This report includes three papers that address critical "next generation" issues in assessment policy that can help to guide the choices made about system design: computer adaptive assessments, assessment of English learners and assessing science. None of these topics has received the attention that it deserves in the current debate on assessment…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Integrated Data Systems Link Schools and Communities: Researchers Combine School and Non-School Data to Inform Interventions and Policy (Patti Hartigan);…

With the rapidly increasing entrance examinations for the School of Continuing education of CUGB, there is an urgent need of the examination papers that have the parallel testing ability for the same academic program. Based on the analysis of parallel factors and the comparison of the manual generated mode and the computer generated mode, the most…

With 97 advanced second language (L2) learners of Spanish, the present study utilized domain specific texts to examine the effects of embedded "what" questions and elaborative "why" questions on reading comprehension. Participants read two different vignettes, either with or without the adjuncts, from a social psychology textbook, and then…

Research suggests that between 25% to 40% of students experience test anxiety, with students with disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds having higher prevalence rates. Since test anxiety impacts student well-being and the validity of the important educational decisions based on testing data, this article…

This review describes and evaluates a software add-in created by Frontline Systems, Inc., that can be used with Microsoft Excel 2007 to solve large, complex test assembly problems. The combination of Microsoft Excel 2007 with the Frontline Systems Premium Solver Platform is significant because Microsoft Excel is the most commonly used spreadsheet…

Even though researchers agree on the hierarchical structure of intelligence there is considerable disagreement on the g-saturation of the lower stratum-two factors. In this article it is argued that the mixed evidence in the research literature can be at least partially attributed to the construct representation of the individual tests used to…

Although computerized adaptive tests have enjoyed tremendous growth, solutions for important problems remain unavailable. One problem is the control of item exposure rate. Because adaptive algorithms are designed to select optimal items, they choose items with high discriminating power. Thus, these items are selected more often than others,…

The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

Background: All types of librarians are expected to possess information and computer skills to actively assist patrons in accessing information and in recognizing reputable sources. Mastery of information and computer skills is a high priority for library and information science programs since graduate students have varied multidisciplinary…

This paper reports the results of a descriptive study on the use of a technology-enhanced formative assessment system called Accelerated Math (AM) for ELLs and their native-English-speaking (NES) peers. It was comprised of analyses of an extant database of 18,549 students, including 2,057 ELLs, from grades 1 through 8 across 30 U.S. states. These…

When power tests include a time limit, it is important to assess the possibility of "speededness" for examinees. Research on differential speededness in the past has included looking at gender and ethnic subgroups in the United States on paper and pencil tests. The needs of a global audience necessitated, and the availability of computer…

This paper describes a study conducted with a random sample of 80 student primary teachers drawn from all four years of the Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme at a teacher education institution in Scotland, with a view to determining why there were such differing levels of engagement with an online maths assessment. The assessment was created…

The Internet has recently encouraged the society to convert almost all its needs to electronic resources such as e-libraries, e-cultures, e-entertainment as well as e-learning, which has become a radical idea to increase the effectiveness of learning services in most schools, colleges and universities. E-learning can not be completely featured and…

In recent years, technological advances such as computers have been employed in teaching gross anatomy at all levels of education, even in professional schools such as medical and veterinary medical colleges. Benefits of computer based instructional tools for gross anatomy include the convenience of not having to physically view or dissect a…