The purpose of the report is to explore some of the mechanisms involved in the writing process. In particular, we examine students' process data (keystroke log analysis) to uncover how students approach a knowledge-telling task using 2 different task types. In the first task, students were asked to list as many words as possible related to a…

In the area of large scale assessment, there is increasing interest in the measurement of students' written performance. At issue is whether the task demands in writing assessment can be simplified to involve the production of paragraph-length writing samples and/or multiple choice testing, rather than full-length essays. This study considers data…

This study investigated the nature of field independence by exploring the structure underlying responses to Forms A and B of a multiple-choice measure of field-independence, the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT). Subjects included 302 students (52.7% male) enrolled in mathematics courses at a university in the southern United States. Students…

The relationship of multiple-choice and free-response items on the College Board's Advanced Placement Computer Science Examination was studied using confirmatory factor analysis. Results with 2 samples of 1,000 high school students suggested that the most parsimonious fit was achieved using a single factor. Implications for construct validity are…

A study was conducted to assess the validity of translations of two different forms of a licensing examination for cosmetologists in Florida to ensure that both Spanish and English candidates have equal chances of being licensed. The LISREL computer program was used to test the equivalence of factor structure, units of measurement, and standard…

A questionnaire concerning attitudes toward the importance of communication skills and toward different modes of communication was administered to 290 incoming freshmen at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Students responded to one of two types of a 38-item questionnaire: a multiple choice, or Likert-type (strongly agree...strongly…