Examined attitudes toward taking different formats of oral proficiency assessments across three languages: Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Students were administered both the tape-mediated Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) and a new Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI). Questionnaire responses showed examinees, particularly…

A study investigated whether the use of American Sign Language as an accommodation affected the validity of standards-based assessments given in 12 classrooms of students with hearing impairments. Findings indicate sign language translation can result in the omission of pertinent information required to answer test items correctly. Suggestions are…

The present study outlines a specific three-level hierarchy of the cognitive system, in particular the relationship between cognitive and metacognitive processes in mathematics. The emphasis is on the impact of processing efficiency and working memory ability on the development of self-representation and mathematical performance. We developed and…

In this study, the authors investigated the role of overconfidence on students' performance on multiple-choice examinations. The authors examined the difference between students' self-assessed probability of selecting each correct answer and the proportion of correct answers that they actually selected. Results show that high-performing students…

Technology today offers many new opportunities for innovation in educational assessment through rich new assessment tasks and potentially powerful scoring, reporting and real-time feedback mechanisms. One potential limitation for realizing the benefits of computer-based assessment in both instructional assessment and large scale testing comes in…

Active student engagement with course materials, such as note-taking and cooperative learning, is associated with greater performance. This study investigated the relationship between scores achieved by students in an undergraduate course and active engagement during testing, whether using a cheat sheet or engaging in a form of cooperative…

Ethical maturity and behavior are of great concern to all educators, firms, and investors, and even more so in a recession. This research surveyed managers and employees in the retail environment to measure their Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) to see if age, education, and management experience makes a difference in making more ethical…

This report traces the evolution of education in America from a privilege for a few to a necessity for all, and discusses the need to promote high standards and accountability in the classroom. Eight specific areas are highlighted: (1) "A History of Expectations" traces the history of the public school in America and its shift in the…

This dissertation questions the common assumption that e-learning requires a "learning management system" (LMS) such as Moodle or Blackboard. Based on an analysis of the current state of the art in LMSs, we come to the conclusion that the functionality of conventional e-learning platforms consists of basic content management and…

The process of collecting student background information from parents using nationally agreed definitions of student background characteristics began in 2005. The original edition of this manual, titled "Data Implementation Manual for Enrolments for the 2005 and 2006 School Years," was prepared to assist schools and systems in modifying…

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate self-criticism as a potential mediating factor in the link between mother-adolescent relationships with aggression and perceptions of social competence. The sample consisted of 888 older (M = 14.3 years) and younger (M = 11.6 years) adolescent children from the same family. Maternal…

There is a critical need for research into the use of digital technologies to support the assessment of performance on complex tasks in schools. This paper reports on a component of a pilot study aimed at investigating the use of digital forms of performance assessment, manageable within schools, with high levels of reliability and capable of…

Some students are less accurately measured by typical reading tests than other students. By asking teachers to identify students whose performance on state reading tests would likely underestimate their reading skills, this study sought to learn about characteristics of less accurately measured students while also evaluating how well teachers can…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present details of a study investigating learning styles differences of Thai students in England compared to local students in England and Thailand. It also discusses key issues in using learning styles in multicultural and international education, given their wide availability online.…

A group of seven conference papers, all dealing with the role of testing and evaluation in the schools, is presented in this document. The papers are as follows: (1) "Framework for Effective Schools" (Eric Cooper), which identifies indicators of efficacy, quality, and equity; (2) "Quality Indicators for Monitoring Equity"…