This article describes the process of developing and implementing a quick Web-based screening test designed for the purpose of identifying, within a large, culturally diverse population of undergraduates enrolled at an English-medium university, those students unlikely to require English language support during their 1st year of academic study.…

A graduate level course in library and information science was revised from face-to-face instruction to a blended learning model utilizing on site, interactive television, and online classes. This study investigates three related questions: (1) Will students provide detailed feedback if given the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey? (2)…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first the paper aims to sketch the theoretical basis for the use of electronic portfolios for prior learning assessment; second it endeavours to introduce latent semantic analysis (LSA) as a powerful method for the computation of semantic similarity between texts and a basis for a new observation link…

Online assessments afford many advantages for teachers and students. Okolo (2006) stated, "As the power, sophistication, and availability of technology have increased in the classroom, online assessments have become a viable tool for providing the type of frequent and dynamic assessment information that educators need to guide instructional…

The process of teacher identification, selection, initial training, and on-going professional development that has developed at the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) over the past seven years is described and discussed in this article. Validation was based upon existing practices and research. To provide background the creation and initial…

This study explored e-learning problems and solutions reported by 223 students with disabilities, 58 campus disability service providers, 28 professors, and 33 e-learning professionals from Canadian colleges and universities. All four groups indicated, via online questionnaires, problems with: accessibility of websites and course/learning…

The equivalence of pencil and paper Rasch item calibrations when used in a computer adaptive test administration was explored in this study. Items (n=726) were precalibarted with the pencil and paper test administrations. A computer adaptive test was administered to 321 medical technology students using the pencil and paper precalibrations in the…

When examinees are allowed to review responses on an adaptive test, can they "cheat" the adaptive algorithm in order to take an easier test and improve their performance? Theoretically, deliberately answering items incorrectly will lower the examinee ability estimate and easy test items will be administered. If review is then allowed,…

This paper explains the multifacet technology for analyzing performance examinations and the fair average method of setting criterion standards. The multidimensional nature of performance examinations requires that multiple and often different facets elements of a candidate's examination form be accounted for in the analysis. After this is…

Recent advances in psychometrics and computer technology encourage the development of model-based methods of individualized testing on a microcomputer, where each examinee receives short tests and where the number of pretest items that can be administered is severely restricted. On-line (i.e., data is collected on operational equipment) methods…

In the periodic testing environment associated with conventional paper-and-pencil tests, the frequency with which items are seen by test-takers is tightly controlled in advance of testing by policies that regulate both the reuse of test forms and the frequency with which candidates may take the test. In the continuous testing environment…

This digest discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using item banks, and it provides useful information for those who are considering implementing an item banking project in their school districts. The primary advantage of item banking is in test development. Using an item response theory method, such as the Rasch model, items from multiple…

Although computerized adaptive tests acquire their efficiency by successively selecting items that provide optimal measurement at each examinee's estimated level of ability, operational testing programs will typically consider additional factors in item selection. In practice, items are generally selected with regard to at least three, often…

This study developed a model to simulate nonmodel-fitting responses in a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) environment, and to examine the effectiveness of the model. The underlying idea was to simulate examinees' test behaviors realistically. This study simulated a situation in which examinees are exposed to or are coached on test items before…

An expert/novice paradigm is applied to the development of a computer-assisted test of spatial aptitude. The qualitative differences in encoding and solution strategies between high and low "spatials" were demonstrated. Initial efforts focused on the ubiquitous figural analogy test ("A:B::C:D"). Converging evidence from a…