Computer adaptive testing is the study of scoring tests and questions based on assumptions concerning the mathematical relationship between examinees' ability and the examinees' responses. Adaptive student tests, which are based on item response theory (IRT), have many advantages over conventional tests. We use the least square method, a…

This study looks at a specific application of Ainsworth's conceptual framework for learning with multiple representations in the context of using multiple sequential graphic organizers that are student-generated for a process-writing task. Process writing refers to writing that consists of multiple drafts. It may be a process of re-writing without…

A long-established agency for troubled children was following a philosophy based on behavioral control and treatment of pathology. As staff examined their beliefs about the process of change, the climate evolved from enforcing behavior control to empowering youth to develop positive strengths. A charter school was created and new behavior…

In this report, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) explores the role of coaching in first-year (Cohort 4) America's Choice schools in grades K-8 as it relates to the implementation of readers and writers workshops, referred throughout this report as the literacy workshops. The authors describe the America's Choice coaching…

This book presents a selection of the research and papers presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the College Reading Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October, 2006. This Yearbook begins with Karen Bromley's presidential address, which explored the future of writing by discussing four predictions: the notion that pens and pencils will be…

This report presents results from a multisite, quantitative evaluation of the international Spirituality for Kids (SFK) after-school program. Despite its name, SFK is a nonreligious program that seeks to build resilience in children by teaching them to access inner resources and build positive connections with others. The SFK program is unlike…

This report summarizes the 2007-2008 program evaluation results of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) -- University of Texas partnership to improve math instruction in all AISD high schools and thus increase student math achievement across the district.

This study used semi-parametric group-based modeling to explore unconditional and conditional trajectories of self-reported depressed mood from ages 12 to 25 years. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 11,559), 4 distinct trajectories were identified: no depressed mood, stable low depressed mood, early…

Since English has been an international language, how to enhance English levels of people by useful computer assisted learning forms or tools is a critical issue in non-English speaking countries because it definitely affects the overall competition ability of a country. With the rapid growth of wireless and mobile technologies, the mobile…

For the thirty-sixth year, 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 Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This report contains results of a field test conducted to determine the relationship between a Graduate Records Examination (GRE) linear computer-based test (CBT) and a paper-and-pencil (P&P) test with the same items. Recent GRE examinees participated in the field test by taking either a CBT or the P&P test. Data from the field test…

The Study Group on Violence is recommending the implementation of several initial steps that can begin to alleviate the repercussions of pervasive violence in U.S. homes, individual communities and society as a whole. When the Study Group began examining the impact of violence on very young children, their families and practitioners, it realized…

This research reports on an ethnographic study of Marquesas Islanders and their concepts of violent and aggressive behavior. The study interviewed six mothers about their children's behavior at three stages of early life: (1) infants and toddlers; (2) school-aged children; and (3) adolescents. Analysis of the research suggests that violence is…

Criticisms of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) have included speculation that the listening test places too much burden on short-term memory as compared with comprehension, that a knowledge of reading is required to respond successfully, and that many items appear to require mere recall and matching rather than higher-order…

Papers by graduate students, and occasionally papers from their mentors which establish a context for the student papers, are organized into four sections. Section 1, "Observation," includes two papers, "Observation Children at a Puppet Theater Performance" (Grace Johnson), and "Manipulations: Clay Construction" (Kim Spradling). Section 2,…