In web surveys, no interviewer is present to clarify question comprehension problems, which can be particularly prevalent among respondents with low literacy skills. Although plain language is used in various contexts to improve text comprehensibility, its use in social science questionnaires has not been investigated to date. Using a…

This paper details the methodology originally used for a cross-sector literature review of formative evaluation in Germany. The study involved an online keyword search using academic databases and Google Search to uncover documents containing and meaningfully discussing formative evaluation as well as alternative forms of this term in German that…

Background: Artificial intelligence, particularly natural language processing (NLP), enables automating the formative assessment of written task solutions to provide adaptive feedback automatically. A laboratory study found that, compared with static feedback (an expert solution), adaptive feedback automated through artificial neural networks…

The rising use of technology in classrooms has also brought with it a concomitant wave of computer-based assessments. The argument for computer-based testing is often framed in terms of efficiency and data management: computer-based tests facilitate more efficient processing of test data and the rate at which feedback can be leveraged for student…