This study documents the transformation of a graduate-level course for teachers that had traditionally been taught in a face-to-face (f2f) model, in multiple sections, at a large university. By designing the course for online delivery and developing various interactive multimedia modules, the university was able to offer the course at a…

This report documents the development and validation of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) cognitive test battery. The cognitive test battery assesses growth between grades 8 and 12 in the content areas of reading comprehension, mathematics, science, and history/citizenship/geography. The battery was part of the NELS:88…

This paper traces developments in educational psychology and measurement that led to the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the application of educational measurement terms such as validity and reliability to testing. Use of a table of specifications for planning…

This study expands on research conducted by Bobbitt and Weaver (1992) that assessed the experience of beginning teachers in the context of the "crucible versus cradle" paradigm. Using nationally representative data on teachers from the National Center for Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of 1990-91, the analysis…

A study investigated the hypothesis that topic familiarity and assessed difficulty of a second language text correlated positively with performance on reading comprehension tests in languages for special purposes (LSP). Subjects were 177 advanced students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Ben Gurion University (Israel). Faculty from the…

College students' self-reported test anxiety levels in English, mathematics, physical science, and social science were compared to develop empirical support for the claim that students, in general, are more anxious about tests in rigorous academic subjects than in the humanities and to understand the curriculum-related sources of anxiety. It was…

A study of reading textbooks for English as a second language published in Japan evaluated 150 traditional reading textbooks and 32 new reading textbooks published for use in 1985. Traditional reading textbooks are those with main texts and notes and sometimes a few comprehension questions. New reading textbooks have main texts, comprehension…

The use of mass media as a means of learning a foreign language from the beginning of language study is discussed. Using the media enables many of the features of the natural language acquisition process to be brought into play in a way that much current language teaching material does not. This position is supported by recent research into the…

To examine how classroom conditions such as students' mean aptitude, materials used, and instructional time influence the amount of reading material covered, 12 first grade classrooms were each observed for 12 days over a 36-week period. Students' reading readiness and word recognition skills were tested prior to observation while group mean…

Greater knowledge about the practical application of Rasch technology can help in avoiding misapplications and confusions in testing programs. Equal interval curriculum-based scaling makes possible the following improvements in measuring basic skills achievement by enabling testing programs to: (1) individualize the difficulty level of…

The "Test Development Notebook" is a resource designed for the preparation of tests of literal comprehension for students in grades 1 through 12. This volume contains 200 multiple-choice cloze exercises taken from textbooks in mathematics, and the accompanying answer key. Each exercise carries the code letter of the section to which it belongs.…

The materials status report for the Berber languages, minority languages spoken in northern Africa, is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching various languages to English speakers. The report consists of: (1) a brief narrative description of the Berber language,…

This document accompanies the Conceptual Learning and Development Assessment Series IV: Noun, a test constructed to chart the conceptual development of individuals. As a technical manual, it contains information on the rationale, development, standardization, and reliability of the test, as well as essential information and statistical data for…

Reading selections from six Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) administered from 1947 to 1975 were analyzed to determine whether a decrease in the difficulty level of elementary and secondary textbooks, workbooks, and teachers' guides corresponded with the SAT score decline. Various indices of reading difficulty and challenge were used. Readability…

Four problems faced by the staff of the California Assessment Program (CAP) were solved by applying Rasch scaling techniques: (1) item cultural bias in the Entry Level Test (ELT) given to all first grade pupils; (2) nonlinear regression analysis of the third grade Reading Test scores; (3) comparison of school growth from grades two to three, using…