Discusses the need for language-specific versions of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines, including speaking tests based on the simulated oral proficiency interview; listening/reading comprehension tests with items linked to the ACTFL guidelines and Interagency Language Roundtable skill level descriptions;…

Describes Accelerated Reader (AR), a computer software program that promotes reading; discusses AR hardware requirements; explains how it is used for book selection and testing in schools; assesses the program's strengths and weaknesses; and describes how Grant and Madison Elementary Schools (Muscatine, Iowa) have used the program effectively.…

Examined the effectiveness of a nonbiased computerized language screening test, the Kidtalk Interactive Diagnostic Test of Aptitude for Language Knowledge (KIDTALK), in differentiating children on basis of diagnostic category but not ethnic/linguistic background. Found a significant difference between scores of the language learning disabled and…

Describes how to plan an online course based on experiences with a college computer-science course. Topics include course layout, HTML conversion, uploading files to the server and editing, online testing, the initial class meeting, student course evaluations, a summary of student perceptions, and course revisions. (LRW)

Evaluated the reliability of a computerized version of the Healthy Start Knowledge Quiz for preschool children. Students completed the computerized test, and data analysis indicated that it was reliable for assessing general health-related knowledge in preschool children from diverse backgrounds, and it was easy to administer with a flexible…

Describes how to construct questions to test all cognitive levels of learning for a course in introductory programming. The framework for learning is based on Bloom's taxonomy. Practical advice is given through examples and by describing a computer system to help deliver quizzes. Includes example questions. (Author/AEF)

Reports on a longitudinal study using the computer-based cognitive assessment system CoPS, and considers the applicability of this system in the early identification of cognitive strengths and limitations that affect the development of reading. Concludes that short-term memory is an important predictor variable for reading, in addition to the more…

Discusses trends in Web-based learning environments. Highlights include common features of existing Web-based learning environments; challenges; the large amount of available online educational material; adaptation and dynamic interaction; real-time interaction; and monitoring online testing. (LRW)

In an engineering technology course at Coventry University (England), the utility of computer-assisted tests was compared with that of traditional paper-based tests. It was found that the computer-based technique was acceptable to students, produced valid results, and demonstrated potential for saving staff time. (Author/MSE)

In two experiments, poor and normal Dutch readers, matched for reading age, were presented with visual matching tasks on a computer screen. In the first experiment, word and pseudoword letter strings were used. Poor readers needed more time to decode uppercase/lowercase pairs, especially when the pairs consisted of pseudowords. Experiment 2…

Describes two studies that evaluated the effectiveness of a World Wide Web-based formative assessment package used in undergraduate psychology courses. Students taking online multiple-choice tests received instant feedback, and results showed that students who used the package performed better than those who did not. (Author/LRW)

Examined the generalizability and validity and examinee perceptions of a computer-delivered version of 8 formulating-hypotheses tasks administered to 192 graduate students. Results support previous research that has suggested that formulating-hypotheses items can broaden the abilities measured by graduate admissions measures. (SLD)

Systems that automatically assess student programming assignments have been designed and used for over forty years. Systems that objectively test and mark student programming work were developed simultaneously with programming assessment in the computer science curriculum. This article reviews a number of influential automatic assessment systems,…

This study investigated the "the effects of receiving the preferred form of online assessment feedback upon middle school mathematics students." Students completed a Web-based quadratics equations learning module followed by a randomly generated online quiz that they could practise as often as they liked. The effect of receiving their preferred…

Computer Aided Learning of Mathematics (CALM) has been in use for some time in the Prep-Year Mathematics Program at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. Different kinds of software (both locally designed and imported) have been used in the quest of optimizing the recitation/problem session hour of the mathematics classes. This paper…