Growing reliance on complex constructed response items has generated considerable interest in automated scoring solutions. Many of these solutions are described in the literature; however, relatively few studies have been published that "compare" automated scoring strategies. Here, comparisons are made among five strategies for…

This dissertation presents a novel effort to develop ITS technologies that adapt by observing student behavior. In particular, we define an evolving expert knowledge base (EEKB) that structures a domain's information as a set of nodes and the relationships that exist between those nodes. The structure of this model is not the particularly novel…

Hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices are being mandated to implement health information technology to support electronic health records or receive reduced government reimbursements for the treatment of Medicare and Medicaid patients. The EHR Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Program, managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,…

As education law evolves, educators are faced with difficult decisions regarding curriculum, prevention programs, and intervention strategies to use with their students. The use of evidence-based strategies for all academic skill areas, including reading, has become increasingly common in schools. Twenty-four 4th grade students participated in an…

This paper extends single-level missing data methods to efficient estimation of a "Q"-level nested hierarchical general linear model given ignorable missing data with a general missing pattern at any of the "Q" levels. The key idea is to reexpress a desired hierarchical model as the joint distribution of all variables including…

Grades matter. College grading systems, however, are often ad hoc and prone to mistakes. This essay focuses on one factor that contributes to high-quality grading systems: grading accuracy (or "efficiency"). I proceed in several steps. First, I discuss the elements of "efficient" (i.e., accurate) grading. Next, I present analytical results…

This historical critique of high-stakes testing in reading focuses on selected events from three historical movements: 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) the history of standardized reading tests, and 3) the history of high-stakes testing. These three interrelated histories have produced the high-stakes, standardized reading tests used in…

In this research, an E-learning environment is developed for the teacher candidates taking the course on Scientific Research Methods. The course contents were adapted to one of the constructivist approach models referred to as 5E, and an expert opinion was received for the compliance of this model. An usability analysis was also performed to…

In response to the rapid growth of information in recent decades, knowledge-based systems have become an essential tool for organizational learning. The application of electronic performance-support systems in learning activities has attracted considerable attention from researchers. Nevertheless, the vast, ever-increasing amount of information is…

The article considers theoretical aspects of influence of the Internet on studying English, including on the opportunities of listening and increase of motivation for studying English. The characteristic of blended learning technology in studying the foreign languages is given. The practical justification of the efficiency of studying English…

The Montana University System Strategic Plan is the primary planning document of the Board of Regents. The Plan sets forth an agenda for higher education in Montana by delineating the strategic directions, goals, and objectives that guide the Montana University System (MUS). It is comprised of three primary goals that contain a series of sub-goal…

This study provides a literature review on school funding formulas across OECD countries. It looks at three salient questions from a comparative perspective: i) What kind of school formula funding schemes exist and how are they used, particularly for promoting the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils?; ii) How do school formula funding regimes…

The following contribution is a meta-analysis of the language awareness discipline from a practical application point of view. It is based on a keynote speech at the "10th International Conference of the Association for Language Awareness," and deals with the implications of business requirements for language use in communication processes. The…

We examined the role of learner characteristics as predictors of four aspects of e-learning performance, including knowledge test performance, learning confidence, learning efficiency, and navigational effectiveness. We used both self reports and log file records to compute the relevant statistics. Regression analyses showed that both need for…

The current study hypothesized that integrating partly observational learning into virtual reality training systems (VRTS) can enhance training efficiency for procedural tasks. A common approach in designing VRTS is the enactive approach, which stresses the importance of physical actions within the environment to enhance perception and improve…