Statistical equating of scores from direct writing assessments is performed in Maryland to hold the difficulty of passing the Maryland Writing Test (MWT) equivalent from year to year and to allow a demonstration of growth in student writing achievement over the years. Passage of the test is a high school graduation requirement. Prior to…

This paper investigates the reliability of the Florida Performance Measurement Systems' Summative Observation instrument. Developed for the Florida Beginning Teacher Evaluation Program, it provides behavioral ratings for teachers in a classroom setting. Data came from ratings of videotapes of nine teachers conducting actual lessons by nine teams…

This research report describes changes made to the Inventory of Work-Relevant Values when it was revised for online use as a part of the Internet version of DISCOVER. Users will see the following differences between the online and CD-ROM versions of the inventory: 22 items rather than 61, simplified presentation, and the contribution of all items…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) measured mathematics and science achievement of middle school students in more than 40 countries. About one quarter of the tests' nearly 300 items were free response items requiring students to generate their own answers. Scoring these responses used a two-digit diagnostic code rubric…

A computer-assisted interaction analysis system that describes behavior in small groups and focuses on active clinical problem-solving was developed and tested. Teacher and class characteristics are incorporated into the simulation, allowing feedback for improvement of medical teaching skills. (TJH)

A study compared two methods of rating medical students' performances on history and physical examination: using checklists completed by standardized patients (SPs) and databases completed by students. Results of each method were correlated with ratings of students by three physicians for each SP-student encounter. Results showed checklists…

Social interactions between children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their teachers, peers, and parents are discussed. Problematic interactions may depend on social skills deficits. Changing the focus to ADHD children who are not experiencing social skills deficits may prove beneficial. A review of the previous literature…

The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) is a direct observation system specifically developed for use during physical education (PE; McKenzie, 1991; McKenzie, Sallis, & Nader, 1991). The purpose of this study was to validate the estimates of time spent in various physical activity intensities obtained with the paper and pencil…

This report provides a two-part evaluation of the IntelliMetric[SM] automated essay scoring system based on its performance scoring essays from the Analytic Writing Assessment of the Graduate Management Admission Test[TM] (GMAT[TM]). The IntelliMetric system performance is first compared to that of individual human raters, a Bayesian system…

We report an experiment examining the academic performance of undergraduate students in two special education college courses. The experimenter/professor taught both courses in which he presented curriculum material via written learn units (LUs) (Greer & Hogin, 1999) or in a lecture format across randomly selected weeks in a 12-week semester.…

This study compares mean ratings, inter-rater reliabilities, and the factor structure of items for online and paper student-rating forms from the University of Washington's Instructional Assessment System. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

On-line performance assessment was developed to maximize the usefulness of performance assessment and to minimize the time and labor costs incurred. This paper reports on the development of an on-line performance assessment instrument, focusing on the establishment and validation of the scoring rubric and its implementation in the Rasch model, the…

Although portfolio assessment is becoming increasingly popular, it may not survive unless portfolio scoring can meet the demands of large-scale assessment standards. The results of studies of interrater reliability with large-scale portfolio assessments have been mixed. This paper reports the scoring results of a nationwide portfolio pilot in…

In 1991, a student learning outcomes assessment was conducted at Wenatchee Valley College, Washington. All English 101 students in the winter and spring quarters of 1990 wrote a 2-hour final exam. Winter quarter students wrote on the same topic while spring quarter students wrote on one of three randomly assigned topics. Five English 101…

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS) scores when considering the scores of the first four individual domains (Instructional Strategies, Management and Organization, Presentation of Subject Matter, and Learning Environment), the sum of the scores of Domains I through IV, and the overall…