In this article, the change in examinee effort during an assessment, which we will refer to as persistence, is modeled as an effect of item position. A multilevel extension is proposed to analyze hierarchically structured data and decompose the individual differences in persistence. Data from the 2009 Program of International Student Achievement…

Modifying task presentation format and providing opportunities to choose are two effective procedures teachers can use to improve academic productivity for students with learning difficulties. Combining the two procedures may result in academic interventions that teachers can use without significantly changing the curriculum. The present study…

This study (Note 1) investigates potential differences in language use between genders, by applying a modified model of thought representation. Our hypothesis is that women use more direct forms of thought representation than men in modern spoken British English. Women are said to favour "private speech" that creates intimacy and…

This paper examines the re-articulation of social justice as equity in schooling policy through national and global testing and data infrastructures. It focuses on the Australian National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We analyse the discursive reconstitution…

Parental abuse is supposedly objectionable because it is the instigation of the child's delinquency. This instigation is likely to stem from the impairment of parental control arising from parental abuse, with respect to social control theory. For the substantiation of this likelihood, the present study surveyed 229 users of youth social work…

Swedish technology teachers' views of technological knowledge are examined through a written survey and a series of interviews. The study indicates that technology teachers' understandings of what constitutes technological knowledge and how it is justified vary considerably. The philosophical discussions on the topic are unknown to them. This lack…

This laboratory was developed by undergraduate students in collaboration with the course instructor as part of a peer-developed and peer-led lab curriculum in a general chemistry course. The goal was to explore the hypothesis that crystal violet lactone was responsible for the thermochromic properties of a sipping straw using a FT-IR for…

Previous research has shown that people exhibit a sample size bias when judging the average of a set of stimuli on a single dimension. The more stimuli there are in the set, the greater people judge the average to be. This effect has been demonstrated reliably for judgments of the average likelihood that groups of people will experience negative,…

Word features in parafoveal vision influence eye movements during reading. The question of whether readers extract semantic information from parafoveal words was studied in 3 experiments by using a gaze-contingent display change technique. Subjects read German sentences containing 1 of several preview words that were replaced by a target word…

Undergraduate students accessing on-line tests in Human Biology in three Western Australian universities were asked to complete an on-line post-test reflective survey about their perceptions of their test performance in light of automated feedback. The survey allowed pre-determined choices and comment text boxes relating to students' perceptions…

Research Findings: The present study investigated whether active play during recess was associated with self-regulation and academic achievement in a prekindergarten sample. A total of 51 children in classes containing approximately half Head Start children were assessed on self-regulation, active play, and early academic achievement. Path…

Looking back to the language testing world of the 1980s in the United Kingdom, we need to be aware that how we perceive or remember ourselves to have been then--whether as individual language testing academics or as corporate language testing organisations--will be shaped by multiple influences. Although we may have been present at and shared in…

As calls for enhancing the ability of business students to think creatively and develop innovative goods and services have become universal, researchers in the area of creativity have expressed concerns that the U.S. educational system may not foster creative thinking. The authors' research is based on a sample of 442 undergraduate business…

The tools used in learning processes are in a continuous state of flux. One of the most significant changes is the application of Information and Communications technologies (ICTs) to educational contexts. This provides new possible ways to carry out learning activities, new learning services, the possibility to use new kinds of contents and…

Groups are frequently used in courses, but there is substantial evidence that insufficient attention is paid to creating conditions for successful teamwork. One key condition is high-quality, individual, and team-level feedback. An online peer assessment system and team improvement process was developed for this test case based on three design…