The study was conducted in a school for special education with small classes of six to 12 students. The aim was to illuminate how students' understanding of written assessments could be related to assessment for learning. Twenty-nine students were asked to describe their understanding of written assessment in three different subjects and, further,…

This study assessed trait validity of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales' (RIAS) Verbal Index (VIX) and Nonverbal Index (NIX) scores in a group of college students. Using both observation of patterns and latent variable modeling of a multitrait-multimethod correlation/covariance matrix, the results indicate that the RIAS VIX scores…

This article describes a pilot study following on from a curriculum development activity with teachers and children in primary school classrooms, using a framework for group discussion developed by Huthwaite International. The Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University and Huthwaite International worked with teachers from three…

Santelices and Wilson (2010) claimed to have addressed technical criticisms of Freedle (2003) presented in Dorans (2004a) and elsewhere. Santelices and Wilson's abstract claimed that their study confirmed that SAT[R] verbal items do function differently for African American and White subgroups. In this commentary, I demonstrate that the…

The authors argue that upon publication of a paper, the data should be made available through online archives or repositories. Reasons for not sharing data are discussed and contrasted with advantages of sharing, which include abiding by the scientific principle of openness, keeping the data for posterity, increasing one's impact, facilitation of…

This two-part study sought to determine the equivalence of the California Verbal Learning Tests (CVLT-1 and CVLT-2) in the detection of malingering in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic pain. Part 1 compared a variety of scores from the two versions in carefully matched patient groups. Part 2 used criterion groups (known-groups) methodology…

The objective of present research is to conduct validity and reliability analysis of the verbal section of Test of Pretended Play that will measure pretended play behaviors of pre-school age children (3-6 years of age). Test of Pretended Play was first developed by Vicky Lewis and Jill Boucher in 1997. This test aimed to measure pretended play…

The in-class essay is not an effective means to assess student ability in a history exam. History teachers should instead ask short-answer questions in order to test what the American Historical Association calls "objective" knowledge: the ability to identify concepts, historical actors, organizations, events, and so forth. Such questions,…

Background: University Entrance Examinations provide information the student's opportunities to succeed in their academic university career. However, the current foreign language paper of the Spanish University Entrance Examination does no permit to obtain enough evidence to make academic inferences. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was…

A final year nutrition assessment (37 students) using oral viva was compared to the previous year's written paper. 14 students were asked to provide feedback on their experience of the oral viva. There appears to be no statistically significant difference between the mean marks of each assessment. Students expressed a range of views on the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a conversation intervention including 500 min of linguistically and cognitively complex talk on the expressive vocabulary growth of prekindergarten children. Method: Children (N = 73) were randomly assigned to control or a 10-week experimental intervention condition. Twice…

There has been relatively little research on the pre-conceptions of doctoral students about the final examination, the viva voce and hence there is a shortage of evidence to underpin activities designed to prepare them for this experience. The present paper, which is based upon data from a wide range of focus groups of pre-viva students, seeks to…

Including speaking tasks in the foreign language paper of the Spanish University Entrance Examination (PAU) has been inexistent in the last 15 years. However, the implications can be seen in shape of pressure on teachers to get students ready for such tasks in just three years (2009-2012). Because of the high stakes consequences attached to this…

This study examines the stability of the SAT® scale from 1994 to 2001. A 1994 form and a 2001 form were readministered in a 2005 SAT administration, and the 1994 form was equated to the 2001 form. The new conversion was compared to the old conversion. Both the verbal and math sections exhibit a similar degree of scale drift, but in opposite…

In 2003, the "Harvard Educational Review" published a controversial article by Roy Freedle that claimed bias against African American students in the SAT college admissions test. Freedle's work stimulated national media attention and faced an onslaught of criticism from experts at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the agency…