The authors develop an original measure of learning in higher education, based on grades in subsequent courses. Using this measure of learning, they show that student evaluations are positively related to current grades but unrelated to learning once current grades are controlled. They offer evidence that the weak relationship between learning and…

This study investigated the relationships among Hong Kong Chinese students' reading attainment in Chinese and English, their attitudes toward reading, and their self-concept as readers. The sample consisted of 1,232 fourth-grade students from thirty-eight primary schools. Predictably, the students' reading attainment was better when tested in…

In educational effectiveness research, multilevel data analyses are often used because research units (most frequently, pupils or teachers) are studied that are nested in groups (schools and classes). This hierarchical data structure complicates designing the study because the structure has to be taken into account when approximating the accuracy…

The online deployment of Technology Engineered online Student Ratings of Instruction (SRIs) by colleges and universities in the United States has dynamically changed the deployment of course evaluation. This research investigation is the fourth part of a post hoc study that analytically and psychometrically examines the design, reliability, and…

This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships…

Psychometric practice does not always converge with the advances of psychometric theory. In order to investigate this gap, the authors focus on the 10 most used psychological tests in Europe, as identified by recent surveys. The article analyzes test manuals published in 6 different European countries for these 10 most used tests. A total of 32…

This research evaluated the inter-rater reliability of the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). Multiple methods for estimating overall rater consistency include percent agreement and Cohen's Kappa (1960), which yielded discrepancies between rater agreement in terms of whether candidates passed or failed particular PACT rubrics.…

The National Student Survey (NSS) of course experience satisfaction is sent to final year students of all higher education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (N = 171,290 and 157,342 students in 2005 and 2006) and results are made publicly available. The present investigation assesses the reliability and appropriate use…

During the early stage of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), item selection criteria based on Fisher"s information often produce less stable latent trait estimates than the Kullback-Leibler global information criterion. Robustness against early stage instability has been reported for the D-optimality criterion in a polytomous CAT with the…

Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to changes in the liking of an affectively neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus, or CS) following the pairing of that stimulus with another stimulus of affective value (the unconditioned stimulus, or US). In 3 experiments, the authors assessed contingency awareness, that is, awareness of the CS-US…

The results of the Romanian pupils on international tests PISA and TIMSS in Mathematics are below the average. These poor results have many explications. In this article we compare the Mathematics problems given on these international tests with those given on national tests in Romania.

Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active![R] is an after-school curriculum that seeks to empower young people aged 11 to 13 years to make healthful choices about nutrition and physical activity by helping them understand how media can influence their lives. This is a unique intervention for young people in that it addresses four key areas of…

Over the past twenty years in performance testing a specific item type with distinguishing characteristics has arisen time and time again. It's been invented independently by dozens of test development teams. And yet this item type is not recognized in the research literature. This article is an invitation to investigate the item type, evaluate…

As technology integration continues to gain importance, preservice teachers must develop higher levels of confidence and proficiency in using technology in their classrooms (Kay, 2006). The acceptance of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has…

Drawing on studies of teachers, accountants and pharmacists conducted in Canada, this essay examines models for assessing professional learning that currently enjoy widespread use in continuing education. These models include professional growth plans, self-administered tests and learning logs, and they are often used for regulatory as well as…