Education Commons^™

Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams

Dr Luc Tu Le

ACER ConQuest (Adams, Wu, and Wilson, 2012) has been popularly used for analysing testing and assessment data. Two of the most common estimation methods for Rasch measurement models (Rasch, 1960/1980) are available in this software, marginal maximum likelihood estimation (MML) and joint maximum likelihood estimation (JML). This study is concerned with item parameter recovery for the dichotomous Rasch model. Our primary focus is on comparing JML and MML when the assumptions of MML are violated, that is the abilities are not sampled from the distribution that is assumed in the estimation.

How Have Music Student Teachers Done On The Edtpa So Far?, David W. Snyder

David W. Snyder

This article contains the results from a recent pilot study of the edTPA student teacher assessment to be used in Illinois startingn in 2015. Student scores on the edTPA were evaluated in order to reveal areas of weakness in student teacher preparation.

Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams

Professor Ray Adams

ACER ConQuest (Adams, Wu, and Wilson, 2012) has been popularly used for analysing testing and assessment data. Two of the most common estimation methods for Rasch measurement models (Rasch, 1960/1980) are available in this software, marginal maximum likelihood estimation (MML) and joint maximum likelihood estimation (JML). This study is concerned with item parameter recovery for the dichotomous Rasch model. Our primary focus is on comparing JML and MML when the assumptions of MML are violated, that is the abilities are not sampled from the distribution that is assumed in the estimation.

What’S The Story? Making Sense Of Conflicting Literacy And Numeracy Results, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Assessment In Vet, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Some Reflections On Teaching And Learning From Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy Assessments, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Research Process Improves The Product: Results Of A Faculty-­Librarian Collaboration, Divonna M. Stebick, Janelle L. Wertzberger, Margaret E. Flora, Joseph W. Miller

Janelle Wertzberger

When an education professor and a reference librarian sought to improve the quality of undergraduate student research, their partnership led to a new focus on assessing the research process in addition to the product. In this study, we reflect on our collaborative experience introducing information literacy as the foundation for undergraduate teacher education research. We examine the outcomes of this collaboration, focusing on the assessment of the process. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that direct instruction supporting effective research strategies positively impacted student projects. Our data also suggest that undergraduate students benefit from not only sound research strategies, …

Towards A Growth Mindset In Assessment, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

On The Use Of Rotated Context Questionnaires In Conjunction With Multilevel Item Response Models, Raymond J. Adams, Petra Lietz, Alla Berezner

Dr Petra Lietz

On The Use Of Rotated Context Questionnaires In Conjunction With Multilevel Item Response Models, Raymond Adams, Petra Lietz, Alla Berezner

Professor Ray Adams

Background: While rotated test booklets have been employed in large-scale assessments to increase the content coverage of the assessments, rotation has not yet been applied to the context questionnaires administered to respondents.

Methods: This paper describes the development of a methodology that uses rotated context questionnaires in conjunction with multilevel item response models and plausible values. In order to examine the impact of this methodology on the continuity of the results, PISA 2006 data for nine heterogeneous countries were rescaled after having been restructured to simulate the outcomes of the use of different rotated context questionnaire designs.

Results: Results revealed …

Measure For Measure : A Review Of Outcomes Of School Education In Australia, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Dr John Ainley

There have been a plethora of research reports providing information about the achievements of students in Australian schools and how those achievements differ among jurisdictions and among groups of students. However, each report has often been viewed in isolation from other similar studies. This report is intended to provide an integrated appraisal of the results of the international and national achievement surveys conducted since 1994 but with some references to earlier studies. In addition to limiting the task to manageable proportions, this time span corresponds to the widespread introduction of modern measurement methods so that there is a better basis …

Turning Data Into Insight: A Data Driven Retention Model, Oscar T. Mcknight, Wenhui Jin

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This poster session addresses how to turn data into insight; that is, when attempting to increasing college retention rates by Student Affairs assessment and intervention. The presentation emphasizes a four part strategy and culminates in demonstrating how to construct a predictive chart or a multivariate computer program; with an overview of both simple and multiple regression models. The ultimate goal is to design interventions that will upset the prediction model and increase student retention.

Print And Digital Reading In Pisa 2009 : Comparison And Contrast, Juliette Mendelovits, Dara Ramalingam, Tom Lumley

Dara Ramalingam

PISA was administered for the fourth time in 2009. Since in each administration, one of reading, maths or science is chosen as the major domain, the 2009 survey marked the first time that a domain (in this case, reading) was revisited as the major focus of the assessment. This allowed a full review of the framework for reading literacy and the inclusion of new elements to reflect the way that reading has changed since 2000 (OECD, 2009). One such change is the increasing prevalence of digital texts. The assessment of digital reading in the PISA 2009 cycle, undertaken by 19 …

Infocommonsreport.Pdf, Berrie Watson

Berrie Watson

Reforming Educational Assessment: Imperatives, Principles And Challenges, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

AER 57 reviews research into assessment, especially in schools; it analyses the pivotal role of assessment in learning and argues for its reconceptualisation by practitioners and policy makers to better support learning. The genesis of this AER was the ACER Research Conference Assessment and Student Learning: Collecting, interpreting and using data to inform teaching, held in Perth in August 2009. Section 1 outlines some current pressures for assessment reform, introduces the concept of a learning assessment system designed to establish where learners are in their progress within an empirically mapped domain of learning, and sketches a set of design principles …

How Well Do Young People Deal With Contradictory And Unreliable Information On Line? What The Pisa Digital Reading Assessment Tells Us, Tom Lumley, Juliette Mendelovits

Dr Tom Lumley

There is sometimes an assumption that young people, as ‘digital natives’, are able to use online information effectively, including selecting and negotiating digital texts that are not only relevant for what they need, but also are likely to provide reliable information. This paper examines the question of how well young people are in fact able to recognise whether information is likely to be trustworthy. While some small-scale work has been done in this area, this paper draws on data from the first large-scale international assessment of online reading, the Digital Reading Assessment (DRA) that was part of the Organisation for …

Answering Legal Problem Questions In A Grid Format, Alex Steel, Dominic Fitzsimmons

Alex Steel

The development of legal reasoning skills is a fundamental aspect of legal education. What has sometimes been called “learning to think like a lawyer” is a threshold competency that students must acquire before they can progress to more complex analysis of broader legal issues. This chapter discusses the use of problem-based scenarios to both engage students and to develop legal analysis. It outlines the threshold difficulties students must overcome in order to read texts as a lawyer and explains how use of a grid format answer – rather than an essay format – can both assist students to overcome these …

Plan And Assess: The Basics Of Learning Outcomes And Survey Development, Larry D. Long, Angela Baugher, Jess Turuc

Larry D. Long

No abstract provided.

Assessing Skills For Success In Tertiary Education, Doug Mccurry, Graham Orpwood

Dr Doug McCurry

In almost all countries, significant assessment activities are located at the interface between secondary and tertiary education. Of course, their structure, purpose, and form of organisation vary enormously around the world. In some countries, they are part of a comprehensive ‘baccalaureate’ that marks the completion of the secondary phase of schooling. In others, such as the UK, students take examinations in a smaller number of subjects they have chosen to study. In some jurisdictions, formally constituted examinations boards organise common assessments for all students. In others, such as in many parts of North America, the final assessments are set, organised …

Print And Digital Reading In Pisa 2009 : Comparison And Contrast, Juliette Mendelovits, Dara Ramalingam, Tom Lumley

Juliette Mendelovits

PISA was administered for the fourth time in 2009. Since in each administration, one of reading, maths or science is chosen as the major domain, the 2009 survey marked the first time that a domain (in this case, reading) was revisited as the major focus of the assessment. This allowed a full review of the framework for reading literacy and the inclusion of new elements to reflect the way that reading has changed since 2000 (OECD, 2009). One such change is the increasing prevalence of digital texts. The assessment of digital reading in the PISA 2009 cycle, undertaken by 19 …

How Well Do Young People Deal With Contradictory And Unreliable Information On Line? What The Pisa Digital Reading Assessment Tells Us, Tom Lumley, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

There is sometimes an assumption that young people, as ‘digital natives’, are able to use online information effectively, including selecting and negotiating digital texts that are not only relevant for what they need, but also are likely to provide reliable information. This paper examines the question of how well young people are in fact able to recognise whether information is likely to be trustworthy. While some small-scale work has been done in this area, this paper draws on data from the first large-scale international assessment of online reading, the Digital Reading Assessment (DRA) that was part of the Organisation for …

A Slow Burn: The Impact Of Ials In Australia, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

Australia Australia has put its hand up to participate in all the international literacy surveys on offer: IALS in the second wave (1996), the ALL Survey in the second wave (2006), and PIAAC in 2011-12 – in the field right now. Nevertheless, until very recently Australia’s general response to the surveys can best be described as inert: more in the vein of our habitual “she’ll be right” than the “clever country” that our prime minister of the 1980s urged us to become. For most of the period since the IALS results were published in 1997, Australia paid little attention to …

Assessing Student Learning: Why Reform Is Overdue, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Cleveland Schools Social Skills Training Program Showing Positive Results, David Volosin, Oscar T. Mcknight, John Sikula

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This article reports on research conducted in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District by the Society for Prevention of Violence (SPV). A total of 1500 students and 150 teachers participated in a social skills training program. Statistically significant positive results were found over the course of the 2009 - 2010 school year. A positive change in the school environment was documented via a thirty-five item learning survey. Because of the positive results, during the 2010 - 2011 school year, SPV's social skills training program is being implemented in all three Parma middle schools.

Strategic Marketing For Economic Development: A Comparative Study, Megan Polak, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This study surveyed economic development directors from 118 cities from within the continental United States. The research concern was their strategic economic development plan. Electronic surveys asked participants to identify strategic components of their economic development plan; first, by intent of focus and second by rank-order. Designated areas of economic development included: Retail, Commercial, Residential or Industrial. In addition, the survey inquired as to their planned marketing communication channel and expected reach (i.e. footprint). Findings suggested that most cities were seeking to promote "all areas equally" - industrial development surfaced as the area of economic development listed with the highest …

Between The Ideal And The Practical: Using Assessment To Find The Balance, Rishi Sriram, Laine Scales, Meghan Oster

Rishi Sriram, Ph.D.

Rishi Sriram, T. Laine Scales, and Meghan Oster share how the assessment efforts of Baylor University’s Engaged Learning Groups have led to effective advocating for program improvement as well as increased administrative support.

Interaction Online: Above And Beyond The Requirements Of Assessment, Meg O'Reilly, Diane Newton

Dr Meg O'Reilly

Today’s literature is filled with new paradigms for learning, specifically in relation to the increasing adoption of computer-mediated techniques for interactive learning. In many cases, learning may now be enhanced through the experience of a shared online environment for critical discussion, knowledge building and the establishment of supportive social communities. Research data obtained from social science students at Southern Cross University over two semesters reveals students’ perceptions of the importance of online discussion whether these are assessable or not. This paper presents some findings and explores the impact of the emergence of a student-centred social learning environment.

Case Studies Of Online Assessment, Meg O'Reilly, Sue Bennett, Michael J. Keppell

Dr Meg O'Reilly

This paper outlines the progress to date of a project to compile, analyse and share examples of innovative online assessment activities using; online testing; teamwork and collaboration; simulations and role plays, and dialogue with experts and across cultures. The aim of this research is to provide teaching academics and educational developers with examples of assessment strategies that have been successfully applied in higher education, and to derive a number of key principles about online assessment that will be useful for future research. The project involves case studies from two Australian universities, which have been used to develop an initial set …

Interaction Online: Above And Beyond The Requirements Of Assessment, Meg O'Reilly, Diane Newton

Dr Meg O'Reilly

Today’s literature is filled with new paradigms for learning, specifically in relation to the increasing adoption of computer-mediated techniques for interactive learning. In many cases, learning may now be enhanced through the experience of a shared online environment for critical discussion, knowledge building and the establishment of supportive social communities. Research data obtained from social science students at Southern Cross University over two semesters reveals students’ perceptions of the importance of online discussion whether these are assessable or not. This paper presents some findings and explores the impact of the emergence of a student-centred social learning environment.

The Massillon Artful Living Project: Some Positive Results Are Evident, Oscar T. Mcknight, John Sikula, Gary Zoldesy

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

The Massillon Artful Living Project (ALP) was created to immerse developing minds in the fine arts and to enhance the creativity, social skills, and academic achievement of preschool children. The data analyses to date support program expansion. Also, feedback by teachers, parents, administrators and community arts providers are positive.