Multiple Choice and Essay Tests

A Flawed Effort in a Good Cause: College of Character By Warren Bryan Martin San Francisco: Josey-Bass, 1982, 215 pages, $15.95. Reviewed by Michael P. Zuckert     

An Essay on Performance Improvement

Performance improvement initiatives are prevalent in organizations these days, emanating from different functions and frequently addressing the same or related challenges and opportunities. We propose that these efforts be integrated across the three levels of organizations—worker, work, and workplace—to reduce confusion and to maximize results for employees and customers.     

Impact of Personality on Choice of Instructional Delivery and Students’ Performance

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to investigate how college students’ personality characteristics relate to their choice of instructional delivery (online or face-to-face) and whether this choice mediates the relationship between personality and academic performance. One hundred eighty-eight undergraduate students were given a choice between taking the same general education course online or face-to-face. Students completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) upon the conclusion of this course. Using a Bayesian regression course modeling framework, we found that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were related to the choice of instructional delivery. Students scoring higher on Conscientiousness and lower on Agreeableness tended to choose the online environment. Conscientiousness also was a direct predictor of academic achievement regardless of the course environment. These results suggest that in order to find the best fit between student and the learning environment, it is important to identify personality characteristics indicative of success in online and traditional face-to-face courses to help students to become more efficient learners and assist faculty in designing quality courses to meet students’ needs.     

Test-Takers' Judgments of Essay Prompts: Perceptions and Performance

This study gathered the judgments of Graduate Record Examination test takers-actual and prospective-about a sample of essay prompts being considered for possible use in a graduate admissions writing test. Our thesis was that test-takers' views, which have not been frequently considered in any systematic fashion, may provide valuable information to developers of writing assessments. The specific objective was to determine the kinds of prompts and topics on which examinees feel they can write strong essays, as well as those that they perceive as more difficult. The study identified several features that underlie examinee perceptions of essay prompts. Prominent among these features was the extent to which prompts allow writers to draw on their personal experiences. Some study participants also wrote essays on a small subset of the prompts. With these data, the relation of examinee opinions to performance on the prompts was examined. Though apparent, this relation was less dramatic than writers' strong opinions would suggest.     

Performance Appraisal: Issues of Validity

Performance ratings are probably the most widely used criteria in personnel evaluation. To determine the psychometric quality of performance ratings, practitioners generally evaluate ratings in terms of reliability and validity. This article presents generalizability theory as a measurement procedure that can be used to assess and improve the reliability and validity of ratings of employee job performance.     

择校对中小学生学业成就的影响——国外实证研究的视角

择校是当前世界范围内教育领域的一个颇有争议的问题.国外实证研究显示,没有充分的证据表明择校可以从普遍意义上提高中小学生的学业成就,但对于特定种族的学生来说(如非洲后裔的学生),择校有助于这类学生成绩的改善.本文以国外学者对教育券和特许学校的实证研究为例,在文献分析的基础上从实证研究的视角考察择校对中小学生学业成就的影响,以期为当前我国有关择校问题的讨论提供启示.     

周作人"言志"文艺观对现代小品文的影响

周作人以“言志”坚守文学本体的独立性和纯洁性，坚持认为文学是作者独特的思想和感情的表达，对中国现代小品文理论和创作产生了很大的影响。“言志”既促成了现代散文的美学转型。也导致小品文故意脱离社会人生。     

化学教师实验研究选题的新视角

实验是化学科学的基石,中学化学课程实验内容丰富,在培养学生科学素养、启迪学生科学思维等方面起着重要的作用.文献检索和实践调查表明,多年来教师在化学实验研究的选题上表现出明显的不足.     

Discrepancies Among Teachers' Priorities for and Knowledge of Freshwater Topics

Abstract

A Blueprint for Environmental Education , edited by Jane S. Shaw. Bozeman, MT: Political Economy Research Center. 1999. Paperback. ISBN 0-9668243-1-8.

Environmental Education and Biodiversity , edited by Arjen E. J. Wals. Wageningen, The Netherlands: National Reference Centre for Nature Management. 1999. Paperback. ISBN 90-75789-03-3.

The Environmental Impact Statement Process and Environmental Law , by Emmett B. Moore. Columbus, OH: Battelle Press. 2000. Paperback. 162 pages. $19.95. ISBN 1-57477-092-6.

Caring for Plunet Earth, Volume 1: The Great Lakes, CD-ROM , Grand Rapids, MI: Center for Environmental Study. 1998. $39.00. Formatted for Macintosh, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1

Edgar Beaver's Destiny: An Environmental Fable , by Joseph Petulla. Available through Xlibris Corporation (www.Xlibris.com). 2000. Paperback. 124 pages. $16.00. ISBN 0-7388-2471-2.

A Plague of Frogs: The Horrifying True Story , by William Souder. New York: Hyperion. 2000. Hardback. Illustrated. 299 pages. $23.95. ISBN 0-7868-6360-9.

Environmental Education and Communication for a Sustainable World: Handbook for International Practitioners , edited by Brian A. Day and Martha C. Monroe. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development. 2000. Paperback. 138 pages. ISBN 0-89492-108-8.     

Standards of Validity and the Validity of Standards in Performance Asessment

What are six distinct aspects of construct validation? How do these aspects apply to performance assessment? Are the consequences of performance assessment on teaching and learning relevant to construct validation?     

Impact of Universities' Promotional Materials on College Choice

ABSTRACT

A major promotional tactic for higher education marketers is the use of printed promotional materials to recruit freshmen students. These promotional materials range from full color glossy brochures to simple letters on university letterhead. They are sent to students during their junior and senior years in high school.

The research reported in this article attempted to provide in-depth information on the impact of these promotional materials through the use of student focus groups. Students from a large, southern metropolitan university were asked about the impact of these promotional materials on their college choice decision. The students provided detailed suggestions on the ways to improve the method of distribution, graphic design, and content of the materials.     

Validity on Trial: Psychometric and Legal Conceptualizations of Validity

The psychometric literature is replete with comprehensive discussions of test validity, test validation, and the characteristics of quality assessment programs. The most authoritative source for guidance regarding sound test development and evaluation practices is the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. However, the Standards are not legally binding. In this article, we review the way in which validity is conceptualized in the Standards and compare this conceptualization with validity evidence presented in specific court cases involving legal challenges to tests. Our review indicates that, in general, there is strong congruence between the Standards and how validity is viewed in the courts, and that testing agencies that conform to these guidelines are likely to withstand legal scrutiny. However, the courts have taken a more practical, less theoretical view on validity and tend to emphasize evidence based on test content and testing consequences.     

Generalizability and Validity of a Mathematics Performance Assessment

The QUASAR Cognitive Assessment Instrument (QCAI) is designed to measure program outcomes and growth in mathematics. It consists of a relatively large set of open-ended tasks that assess mathematical problem solving, reasoning, and communication at the middle-school grade levels. This study provides some evidence for the generalizability and validity of the assessment. The results from the generalizability studies indicate that the error due to raters is minimal, whereas there is considerable differential student performance across tasks. The dependability of grade level scores for absolute decision making is encouraging; when the number of students is equal to 350, the coefficients are between .80 and .97 depending on the form and grade level. As expected, there tended to be a higher relationship between the QCAI scores and both the problem solving and conceptual subtest scores from a mathematics achievement multiple-choice test than between the QCAI scores and the mathematics computation subtest scores.     

作文自动批改系统辅助大学英语写作慕课的交互式教学模式研究

随着教育信息化的不断深入,作文自动批改系统日趋成熟。文章提出了作文自动批改系统辅助大学英语写作慕课的交互式教学模式,并验证了该模式的有效性。研究表明,该模式具有以下价值:①可以提高学生的写作水平;②使学生的写作策略和技巧得到提高;③在提高写作水平的同时,学生的汉译英翻译能力也得到了发展;④学生的英语学习兴趣得到激发,养成了良好的阅读习惯;⑤更加重视对语篇知识的积累。同时,文章通过作文自动批改系统辅助大学英语写作慕课的交互式教学模式,强调了写作实践的重要作用,突出了写作过程中环环相扣的教学环节,明确了教学重点和教学步骤。     

英语作文自动评分及其效度、信度与可操作性探讨

评述国内外作文自动评分系统,并依据英语作文测试中的信度、效度和实践可操作性对其进行分析。探讨国内英语作文自动评阅系统的发展,在肯定其优点的同时,指出和分析其中的问题和不足,并提出相应之对策,以期为我国英语作文自动评阅系统研发提供借鉴和启迪。     

Ecological Validity in Understanding Sport Performance: Some Problems of Definition

One of the most significant aspects of current sport psychology research is the trend toward developing the relationship between theoretical concepts and practical applications. There have been many recent calls for the development of specific experimental paradigms closely linked to critical features of movement control and social interaction within specific frames of reference such as competitive sport (e.g., Lee & Young, 1985; Martens, 1979). The concept of ecological validity has been proposed as a crucial element of this current research thrust, and this paper attempts to identify and define some of the more important criteria underpinning ecologically valid research in sport psychology. Vision and sport performance is used as an exemplary area of investigation in which problematic and specific issues are examined. The basis of this critique has important implications for other areas of interest in the application of the behavioral sciences to sport. It is concluded that much greater debate must be stimulated concerning this important methodological principle, and a preliminary definition is provided for this purpose as well as to aid in the process of research evaluation in sport psychology.     

Intelligence,Creative Thinking,and Sociometric Choice Among Fifth-Grade Children

In a sample of 970 female and 968 male freshmen taken over a 5-year period at the College of Wooster it was found that the Math and Verbal Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) were more highly correlated with freshman grade point average (GPA) than were any of the eighteen scales of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). Stepwise regression led the author to suggest a series of five variables for each sex which might be used to predict academic achievement using the SAT and the CPI. For women, a multiple R of .52 was reached using Math, Verbal, Socialization, Achievement via Conformity, and Flexibility. For men, Math, Verbal, Socialization, Flexibility, and Femininity provided a multiple R of . 57.     

Differences in College Access and Choice Among Racial/Ethnic Groups: Identifying Continuing Barriers

This study focuses on the college application behaviors of students from various racial/ethnic groups in order to understand differences in access and college choice. Student characteristics, predispositions, academic abilities, and income levels were taken into account in our analyses. We analyzed data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) and the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study (BPS) and found significant group differences in preparation behaviors, college application behavior (number of colleges to which students applied), and attendance at their first choice of institution. The results of this study call attention to the need for campuses to evaluate the potential effects of policy decisions that may impact student choice for different populations of students.     

Relationships Among Multiple–Choice and Open–Ended Analytical Questions

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to explore relationships among existing item types and three new computer–administered item types for the analytical scale of the Graduate Record Examination General Test. One new item type was an open–ended version of the current multiple–choice analytical reasoning item type. The other new item types had no counterparts on the existing test. The computer tests were administered at four sites to a sample of students who had previously taken the GRE General Test. Scores from the regular GRE and the special computer administration were matched for a sample of 349 students. Factor analyses suggested that the new item types with no counterparts in the existing GRE were reliably assessing unique constructs but the open–ended analytical reasoning items were not measuring anything beyond what is measured by the current multiple–choice version of these items.     

School Choice in Sweden: Effects on Student Performance,School Costs,and Segregation

This article presents empirical analyses of the effects of independent schools in Sweden. The most important result is that the impact—both the positive and the negative—is relatively marginal. This said, there are now a number of studies that show that when independent schools are established the pupils in municipal schools perform better. Municipal school costs will, however, tend to rise marginally. The effects on school segregation are complex, but the tentative overall result is that independent schools may have added somewhat to the much more significant effect of increasing residential segregation.