When cognitive and educational tests are administered under time limits, tests may become speeded and this may affect the reliability and validity of the resulting test scores. Prior research has shown that time limits may create or enlarge gender gaps in cognitive and academic testing. On average, women complete fewer items than men when a test…

This study aimed to investigate the test-taking strategies needed for successful completion of a lecture-based listening test by employing self-reported test-taking strategy use, actual strategy use measured via eye-tracking, and test scores. In this study, participants' gaze behavior (measured by fixation and visit duration and frequency) were…

Background: The International Performance Assessments of Learning (iPAL) project developed a framework for the construction of performance assessments for testing critical thinking, which proposes structuring them around a problem situation that sets an authentic (i.e., real-life-like) problem-solving task for the test-taker. Its critical thinking…

Exams constitute the predominant form of summative assessment in undergraduate biology education, with the assumption that exam performance should reflect student conceptual understanding. Previous work highlights multiple examples in which students can answer exam problems correctly without the corresponding conceptual understanding. This…

Digitized learning materials are a core part of modern education, and analysis of the use can offer insight into the learning behavior of high and low performing students. The topic of predicting student characteristics has gained a lot of attention in recent years, with applications ranging from affect to performance and at-risk student…

The COVID-19 pandemic causing severe and lethal health issues by means of contact or airborne transmission has significantly altered our normal way of life. Having regular face-to-face contact poses a great risk even with precautionary measures taken resulting in a drastic change in the realm of learning and teaching from onsite to online.…

Disability support (DS) offices provide accommodations for and serve qualified students with disabilities. The overall number of students with disabilities in higher education is increasing, creating a need for high-impact, effective support. Proactive advising is a method of support that provides college students tools for success before crises…

The term speed-accuracy tradeoff is used when an increase in response speed comes at the expense of response accuracy. Although originally a concept from experimental psychology, the speed-accuracy tradeoff has been a topic in psychological assessment, too. In the first part of the manuscript, we discuss motivational factors that may be…

The current study examined the relationship between test-taker cognition and psychometric item properties in multiple-selection multiple-choice and grid items. In a study with content-equivalent mathematics items in alternative item formats, adult participants' tendency to respond to an item was affected by the presence of a grid and variations of…

The study investigated items that were prone to guessing in Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) Economics multiple-choice tests among students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The 2016 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) and National Examinations Council (NECO) Economics multiple-choice test items were subjected to…

For students, the authors argue, the ability to assess their own learning--that is, to actively understand their own progress and trajectory--can have a significant impact on achievement levels. The authors discuss factors associated with "assessment-capable learners" and offer examples of how to foster such characteristics in classrooms.

Allowing item review in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is getting more attention in the educational measurement field as more and more testing programs adopt CAT. The research literature has shown that allowing item review in an educational test could result in more accurate estimates of examinees' abilities. The practice of item review in…

This study examined the effects of bottom-up instruction (BI) on a high-stakes listening test for second language (L2) listeners and compared these effects with those of strategy instruction (SI) in relation to their proficiency levels. Two intact classes (48 L2 listeners) of different L2 listening proficiency levels received five weeks of BI and…

Changes in the national examination structures have renewed interest in the development of test-taking strategies for professional students in the health sciences. It is often assumed that these high-achieving students have developed proficient test-taking skills and abilities before admittance. However, the assessments in these programs and for…

Background and Aims: In educational measurement, performance assessments occupy a niche for offering a true-to-life format that affords the measurement of high-level cognitive competencies and the evidence to draw inferences about intellectual capital. However, true-to-life formats also introduce myriad complexities and can skew if not outright…