Describes a "gradebook program" capable of recording, editing, recoding, weighting, and scaling multiple choice test scores. (SK)

Describes the two-day library orientation offered to all incoming sophomore English classes at Quincy High and Vocational Technical Schools in Milton, Massachusetts. Computer-scored pretests allow librarians to tailor the basic orientation package to the needs of each class. (SJL)

Describes the development of a task-based test, Taaltoets Instroom Beroepsopleiding (TIBO), designed to measure whether nonnative adult speakers of Dutch posses the level of Dutch required to enter vocational training in the industrial sector. Focuses on three tensions that had to be considered throughout the process of test development.…

Discusses factors that should be considered when designing multiple-choice diagnostic tests for use with microcomputer systems. Item content and characteristics are described, presentation of feedback and results are examined, database management functions are discussed, and benefits for students with learning problems and physically disabled…

Describes a teacher support system which is a computer-based workstation that provides support for teachers and administrators by integrating teacher utility programs, instructional management software, administrative packages, and office automation tools. Hardware is described and software components are explained, including database managers,…

Discussion of expert systems and computerized adaptive tests describes two versions of EXSPRT, a new approach that combines uncertain inference in expert systems with sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) stopping rules. Results of two studies comparing EXSPRT to adaptive mastery testing based on item response theory and SPRT approaches are…

Reviews the potential of word processors for changing the ways in which students process written text and think about writing. Three levels of computer-aided writing are considered: simple word processors; computer-aided writing programs; and higher-level computer-aided processing; and improvements in writing quality. (41 references) (LRW)

This article shares how four students with severe disabilities in one Kentucky classroom achieved a "distinguished" rating, the highest rating, on their alternate portfolios by using the IntelliKeys keyboard as an alternative computer input device for the production of the alternate portfolio. It discusses tips for customizing IntelliKeys…

Describes a software system that allows teachers and students in practically any subject to make interactive expert systems of quizzes on the Internet. Discusses the design of the system, including building a database of questions and answers; integrating text files of questions and answers with JavaScript-HTML pages; and the JavaScript and HTML…

This paper reports the results of a dual-task experiment which investigates the nature of working memory resources used in sentence comprehension. Participants read sentences of varying syntactic complexity (containing subject-and object-extracted relative clauses) while remembering one or three nouns (similar to or dissimilar from the…

For some districts, the current obsession with data grows out of the need to comply with No Child Left Behind and additional accountability-related mandates. For others, it dates way back before the phrase "data-driven decision making" rolled so frequently off the tongues of educators. In either case, there is no denying that an integral…

Computer-assisted assessment (CAA) has become increasingly important in education in recent years. A variety of computer software systems have been developed to help assess the performance of students at various levels. However, such systems are primarily designed to provide objective assessment of students and analysis of test items, and focus…

Providing a better education for visually-impaired learners is an objective pursued by many scientists and academics. Over the last few decades, in particular, the introduction of new technologies into education has created a number of innovative tools to assist in improving educational methods. One of the key areas where such innovations can be…

Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALGains) is a Web-based instrument for measuring student perception of their learning in a variety of courses. The authors adapted this instrument to measure students' achieved proficiency in analyzing cases in an advanced business communication class. The instrument showed that students did achieve a high…

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)'s Evaluation Online (EON) offers a variety of options to faculty who want to solicit formative feedback electronically. Researchers interviewed faculty who have used this system for midterm student evaluation to examine their perceptions of it. In general, instructors reported that collecting…