Core Maths qualifications were introduced into the post-16 curriculum in England in 2014 to help students develop their quantitative and problem-solving skills. Taking the qualification should also give students confidence in understanding the mathematical content in other courses taken at the same time. In this article, we explore whether Core…

With support from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), a community of biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) scientist-educators has developed and administered an assessment instrument designed to evaluate student competence across four core concept and skill areas fundamental to BMB. The four areas encompass…

There is a lively discussion on how to evaluate competence-based higher education in both evaluation and competence research. The instruments used are often limited to course evaluation or specific competences, taking a rather narrow perspective. Furthermore, the instruments often comprise predetermined competences that cannot be adapted to higher…

Higher education has traditionally privileged language-based text as evidence of students' levels of critical thinking and literacy. Twenty-first century education at all levels however, has focused on multimodal literacies and how educators can engage students who are seeing the world through diverse representations and a myriad of forms. Many…

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-dimensional scale to measure students' awareness of key competencies for M-learning and to test its reliability and validity. The Key Competencies of Mobile Learning Scale (KCMLS) was determined via confirmatory factor analysis to have four dimensions: team collaboration, creative thinking, critical…

Developing multiculturally competent citizens is at the forefront of the espoused mission of higher education. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-report instrument to measure traditional-age (18-to 24-year-old) college students' multicultural consciousness (e.g., awareness of self, knowledge of difference, and…

Assessment in health sciences education has become an extremely critical issue in recent years, given the rapidly changing disease patterns and behavioral changes in communities among diverse cultural and economic contexts of patients. Globally, there is increasing demand for highly qualified contemporary healthcare professionals. Subsequently,…

The aim of this study is to develop a scale determining the visual literacy levels of university students. After reviewing the relevant literature a 75 item draft scale was prepared. The scale was applied to 3rd and 4th year students of Education Faculty of Amasya University. Non-functional items have been excluded from the scale as a result of…

Consistent with previous research, the authors found that the combined use of undergraduate grade point average and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) verbal and quantitative sections successfully predicted performance in a master of business administration (MBA) program. However, these measures did not successfully predict the…

Clinical competence is a multidimensional concept and encompasses a variety of skills including procedural, problem-solving and clinical judgement. The initial stages of postgraduate medical training are believed to be a particularly important time for the development of clinical skill competencies. This study reports on an evaluation of a…

The Debra P. versus Turlington case marked the first major inquiry into content validity of a student competency testing program. The Florida federal district court determined material assessed on the test had been taught in Florida's classrooms. Schools may deny regular diplomas to students who fail the test. (DWH)

Stresses the need for examining the minimum competency testing movement in terms of: (1) the relationship between the goals of the curriculum and the content of such tests; (2) the concept of remediation; (3) the issue of discrimination; (4) open v secure (secret) testing: (5) the impact of standardized testing practices on early education. (GC)

The current popularity of teacher testing allows for content, criterion, and construct validity to be assessed, as pertaining to achievement levels on basic knowledge examinations. Teacher competency is a complex issue that is inaccurately confused with or identified as measures derived from academic testing. The problems in addressing the…

Discusses the arguments for and against minimum competency testing, noting that the same issues are used to support both positions. (FL)

Questionnaires returned by 285 graduates were used to survey perceptions of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination in terms of adequacy to measure competence, difficulty level, need for more rigor, and usefulness in upgrading standards. The results suggest that education graduates do not necessarily dismiss the value of a certification…