This paper defines Bayesian network models and examines their applications to IRT-based cognitive diagnostic modeling. These models are especially suited to building inference engines designed to be synchronous with the finer grained student models that arise in skills diagnostic assessment. Aspects of the theory and use of Bayesian network models…

There has been considerable research regarding the extent to which psychometric sound assessments sometimes yield individual score estimates that are inconsistent with the response patterns of the individual. It has been suggested that individual response patterns may differ from expectations for a number of reasons, including subject motivation,…

This report summarizes the twelfth survey of states by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) at the University of Minnesota. Results are presented for all 50 states and 8 of the 11 unique states. The purpose of this report is to provide a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues during this…

Readers will find several papers that address high-level issues in the use of technology in education, for example architecture and design frameworks for building online education materials or tools. Several other chapters report novel approaches to intelligent tutors or adaptive systems in educational settings. A number of chapters consider many…

Earlier studies have suggested that higher education institutions could harness the predictive power of Learning Management System (LMS) data to develop reporting tools that identify at-risk students and allow for more timely pedagogical interventions. This paper confirms and extends this proposition by providing data from an international…

Online assessments afford many advantages for teachers and students. Okolo (2006) stated, "As the power, sophistication, and availability of technology have increased in the classroom, online assessments have become a viable tool for providing the type of frequent and dynamic assessment information that educators need to guide instructional…

The process of teacher identification, selection, initial training, and on-going professional development that has developed at the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) over the past seven years is described and discussed in this article. Validation was based upon existing practices and research. To provide background the creation and initial…

This study explored e-learning problems and solutions reported by 223 students with disabilities, 58 campus disability service providers, 28 professors, and 33 e-learning professionals from Canadian colleges and universities. All four groups indicated, via online questionnaires, problems with: accessibility of websites and course/learning…

A previously developed method of automatically selecting items for inclusion in a test subject to constraints on item content and statistical properties is applied to real data. Two tests are first assembled by experts in test construction who normally assemble such tests on a routine basis. Using the same pool of items and constraints articulated…

This paper discusses a variety of development strategies and issues involved in the development of electronic performance support systems (EPSS) for professionals. The topics of front-end analysis, development, and evaluation are explored in the context of a case study involving the development of an EPSS to support teachers in the use of…

Projects to develop an automated item banking and test development system have been undertaken on several occasions at the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) throughout the past 10 years. Such a system permits the construction of tests in far less time and with a higher degree of accuracy than earlier test construction procedures. This…

In the process of item calibration for a computerized adaptive test (CAT), many well-established calibrating packages show weakness in the estimation of item parameters. This paper introduces an on-line calibration algorithm based on the convexity of likelihood functions. This package consists of: (1) an algorithm that estimates examinee ability…

This study examined the constructs of a study skill--highlighting--to determine whether the constructs for highlighting in a paper mode would be the same as highlighting in a computer mode. Constructs are defined as the underlying processes that are elicited in an experimental setting and that provide a basis for explaining the relations among the…

The method for questionnaire construction described in this paper makes it convenient to generate as many different forms for a questionnaire as there are respondents. The method is based on using the computer to produce the questionnaire forms themselves. In this way the items or subgroups of items of the questionnaire may be randomly ordered or…

This document is a guide to counseling software. It presents overviews on the state of development of counseling and human services software in five major topic areas including personal counseling, career counseling, academic advising, testing and administration. It provides factual and up-to-date descriptions of over 500 counseling-relevant…