The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how lexical differences related to cohesion and connectionist models can distinguish first language (L1) writers of English from second language (L2) writers of English. Key to this analysis is the use of the computational tool Coh-Metrix, which measures cohesion and text difficulty at…

Although providing feedback is commonly practiced in education, there is no general agreement regarding what type of feedback is most helpful and why it is helpful. This study examined the relationship between various types of feedback, potential internal mediators, and the likelihood of implementing feedback. Five main predictions were developed…

The purpose of this study was to assess staff and client perspectives on the Internet-based Journey Mapping program evaluation tool. A drug court program was chosen for a case study research design. Six staff and 10 clients participated in interviews and observations, and also responded to a questionnaire. A staff survey provided additional data.…

This article deals with some of the problems that have hindered the application of Samejima's and Thissen and Steinberg's multiple-choice models: (a) parameter estimation difficulties owing to the large number of parameters involved, (b) parameter identifiability problems in the Thissen and Steinberg model, and (c) their treatment of omitted…

Sequential mastery testing (SMT) has been researched as an efficient alternative to paper-and-pencil testing for pass/fail examinations. One popular method for determining when to cease examination in SMT is the truncated sequential probability ratio test (TSPRT). This article introduces the application of stochastic curtailment in SMT to shorten…

During the early stage of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), item selection criteria based on Fisher"s information often produce less stable latent trait estimates than the Kullback-Leibler global information criterion. Robustness against early stage instability has been reported for the D-optimality criterion in a polytomous CAT with the…

The aim of the present study was to assess mental flexibility and set maintenance of a group of individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) (N = 13; mean age 16,4), as compared with a matched group of typically developing children and adolescents (N = 13; mean age 15,6) on the computerized version of the Wisconsin Card…

The study evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of several mental health screening and assessment tools in schools. A computerized version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV proved to be feasible bridging the gap between mental health providers and unmet need of children accompanying risks.

The effect of orthographic transparency on letter position encoding was investigated using a visual search task given to skilled readers of English (a deep orthography) or Greek (a transparent orthography). Two groups of younger participants, matched for age and education, were monoscriptal in English, or biscriptal in Greek and English. Two…

The Accelerated Reader program from Renaissance Learning Inc. is a popular program implemented in elementary and middle schools across the country that encourages students to read and monitors their progress in the program. Despite its widespread use and popularity, there have been some questions about the program's effectiveness at increasing…

The audience response system--technology that allows immediate compilation and display of a group's multiple choice input--is being shown effective in the classroom both in engaging students and providing real time, formative assessment of comprehension. This paper looks at its further potential as an alternative for summative assessment,…

Mobile learning is considered an evolution of e-learning that embraces the ubiquitous nature of current computational systems in order to improve teaching and learning. Within this context it is possible to develop mobile applications oriented to learning, but it is also important to assess to what extent such applications actually work. In this…

The main requisite for a functional computerized adaptive testing system is the need of a calibrated item bank. This text presents the tasks carried out during the calibration of an item bank for assessing knowledge of Basque language. It has been done in terms of the 3-parameter logistic model provided by the item response theory. Besides, this…

Four early childhood education teachers, two veteran and two newer teachers, were asked to pilot the use of handheld Personal Data Assistants loaded with Childchart assessment software. The participants were observed in their use of the electronic devices for monitoring student performance and interviewed regarding the use of the devices and their…

The current study aims to contribute to classroom instruction of undergraduate education faculty students through development of an online contest, and evaluation of test items based on participants' responses. It is a pilot study which covers four units of a single course offered in the Department of Computer Education and Instructional…