This study examined whether practice testing with short-answer (SA) items benefits learning over time compared to practice testing with multiple-choice (MC) items, and rereading the material. More specifically, the aim was to test the hypotheses of "retrieval effort" and "transfer appropriate processing" by comparing retention…

The effect of different item formats (multiple choice and open) on gender differences in test performance was studied for the Swedish Diagrams, Tables, and Maps (DTM) test with 90 secondary school students. The change to open format resulted in no reduction in gender differences on the DTM. (SLD)

Gender differences in English proficiency as a function of testing method were examined by comparing the scores of a representative sample of Swedish secondary school students who took the national English test. It found that boys performed better than girls on the multiple-choice part, whereas girls did better on the free-response part that…

Presented in this symposium reader are nine papers, four of which deal with the theory and impact of the Rasch model on language testing and five of which discuss final examinations in secondary schools in both general and specific terms. The papers are: "Introduction to Rasch Measurement: Some Implications for Language Testing" (J. J.…