This validity study examined differential item functioning (DIF) results on large-scale state standards-based English-language arts assessments at grades 4 and 8 for students without disabilities taking the test under standard conditions and students who are blind or visually impaired taking the test with either a large print or braille form.…

The use of timed, essay examinations is a well-established means of evaluating student learning in higher education. The reliability of essay scoring is highly problematic and it appears that essay examination grades are highly dependent on language and organisational components of writing. Computer-assisted scoring of essays makes use of language…

Temporal patterns of behavior have been observed in real-life performances such as bill passing in the U.S. Congress, in-class studying, and quiz taking. However, the practical utility of understanding these patterns has not been evaluated. The current study demonstrated the presence of temporal patterns of quiz taking in a university-level…

Multinomial processing tree models are widely used in many areas of psychology. A hierarchical extension of the model class is proposed, using a multivariate normal distribution of person-level parameters with the mean and covariance matrix to be estimated from the data. The hierarchical model allows one to take variability between persons into…

Aim: The purpose of this study was to characterize handwriting deficits in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) using computerized movement analyses. Method: Seventy-two children (40 females, 32 males; mean age 7y, SD 7mo; range 6y 2mo to 7y 11mo) with handwriting deficits (33 with DCD, 39 without DCD); and 22 age- and…

It has been suggested that the hippocampus selectively supports recollection and that adjacent cortex in the medial temporal lobe can support familiarity. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the hippocampus supports both recollection and familiarity. We tested these suggestions by assessing the performance of patients with hippocampal…

Drawing on experience between 2000 and 2007 in developing a validity argument for the high-stakes Test of English as a "Foreign Language[TM]" (TOEFL[R]), this paper evaluates the differences between the argument-based approach to validity as presented by "Kane (2006)" and that described in the 1999 "AERA/APA/NCME Standards for Educational and…

This article presents the author's response to the commentary essays by Charles Alderson and Fred Davidson on "Demystifying a Q-matrix for making diagnostic inferences about L2 reading skills" (Jang, 2009). The author stresses that their commentaries provides vital perspectives on the challenges to pushing the boundaries of current testing…

In the field of cognitive psychology, the "p"-value hypothesis test has established a stranglehold on statistical reporting. This is unfortunate, as the "p"-value provides at best a rough estimate of the evidence that the data provide for the presence of an experimental effect. An alternative and arguably more appropriate measure of evidence is…

In this study, differential item functioning (DIF) methods utilizing 14 different matching variables were applied to assess DIF in the constructed-response (CR) items from 6 forms of 3 mixed-format tests. Results suggested that the methods might produce distinct patterns of DIF results for different tests and testing programs, in that the DIF…

The past year has seen the emergence of a broad consensus on raising the standards for entering the teaching profession. The NEA, AFT, and Council of Chief State School Officers all have said they want higher entry standards. Such an exam would be modeled after other professions and is a potential game changer. If sufficiently rigorous, the exam…

Background: Despite the ample interest in the measurement of substance abuse and dependence, obtaining biological samples from participants as a means to validate a scale is considered time and cost intensive and is, subsequently, largely overlooked. Objectives: To report the psychometric properties of the drug use disorder (DUD) questionnaire…

This study examines the effects of math readiness and student course behavior (e.g., attendance, participation, homework completion) on knowledge gain and course success using two samples of students enrolled in foundational skills (noncredit-bearing) mathematics courses. As hypothesized, entering student mathematics readiness and course behavior…

Marketing and management departments preach a continual discourse about the importance of feedback from customers. Yet many business schools do not take the time to develop their own student satisfaction surveys to provide the departments with useful feedback. Business schools are constantly forced to compete with other colleges and often other…

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Survey developed by Schmidt and colleagues into Turkish and investigate its factor structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The participants were 352 elementary pre-service teachers from three large universities in northwestern…