In Italy, from the 2003 reports to the present, the National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training (INVALSI) has conducted research on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results in order to understand Italian students' low achievement in mathematics. In the present paper, data from a representative…

The Programme for International Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year olds academic achievement. Although it has traditionally been conducted using paper-and-pencil tests, the vast majority of countries will use computer-based assessment from 2015. In this paper, we consider how cross-country comparisons of children's…

While most educators assume that not all students try their best on achievement tests, no current research examines if behaviors associated with low test effort, like rapidly guessing on test items, affect teacher value-added estimates. In this article, we examined the prevalence of rapid guessing to determine if this behavior varied by grade,…

Why has large-scale standardised testing attracted such a bad press? Why has pedagogic benefit to be derived from test results been downplayed? The paper investigates this question by first surveying the pros and cons of testing in the literature, and goes on to examine educators' responses to standardised, large-scale tests in a sample of low…

Testing and data integrity on statewide assessments is defined as the establishment of a comprehensive set of policies and procedures for: (1) the proper preparation of students; (2) the management and administration of the test(s) that will lead to accurate and appropriate reporting of assessment results; and (3) maintaining the security of…

Examinees who take high-stakes assessments are usually given an opportunity to repeat the test if they are unsuccessful on their initial attempt. To prevent examinees from obtaining unfair score increases by memorizing the content of specific test items, testing agencies usually assign a different test form to repeat examinees. The use of multiple…

Studied the effects of overlapping some test items across consecutive test levels by using overlapping and nonoverlapping items with 834 prematched and 782 matched elementary school students and focusing on whether there is an effect on achievement test scores due to item familiarization. No effects were detected. (SLD)

Effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the Peabody Individual Achievement Test mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Items on the math and reading recognition subtests were significantly easier or harder than test placements indicated. (Author)

Measures of anxiety and achievement were obtained on a sample of undergraduate students. Highly anxious students had lower achievement on humorous tests. Students with low anxiety had higher achievement on humorous tests. Results indicate that humor is not a positive factor in reducing high anxiety associated with academic evaluations. (Author)

The "Instructional Improvement Digest" communicates advisory information about practical courses of action that can be implemented by teachers and administrators to improve key areas of school instruction. The series digest topics draws upon inquiry associated with the Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development's…

A battery of spatial, linguistic, and mathematical tests was administered to tenth- and twelfth-grade students to examine the relation between sex differences on particular spatial tests and sex differences on particular mathematical problems. The sex difference magnitude was not diminished by taking spatial and linguistic scores into account.…

The current status of "homemade" achievement tests reported in "Journal of Research in Science Teaching" and "Science Education" (January 1975 to January 1980) is examined using Anderson's (EJ 062 750) eight categories of information that a high quality research report should include. Findings from 142 references…

Compares the mathematical concepts and language of the 1937, 1948, and 1962 editions of the Essex Local Education Authority mathematics tests with the 1977 Testing of Attainment in Mathematics Survey (TAMS). Sample test items are given along with two tables analyzing the concepts tested and the language used. For journal availability, see SO 506…

In October, 1976, a new type of question was introduced into the Victorian HSC German test: A listening comprehension question with multiple-choice answers has replaced the written reproduction question. Results of a computer analysis of the answers given in the exam are reported. (SW)

This technical report describes a study that was undertaken to compare the content of two recent fourth-and eighth-grade assessments in science: the NAEP 2000 assessment and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 assessment. Its aim is to provide information that will be useful for interpreting and comparing the…