Building on the Kelley and Gulliksen versions of classical test theory, this article shows that a logistic model having only a single item parameter can account for varying item discrimination, as well as difficulty, by using item-test correlations to adjust incorrect-correct (0-1) item responses prior to an initial model fit. The fit occurs…

The problem examined in this study: Does the majority of teachers use rigorous teaching and testing practices? The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the classroom techniques of six effective teachers who use rigorous teaching and testing practices. The hypothesis for this study is that the examination of the…

This paper examines the Algebra II course and California Star Test (CST) proficiency levels in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the State of California. CST proficiency levels are examined by grade level for the State and nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area region. Algebra II is shown to be one of the more complicated courses in the CSU…

The population sensitivity of vertical scaling results was evaluated for a state reading assessment spanning grades 3-10 and a state mathematics test spanning grades 3-8. Subpopulations considered included males and females. The 3-parameter logistic model was used to calibrate math and reading items and a common item design was used to construct…

Cellular processes that rely on knowledge of molecular behavior are difficult for students to comprehend. For example, thorough understanding of meiosis requires students to integrate several complex concepts related to chromosome structure and function. Using a grounded theory approach, we have unified classroom observations, assessment data, and…

One of the applications applied most nowadays is web based instruction (WBI). Although there are many studies on WBI, no study which researched the relations between beliefs for WBI, WBI tools acceptance levels and web pedagogical content knowledge (WPCK) of science and technology pre-service teachers was found among these studies. The aim of this…

This article examines the reading of leveled books and the assessment of students' reading levels in a public school classroom. The purpose of the research study was to examine how these processes of assessment, which often go unnoticed, shaped the ways reading and readers were defined. The research was located in a third grade, public school…

Researchers studied components of a two-year school-wide Striving Readers intervention aimed at bolstering middle school teachers' use of literacy strategies to raise students' reading achievement. Although students of intervention teachers had significantly higher Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores than students of non-participating…

This study investigated the effects of visual cues in multiple external representations (MER) environment on the learning performance of novices' program comprehension. Program codes and flowchart diagrams were used as dual representations in multimedia environment to deliver lessons on C-Programming. 17 field independent participants and 16 field…

The objective of this study was to test whether information presented on slides during presentations is retained at the expense of information presented only orally, and to investigate part of the conditions under which this effect occurs, and how it can be avoided. Such an effect could be expected and explained either as a kind of redundancy…

Research on the use of software programs and tools such as pedagogical agents has peaked over the last decade. Pedagogical agents are on-screen characters that facilitate instruction. This meta-analysis examined the effect of using pedagogical agents on learning by reviewing 43 studies involving 3,088 participants. Analysis of the results…

The purpose of the two experiments was to investigate the potential effects of different types of visualizations and self-explanation prompts on learning human cardiovascular system in a multimedia environment. In Experiments 1 and 2, 70 and 44 college students were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design with…

While gender and racial/ethnic performance gaps in math and science have been well documented, we know little about how students feel while they are in these courses. Using a sample of 793 high school students who participated in the Experience Sampling Method of the Study of Youth and Social Development, this study examines the gender and…

Current assessment practices in the United States are not able to accurately capture the total linguistic, cognitive, and achievement abilities of bilingual learners. There are psychometric complexities involved when assessing and interpreting test results of bilingual students, which impact the validity of this practice. Further, the compromise…

As a nation, society benefits from an educated populace. At a time when economic, environmental, social, and security issues are the focus of many conversations in businesses, industries, government offices, schools, and homes, policymakers turn their attention to the further development of human capital. Educators acknowledge that they have key…