Two key measures to determine the quality of higher education are the performance of students and the accreditation of a programme's quality. We analyse the difference in the distributions of the student's scores in a standardised test of economics knowledge between accredited and non-accredited undergraduate economics programmes in a…

Linear programming (LP) is taught in different departments across college campuses with engineering and management curricula. Modeling an LP problem is taught in every linear programming class. As faculty teaching in Engineering and Management departments, the depth to which teachers should expect students to master this particular type of…

The literature indicates that there is a lack of learning outcomes in economics that can be attributed to the reliance on traditional lecture and the failure to adopt innovative instructional techniques. This study sought to investigate the student learning effects of academic controversy, a cooperative learning technique that shows promise in the…

People not only use social comparisons to evaluate their abilities, they also engage in dimensional comparisons, comparing their own achievement in different domains. Processes of dimensional comparison have contrasting effects on subject-specific self-concepts: downward dimensional comparisons result in higher self-concept in the…

Compared the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the WAIS-Revised (WAIS-R) in a sample of college students (N=70). A highly significant test order interaction was found. The WAIS-R will result in significantly higher ability estimates when administered following the WAIS than the WAIS will when following the WAIS-R. (JAC)

Scores were compared for two experimental assessment instruments constructed as examples of the techniques used by the Sentence Verification Technique (SVT) of J. M. Royer and others (1979) and the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) of the Michigan Department of Education (1987, 1988) to measure reading comprehension as an interactive…

After an extensive review of relevant research, this paper describes a study concerning the relationship between the American College Test (ACT) and the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST). Specifically, the study assessed the extent to which ACT scores predict PPST scores. Subjects included 169 Harding University students (42 males and 127…

Compared the test scores of high and low anxious subjects when the Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale was administered by a trained examiner or mechanically. Findings indicated that performance was influenced by test administration procedures. There was a trend to score higher on the test given by an examiner. (Author/JAC)

Compared Hispanic students' (N=51) self-ratings of personality with less direct assessment by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Results showed that Hispanic students could rate themselves accurately on 50 percent of the factors when given only the names of the dimensions, suggesting differential patterning for perceived versus measured…

The use of the "none-of-the-above" option (NOTA) in 20 college-level multiple-choice tests was evaluated for classes with 100 or more students. Eight academic disciplines were represented, and 295 NOTA and 724 regular test items were used. It appears that the NOTA can be compatible with good classroom measurement. (TJH)

The frequency of multiple testing on the Proficiency Examination Program (PEP) multiple-choice tests, the characteristics of examinees who retest, and the effects of retesting on test scores were examined. Tests in the PEP program cover a broad range of academic disciplines and generally include material covered in one or two semesters of an…

A part-form methodology was used to study the effect of varying degrees of multidimensionality on the consistency of pass/fail classification decisions obtained from simulated unidimensional item response theory (IRT) based licensure examinations. A control on the degree of form multidimensionality permitted an assessment throughout the range of…

This study examined the relationship between the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency Critical Thinking test (CAAP-CT) and the College Outcome Measures Program objective test battery (COMP). Focus was on determining: (1) the relationship between the CAAP-CT and the COMP process-oriented subscores and the freshman to sophomore gains in…

The performance of baccalaureate nursing school graduates on the new National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) was compared to graduates' performance on the old examination, the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE). Data were gathered for 287 graduates who took the SBTPE between 1979-1981 and 175 graduates who took the NCLEX in 1982 and…

Results for 78 college students who took a pretest on basketball knowledge, read a passage on basketball, and took an immediate or delayed posttest indicate that pretest scores are significantly related to immediate posttest scores, whereas delayed posttest scores are related to Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal scores. (SLD)