Disengaged responding poses a severe threat to the validity of educational large-scale assessments, because item responses from unmotivated test-takers do not reflect their actual ability. Existing identification approaches rely primarily on item response times, which bears the risk of misclassifying fast engaged or slow disengaged responses.…

As the number, date and form of the written tests are structured and teacher-oriented, it is considered that it creates fear and anxiety among the students. It has been found necessary and important to form a testing model which will keep the students away from the test anxiety and allows them to learn only about the lesson. For this study,…

Comprehension of geologic time does not come easily, especially for students who are studying the earth sciences for the first time. This project investigated the potential success of two teaching interventions that were designed to help non-science majors enrolled in an introductory geology class gain a richer conceptual understanding of the…

According to the recent Nation's Report Card, 12th-graders failed to produce gains on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) despite earning better grades on average. One possible explanation is that 12th-graders were not motivated taking the NAEP, which is a low-stakes test. We develop three Bayesian IRT mixture models to…

Presents a theoretical model that identifies the context in which students experience difficulties with complex multiple choice exams (MCE). Provides a structured approach that facilitates the development of critical thinking and metacognitive skills. Discusses a workshop in which participants reported increased knowledge concerning the process…

The effectiveness of a strategy for improving performance on multiple-choice items for examinees was assessed using an aptitude-treatment interaction model. Results showed that for low-anxious examinees, generation of an answer before selecting a response led to higher performance, but not for highly anxious examinees. (Author/JAZ)

J. D. Bransford's tetrahedral model of learning considers four variables: (1) learning activities, (2) characteristics of the learner, (3) criterial tasks, and (4) the nature of the materials. Bransford's model provides a research-based theoretical framework that can be used to teach, model, and have students apply a variety of study strategies to…

The Cortland College Skills Center at the State University of New York, Cortland, helps students learn how they learn best, providing assistance in reading, writing, researching, listening, speaking, vocabulary, study skills, math, and standardized test preparation. Services are offered for learning disabled (LD) and handicapped students, and the…