments are not readily…

The article provides a theoretical extension of the goal orientation approach for teaching by proposing three different competence facets of learning goals and four types of addressees for performance approach and avoidance goals. On the basis of responses from 495 teacher trainees and 224 in-service teachers, the development and validation of an…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

The PISA project has steadily increased its influence on the educational discourse and educational policies in the now 70 participating countries. The educational debate has become global, and the race to improve PISA-rankings has become high priority in many countries. For governments the PISA-test is a high-stake test. Governments are blamed for…

Despite potential applications to educational contexts, the working alliance concept has largely been confined to psychotherapy intervention research. Some have explored theoretically related concepts (e.g., immediacy, rapport), but no measure currently exists of the working alliance between a teacher and student within an academic course. The aim…

In conjunction with the adoption and subsequent implementation of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), state-led consortia are developing next-generation assessments aligned to the CCSSM. This paper discusses the progress and plans of two main coalitions of states--the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for…

In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the sixth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

This paper documents efforts to develop an instrument to measure mathematical knowledge for teaching high school geometry (MKT-G). We report on the process of developing and piloting questions that purported to measure various domains of MKT-G. Scores on the final set of items had no statistical relationship with total years of experience…

The overall purpose of this study is to develop a measure of elementary mathematics teachers' curricular knowledge (Shulman, 1986) and curriculum use practices. In this paper, we present the first step in this larger effort--the piloting of one set of questions that document pre-service teachers' (PSTs') knowledge and practices for reading,…

The rapid growth of using Web 2.0 tools such as blogs has increased online courses in education. Questionnaires are the most commonly used instruments to assess students' attitudes toward the online courses. This study provides a set of specific guidelines that the researchers used to develop a questionnaire to measure students' attitudes toward…

This article reports about the development and validation of a measurement instrument assessing elementary school students' achievement emotions (Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Elementary School, AEQ-ES). Specifically, the instrument assesses students' enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom pertaining to three types of academic settings (i.e.,…

Any meaningful initiative to improve the teaching and learning in introductory control systems courses needs a clear test of student conceptual understanding to determine the effectiveness of proposed methods and activities. The authors propose a control systems concept inventory. Development of the inventory was collaborative and iterative. The…

This study investigated firstly the reliability and validity of an Indonesian version of the "Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction" (QTI). Second, perceptions of Indonesian secondary school teachers' interpersonal behaviour as perceived by students and teachers were studied with the QTI. Third, differences between students' and teachers'…