This paper reports the theoretical conceptualisation, statistical development, and application of an Implementation Index to evaluate the quality of implementation of the KidsMatter Primary school mental health initiative in Australia. Questionnaires were received from the parents and teachers of almost 5000 students, and also from KidsMatter…

The need for increased exam security, improved test formats, more flexible scheduling, better measurement, and more efficient administrative processes has caused testing agencies to consider converting the administration of their exams from paper-and-pencil to computer-based testing (CBT). Many decisions must be made in order to provide an optimal…

In recent years much attention has focused on the role of enhancing a teacher's professional knowledge and skills in helping to improve the quality of early care experiences for young children birth-5. In the study reported here, an environmental scan of the early childhood professional development programs offered within the Extension system…

The purpose of this study was to adapt "Survey of Pre-service Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching and Technology" in order to assess pre-service primary teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to Turkish. 407 pre-service primary teachers (227 female and 180 male) in their final semester in Education Faculties in Turkey…

We report on a concept inventory for special relativity: the development process, data analysis methods, and results from an introductory relativity class. The Relativity Concept Inventory tests understanding of relativistic concepts. An unusual feature is confidence testing for each question. This can provide additional information; for example,…

Alternate assessments have been used for the last 10 years to evaluate schools' efforts to teach children with significant cognitive disabilities. However, few studies have examined the reading skills of children who participate in these assessments. The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of the reading skills of this population by…

In this paper the use of the Rasch model is explored as a transparent, systematic and theoretically underpinned response to quality issues that are widely recognised as problematic in the refinement of Likert scale questionnaires. Key issues are the choice of length of scale, the pursuit of a favourable estimate of Cronbach's alpha at the possible…

Research has shown that educators may be missing an under-identified population of approximately 10 percent of typically developing children, who have fluent, age-appropriate decoding and word recognition skills, yet have specific difficulties with other higher-level text processing factors. These children are said to have specific comprehension…

This paper describes one of the first efforts by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to improve measurement at the lower end of the distribution, including measurement for students with disabilities (SD) and English language learners (ELLs). One way to improve measurement at the lower end is to introduce one or more…

Classroom social capital utilizing constructs of student-teacher relationships were examined while focusing on their impact on student self-efficacy. The lack of positive student-teacher relationships may cause students to experience a disconnection within in the middle school classroom. Once this disconnection occurs, students may become…

Overwhelming evidence shows that domestic violence is a very serious problem affecting women in the United States. Black et al. (2010) report that approximately 34 million women in the United States, or approximately 30%, have experienced some form of violence including rape, physical, violence, and/or stalking in their lifetimes. Twenty-two…

As we move into the 21st century, educationalists are exploring the myriad of possibilities associated with Computer Based Assessment (CBA). At first glance this mode of assessment seems to provide many exciting opportunities in the mathematics domain, yet one must question the validity of CBA and whether our school systems, students and teachers…

In automated test assembly (ATA), the methodology of mixed-integer programming is used to select test items from an item bank to meet the specifications for a desired test form and optimize its measurement accuracy. The same methodology can be used to automate the formatting of the set of selected items into the actual test form. Three different…

The "Social Skills Improvement System" (SSIS; Gresham & Elliot, 2008) is designed to assist in the screening and classification of students (ages 8 to 18) who are suspected of having significant social skills deficits, and to offer support in the development of interventions for those found to display significant social skills…

For the fortieth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes.…