Multiple-choice questions are widely used in higher education and have some important advantages over constructed-response test questions. It seems, however, that many teachers underestimate the value of multiple-choice questions, believing them to be useful only for assessing how well students can memorize information, but not for assessing…

Previous studies investigating posttest feedback have generally conceptualized feedback as a method for correcting erroneous responses, giving virtually no consideration to how feedback might promote learning of correct responses. Here, the authors show that when correct responses are made with low confidence, feedback serves to correct this…

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the choice between three multiple-choice listening comprehension test formats results in any difference in listening comprehension test performance. The three formats entail (a) allowing test takers to preview both the question stem and answer options prior to listening; (b) allowing test takers to…

The use of visual aids is expected to have a positive effect on students' learning. However, not all visual aids work equally well. A recent meta-analytic research which examined 42 studies has found that the use of animated visuals does not facilitate learning (Anglin, Vaez & Cunnincham, 2004). The failure of visual aids can be attributed to…

In spite of various definitions provided for it, language proficiency has been always a difficult concept to define and realize. However the commonality of all the definitions for this illusive concept is that language tests should seek to test the learners' ability to use real-life language. The best type of test to show such ability is…

Objective: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for children has been shown efficacious, but community access to it is often limited by the lack of trained therapists. This study evaluated a child, CBT-focused, 20-session weekly group supervision seminar with a didactic component which was provided to community mental health practitioners by…

New technology-enabled assessments offer the potential to understand more than just whether a student answered a test question right or wrong. Using multiple forms of media that enable both visual and graphical representations, these assessments present complex, multistep problems for students to solve and collect detailed information about an…

This paper introduces five commonly used approaches to analyzing multiple-choice test data. They are classical test theory, factor analysis, cluster analysis, item response theory, and model analysis. Brief descriptions of the goals and algorithms of these approaches are provided, together with examples illustrating their applications in physics…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of using two visual while-reading strategies, knowledge-mapping (KM) and underlining, on the performance of intermediate students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in multiple-choice reading comprehension tests. In doing so, 60 Iranian intermediate EFL students were selected from a…

Objective: To test the effectiveness of an in-training program for practitioners in public child welfare organizations. Method: The sample consists of practitioners (N = 945) working in youth centers or in local community service centers. Data are collected through self-administered questionnaires prior to and after the program. Results: The data…

Assessment of specialized programs, such as logistics and supply chain management program described here, may pose challenges because previous experience are less widely shared than in the more mainline subjects. This case study provides one model that may guide other faculties facing a similar assignment. The report detailed the steps followed to…

Quantitative item models are item structures that may be expressed in terms of mathematical variables and constraints. An item model may be developed as a computer program from which large numbers of items are automatically generated. Item models can be used to produce large numbers of items for use in traditional, large-scale assessments. But…

Integrity[TM], an online application for testing both the statistical integrity of the test and the academic integrity of the examinees, was evaluated for this review. Program features and the program output are described. An overview of the statistics in Integrity[TM] is provided, and the application is illustrated with a small simulation study.…

Surprising version-dependent differences are noted in student performance on certain questions in a standardized general chemistry exam. The exam in question has two versions, on which both questions and answers are ordered differently. For the questions suspected of answer-order bias, the performance is better in ten of twelve cases when students…

This article explores elementary school teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and the relationship between such knowledge and teacher characteristics. The Learning Mathematics for Teaching project administered a multiple-choice assessment covering topics in number and operation to a nationally representative sample of teachers (n = 625)…