Increasingly, instructors of large, introductory STEM courses are having students actively engage during class by answering multiple-choice concept questions individually and in groups. This study investigates the use of a technology-based tool that allows students to answer such questions during class. The tool also allows the instructor to…

Academic reading proficiently is characterized by the ability to perform cognitive tasks associated with interpreting text. Researchers developed an externally validated Informal Academic Reading Proficiency Test to gauge undergraduates' academic reading proficiency. A cross-sectional study of 23 classes completed the reading test in 2014. This…

The authors have compared students discussing multiple-choice quizzes during peer instruction with and without the initial thinking period before discussion. Video clips of students engaged in peer discussion in groups of three of varying group combinations, a total of 140 different students in all, were compared to students' own experiences…

In order to promote sustained and impactful educational transformation, it is essential for change agents to understand more about faculty perceptions associated with either adopting or not adopting a research-based instructional strategy (RBIS). In this paper, we use interviews with 35 physics faculty to examine barriers and affordances to the…

We explored the feasibility of using automated scoring to assess upper-elementary students' reading ability through analysis of transcripts of students' small-group discussions about texts. Participants included 35 fourth-grade students across two classrooms that engaged in a literacy intervention called Quality Talk. During the course of one…

This study highlights how teaching a research methods course to undergraduate students can be a successful endeavor when active learning is the main method of learning and teaching. In this study, the effectiveness of using active learning in the experimental group to achieve the learning outcomes and final product of a freshman-year writing and…

We explored the feasibility of using automated scoring to assess upper-elementary students' reading ability through analysis of transcripts of students' small-group discussions about texts. Participants included 35 fourth-grade students across two classrooms that engaged in a literacy intervention called Quality Talk. During the course of one…

This study aimed at developing a module in physics based on the assessment of the learning progression of students in physics and science teachers' formative assessment practices. The participants in this study were the Grade 11 students and Junior High School science teachers for the data gathering, science teachers for the design and development…

Two studies measured the impact on student exam performance and exam completion time of strategies aimed to reduce the amount of paper used for printing multiple-choice course exams. Study 1 compared single-sided to double-sided printed exams. Study 2 compared a single-column arrangement of multiple-choice answer options to a space (and paper)…

Background: Valid assessment of the understanding of Newton's mechanics is highly relevant to both physics classrooms and research. Several tests have been developed. What remains missing, however, is an efficient and fair test of conceptual understanding that is adapted to the content taught to secondary school students and that can be validly…

Peer tutoring has generated a great deal of scholarly interest in the field of education. It is viewed as an essential instructional strategy for inclusive education because it constitutes one of the strongholds of cooperative learning. This study examines the effect of peer tutoring and the moderating effect of gender on the academic performance…

This study aimed at constructing a criterion-reference test to measure the research and statistical competencies of graduate students at the Jordanian governmental universities, the test has to be in its first form of (50) multiple choice items, then the test was introduced to (5) arbitrators with competence in measurement and evaluation to…

This study investigated the effects of practical activities and manual on science students' academic performance on solubility in Uruan Local Education Authority of Akwa Ibom State. The study adopted pretest, posttest non randomized quasi experimental design. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. One…

In preparation for online administration of the ACT® test, ACT conducted studies to examine the comparability of scores between online and paper administrations, including a timing study in fall 2013, a mode comparability study in spring 2014, and a second mode comparability study in spring 2015. This report presents major findings from these…

This study compared several exposure control procedures for CAT systems based on the three-parameter logistic testlet response theory model (Wang, Bradlow, & Wainer, 2002) and Masters' (1982) partial credit model when applied to a pool consisting entirely of testlets. The exposure control procedures studied were the modified within 0.10 logits…