This paper describes a study that evaluates fifteen-year-old Chilean students Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. The paper presents an operational definition of ICT skills, an instrument measuring these skills as well as the students' results in the test. The definition of ICT skills used considers Chile's curricular framework,…

Past research with the Communication Attitude Test (CAT) has shown it to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing speech-associated attitude of children who stutter (CWS). However, in Japan, the CAT has not been used extensively to examine the communication attitude of CWS. The purpose of this study was to determine if a Japanese version…

Objective: To develop and validate measures of parental social support to increase their child's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. Design: Cross-sectional study design. Setting: School and home. Participants: Two hundred three parents with at least 1 elementary school-aged child. Main Outcome Measure: Parents completed a questionnaire that…

This article introduces the development and validation of the spatial thinking ability test (STAT). The STAT consists of sixteen multiple-choice questions of eight types. The STAT was validated by administering it to a sample of 532 junior high, high school, and university students. Factor analysis using principal components extraction was applied…

A primary difficulty with music performance assessment is managing its subjective nature. To help improve objectivity, rubrics can be used to develop a set of guidelines for clearly assessing student performance. Moreover, rubrics serve as documentation for student achievement that provides music teachers with a written form of accountability.…

The construct of perfectionism is related to many important outcome variables. However, the term "perfectionism" has been defined in many different ways, and items comprising the different existing scales appear to be very different in content. The overarching aim of the present set of studies was to help clarify the specific…

The important yet under-researched role of item writers in the selection and adaptation of texts for high-stakes reading tests is investigated through a case study involving a group of trained item writers working on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). In the first phase of the study, participants were invited to reflect in…

Feedback to the test taker is a defining characteristic of diagnostic language testing (Alderson, 2005). This article reports on a study that investigated how much and in what ways students at a Taiwan university perceived the feedback to be useful on an online multiple-choice diagnostic English grammar test, both in general and by students of…

"Participation"--defined as engagement in life situations, including leisure and recreational activities--is associated with the improvement of people with disabilities' quality of life. Several specific instruments assess leisure, but none of them has been adapted to the Spanish context. The goal of this study is to adapt and validate the Spanish…

The central goal of this study was to create a new diagnostic tool to identify organic chemistry students' alternative conceptions related to acid strength. Twenty years of research on secondary and college students' conceptions about acids and bases has shown that these important concepts are difficult for students to apply to qualitative problem…

It is well documented that many successful individuals are challenged by cognitive-based disabilities that impact their performance in school and on tests. While commonly believed to be related mostly to the constructs of processing speed or reading fluency, there are other aspects of cognition that affect how an individual interacts with the…

The Happiness Scale Interval Study deals with survey questions on happiness, using verbal response options, such as "very happy" and "pretty happy". The aim is to estimate what degrees of happiness are denoted by such terms in different questions and languages. These degrees are expressed in numerical values on a continuous…

While from a technological perspective Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) systems have been improved considerably, previous studies have shown that the social aspect of the CSCL is often neglected or assumed to happen automatically by simply creating such virtual learning environments. By distinguishing between students' non-task…

Objectives: To carry out a preliminary exploration and measurement of therapy expectancy in adults with intellectual disabilities through the development and psychometric evaluation of the therapy expectation measure (TEAM). Design: The initial scale development phase combined top-down theory-driven and bottom-up data-driven processes to identify…

Validity evidence was gathered for the Academic Entitlement Questionnaire (AEQ). After reviewing entitlement literature, items were written to cover the breadth of academic entitlement. Results provide evidence for the substantive, structural, and external aspects of validity of the AEQ. Implications for research and use of the AEQ are discussed.…