Background: In principle, value-added modeling (VAM) might be justified if it can be shown to be a more reliable indicator of teacher quality than existing indicators for existing low-stakes decisions that are already being made, such as the award of small merit bonuses. However, a growing number of researchers now advocate the use of VAM to…

This paper reviews a selected sample of 24 doctoral dissertations in language assessment (broadly defined), completed between 2006 and 2011 in Canadian universities. These dissertations fall into five thematic categories: 1) reliability, validity and factors affecting test performance; 2) washback (impact) and ethics; 3) raters, rating and rating…

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of Curriculum-Based Measures in writing for English learners. Participants were 36 high school English learners with moderate to high levels of English language proficiency. Predictor variables were type of writing prompt (picture, narrative, and expository), time (3, 5, and 7…

A scale measuring quality of life (QOL) is important in adolescent research. Using the graded response model (GRM), this study evaluates the psychometric properties of the satisfaction ratings of the Quality of Life Profile Adolescent Version (QOLPAV). Data for 1,392 adolescents were used to check IRT assumptions such as unidimensionality and…

In the Swedish educational system, teachers have the dual responsibility of assigning final grades and marking their own students' national tests. The Government has mandated the Swedish Schools Inspectorate to remark samples of the national tests to see if teacher marking can be trusted. Reports from this project have concluded that intermarker…

Using a framework previously applied to other areas of media literacy, this study developed and assessed a measurement scale focused specifically on critical news media literacy. Our scale appears to successfully measure news media literacy as we have conceptualized it based on previous research, demonstrated through assessments of content,…

The concept of teacher accountability assumes teachers will use data-driven decision making to plan and deliver appropriate and effective instruction to their students. In order to do so, teachers must be able to accurately interpret the data that is given to them, and that requires the knowledge of some basic concepts of assessment and…

In this study, 7th grade students were observed completing a series of lessons in an online science course to explore their thinking and strategies for: (1) using curriculum resources for learning, (2) developing thinking and strategies for self-assessing "assessment readiness," and (3) exploring the relationship between resource use and…

This study examines whether the self-concepts, social skills, problem behaviors, and loneliness levels of students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive elementary classrooms differ from those of students without special educational needs (non-SEN). This study also aimed to identify the roles of self-concept, social skills, and problem…

The main purpose of this study is to develop and validate a valid measure of the early childhood (EC) English teacher knowledge. Through extensive literature review on second/foreign language (L2/FL) teacher knowledge, early childhood teacher knowledge and early childhood language teacher knowledge, and semi-structured interviews from current…

This paper presents the psychometric properties of a questionnaire measure that updates and extends Larrivee and Cook's (1979) Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming Scale in terms of structure, terminology, and language. The revised scale was tested using a sample of 106 teachers based in inclusive mainstream schools. Using Principal Component…

The purpose of this study is to determine the computer self-efficacy, performance outcome, personal outcome, and affect and anxiety level of physical education teachers. Influence of teaching experience, computer usage and participation of seminars or in-service programs on computer self-efficacy level were determined. The subjects of this study…

This study investigates the potential of video analysis and a mathematical knowledge for teaching framework, the Knowledge Quartet (KQ), in mathematics teacher education programmes. It reports on the effectiveness of these tools in analysing and supporting secondary level pre-service mathematics teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical…

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the learning patterns of higher education students from Spain and three Latin-American countries (Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela). For this purpose Vermunt's Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) was translated into Spanish and tested. The participants were 456 undergraduates enrolled in a teacher…

The present study investigated teachers' and teacher aides' (TAs) agreement in their ratings of preschoolers' externalizing behavior and their associations with observed classroom behavior for a sample of children at risk of developing a disruptive behavior disorder. One hundred twenty-two teachers rated 360 students' externalizing behavior in the…