In many testing programs it is assumed that the context or position in which an item is administered does not have a differential effect on examinee responses to the item. Violations of this assumption may bias item response theory estimates of item and person parameters. This study examines the potentially biasing effects of item position. A…

Although admission criteria such as GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs (UGPAs) have been shown to moderately predict success in graduate school for students in other academic disciplines and in MSW programs, no published research has examined factors associated with success in social work PhD programs. This article reports the findings of a pilot…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which universities use the "GRE"® General Test scores to award merit-based fellowships to first-year graduate students in doctoral programs. While GRE use in fellowship award decisions is a common practice, there is very little validity evidence to support its use in this context.…

"Research Doctorate Programs in the Biomedical Sciences: Selected Findings from the NRC Assessment" examines data on the biomedical sciences programs to gather additional insight about the talent, training environment, outcomes, diversity, and international participation in the biomedical sciences workforce. This report supports an…

Secondary data on 1,028 graduate students nested within 24 programs and admitted into either a Ph. D. or Ed. D. program between 1990 and 2006 at an American public university were used to illustrate the benefits of employing multilevel discrete-time hazard analysis in understanding the timing of doctorate completion in Education and the factors…

Automated scoring models for the "e-rater"® scoring engine were built and evaluated for the "GRE"® argument and issue-writing tasks. Prompt-specific, generic, and generic with prompt-specific intercept scoring models were built and evaluation statistics such as weighted kappas, Pearson correlations, standardized difference in…

Over the past year, libraries have made the national news owing to soaring public usage driven by tough economic times. Much of this increased traffic stems from patrons coming to their local branches to use resources that will help them improve their chances at employment. While some demand practical job-hunting and career materials to help them…

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Tests and GRE advanced Psychology (PSYGRE) Test were correlated with several measures of success in our graduate program at Sam Houston State University including some specific courses. Significant correlations were obtained for several of these measures, but the PSYGRE provided incremental validity…

This article describes the rationale, implementation, and assessment of a summer-study format, part-time doctoral program that was designed to address the shortcomings of traditional part-time doctoral education in social welfare. Findings of a comparative analysis between 67 full-time and 52 part-time doctoral students suggest that the program…

Since 2006, the National Education Association (NEA) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) have been working collaboratively to support teacher candidates in preparing for "The Praxis Series"[TM] of teacher licensure assessments, currently used in 41 states and territories. Their focus has been particularly targeted to assisting minority…

This purpose of the present study was to estimate minimum admission requirements using cognitive measures that will maximize candidate success on the doctoral comprehensive examination. Moreover, the present study established minimum scores on the Graduate Record Examinations (verbal and quantitative components) that will maximize doctoral student…

The Online Post Baccalaureate Program is described along with indicators of how well the program met the goals of its developers during two years of implementation. Faculty aimed to develop a program that would satisfy students, offer a more accessible path into teaching for post baccalaureate candidates and compare favorably in quality to its…

This study was conducted at a research-extensive public university in the southeastern United States. It examined the retention and completion of master's degree students across numerous disciplines. Results were derived from a series of descriptive statistics, T-tests, and a series of binary logistic regression models. The findings from binary…

Females, students of color, and students of low socioeconomic status (SES) are often underserved or marginalized in mathematics education. However, some instructional approaches and intervention programs have been shown to educate these students more equitably. This study examines how girls of diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds…

A quantitative analysis of the admissions requirements guidelines of the education doctoral programs at the top 20 American universities was conducted. An Internet search was used to obtain information on top-ranked world and U.S. universities. Admission requirements typically include, at minimum, an application fee (mean 55.5 USD), previous…