We investigated whether and to what extent different scoring instructions, timing conditions, and direct feedback affect performance and speed. An experimental study manipulating these factors was designed to address these research questions. According to the factorial design, participants were randomly assigned to one of twelve study conditions.…

Learners are often constrained by their available study time, typically having to make a trade-off between depth and breadth of learning. Classic experimental paradigms in memory research treat all items as equally important, but this is unlikely the case in reality. Rather, information varies in importance, and people vary in their ability to…

There is interest in admission criteria that predict future success in biomedical graduate school programs, but identifying predictors of PhD attainment is inherently complex. In particular, high noncompletion rates of PhD programs have long been recognized as a major crisis. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of the PhD students enrolled in…

The growing concern of doctoral student persistence has increased exponentially in higher education over the past decade. The body of research presented in this dissertation examines the complex phenomenon of persistence and possible pathways to addressing the dilemma of deteriorating academic persistence for doctoral students. It explores and…

An analysis of 1955 physics graduate students from 19 Ph.D. programs shows that undergraduate grade point average predicts graduate grades and Ph.D. completion more effectively than GRE scores. Students' undergraduate GPA (UGPA) and GRE Physics (GRE-P) scores are small but statistically significant predictors of graduate course grades, while GRE…

This report investigates whether the time between scoring sessions has an influence on operational and nonoperational scoring accuracy. The study evaluates raters' scoring accuracy on constructed-response essay responses for the "GRE"® General Test. Binomial linear mixed-effect models are presented that evaluate how the effect of various…

A significant amount of research has been documented on both attrition and retention of doctoral students. The attrition of doctoral students is a loss to society and academia when the prospective scholar does not complete the rigors of the dissertation journey. The time and money invested by the graduate students and the university is of no true…

Besides traditional admissions criteria, research-intensive social work PhD programs may rely on personal interviews and curriculum vitae or resumes to gauge prior research experience to determine applicants' fit for the research-related productivity expected in their programs. Case record review of social work PhD candidates (n=56) entering the…

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…

Data from 181 college students were used to assess whether math reasoning item response times in computerized testing can provide valid and reliable measures of a speed dimension. The alternate forms reliability of the speed dimension was .85. A two-dimensional structural equation model suggests that the speed dimension is related to the accuracy…

If numerical reasoning items are administered under time limits, will two dimensions be required to account for the responses, a numerical ability dimension and a speed dimension? A total of 182 college students answered 74 numerical reasoning items. Every item was taken with and without time limits by half the students. Three psychometric models…

College students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often request and receive extended time to complete high-stakes exams and classroom tests. This study examined the performances and behaviors of college students on computerized simulations of high-stakes exams. Thirty-five college students with ADHD were compared to 185 typical…

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…

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…

Cognitive complexity level is important for measuring both aptitude and achievement in large-scale testing. Tests for standards-based assessment of mathematics, for example, often include cognitive complexity level in the test blueprint. However, little research exists on how mathematics items can be designed to vary in cognitive complexity level.…