The preclinical compulsory elective course "Ready for the Operating Room (OR)!?" [in German]: "Fit für den OP (FOP)"] was implemented for students in their second year, who were simultaneously enrolled in the gross anatomy course. The objective of the study was to determine whether the direct practical application of anatomical…

The present study adopts a multilingual approach to analysing the standardized test results of primary school immigrant children living in the bi-/multilingual context of South Tyrol, Italy. The standardized test results are from the Invalsi test administered across Italy in 2009/2010. In South Tyrol, several languages are spoken on a daily basis…

With crosscutting concepts such as stability and change in the "Next Generation Science Standards," this article was written for those who have wondered how to teach these concepts in a way that is relevant to students. In this investigation, students ask the question, "Why is the pond dirty?" As students investigate the health…

While there are several tools to study learning styles of students, the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, freely available, easy to administer tool that encourages students to describe their behavior in a manner they can identify with and accept. The aim is to understand the preferred sensory modality (or…

Participation in Advanced Placement (AP) classes and AP test-taking are widely viewed as indicators of students' college readiness. We analyzed enrollment in AP courses and AP test outcomes in Arizona to document disparities in students' access to rigorous curricula in high school and outline some implications of these patterns for…

To help explain the differences in students' performance on internationally administered science assessments, cross-national, video-based observational studies have been advocated, but none have yet been conducted at the elementary level for science. The USA and Germany are two countries with large formal education systems whose students…

Perhaps the most prevailing inequalities in educational achievement in England are those associated with socio-economic status (SES), ethnicity and gender. However, little research has sought to compare the relative size of these gaps or to explore interactions between these factors. This paper analyses the educational achievement at age 11, 14…

A joint course, created as a result of a project under the auspices of the "Stability Pact of South-Eastern Europe" and DAAD, has been conducted in several Balkan countries: in Novi Sad, Serbia, for the last six years in several different forms, in Skopje, FYR of Macedonia, for two years, for several types of students, and in Tirana,…

An experiment was developed to determine if cognitive learning strategies improved standardized university business exam results. Previous studies revealed that factors such as prior ability, age, gender, and culture predicted a student's Major Field Test in Business (MFTB) score better than course content. The experiment control consisted of…

The authors study the characteristics of students who take the Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B) versus those who do not. The authors find that students with higher cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) are more likely to take the test. Additionally, students are more likely to take the test if it is offered late in the semester. Further…

The current paper examined the relationship between perceived characteristics of the learning environment in an e-module in relation to test performance among a group of e-learners. Using structural equation modelling, the relationship between these variables is further explored in terms of the proposed double mediation as outlined by Ning and…

Aligning curriculum change and assessment reforms has been a topic of great concern in Namibia for over the past 23 years. This is because during the pre-colonial period and continuing in post-independence Namibia, national examinations have been used mainly for the certification and selection of learners at Junior and Senior secondary school…

Validation research for educational achievement tests is often limited to an examination of intended test score interpretations. This article calls for an expansion of validation research in three dimensions. First, validation must attend to actual test use and its consequences, not just score meaning. Second, validation must attend to unintended…

At the outset of his thoughtful and thought-provoking article, Haertel (this issue) clearly identifies the issue with which he will be dealing: The disjunct, or gap, in current approaches to evaluating the merits of a given test, between the intended uses of that test and the validity of its score-based interpretations. The author thinks that…

In 2012, Edward Haertel received the NCME Career Contributions Award. The focus article for this issue emerged from his address on the topic "How Is Testing Supposed to Improve Schooling?" His focus article provides a discussion of the relationships between testing and schooling in which he issues a call to action to the measurement community to…