This paper provides evidence that a short, fully online, well-constructed diagnostic test based on research literature can give teachers information about their students' thinking and strategies that is sufficiently accurate to use for formative assessment purposes. The example is a test for students beginning to learn to solve equations. The main…

This study investigates consistent and inconsistent respondents to mixed-worded questionnaire scales in large-scale assessments. Mixed-worded scales contain both positively and negatively worded items and are universally applied in different survey and content areas. Due to the changing wording, these scales require a more careful reading and…

Open book assessment is not a new idea, but it does not seem to have gained ground in higher education. In particular, not much literature is available on open book examinations in mathematics and statistics in higher education. The objective of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of open book assessments in a first-year business…

As we move into the 21st century, educationalists are exploring the myriad of possibilities associated with Computer Based Assessment (CBA). At first glance this mode of assessment seems to provide many exciting opportunities in the mathematics domain, yet one must question the validity of CBA and whether our school systems, students and teachers…

The assessment of literacy and numeracy skills of students as they enter school for the first time is not yet established nation-wide in Australia. However, a large proportion of primary schools have chosen to assess their starting students on the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools-Baseline Assessment (PIPS-BLA). This series of three…

In educational systems, concern has been expressed about the accuracy of classification when marks are aligned to grades or levels. In particular, it has been claimed that a school assessment-based grading would have much greater levels of accuracy than one based on examination scores. This paper investigates classification consistency by…

A pilot study assessed the effectiveness of two selection profiles that were designed to evaluate candidates for admission into prevocational hairdressing and automotive mechanics programs. The selection profile, which was developed by the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) National Centre for Research and Development, consisted of the…