Explores the consequences of using complex test-and-item analysis in a large-scale testing situation that historically has used simple number-right scoring. When the two types of scoring were used with high school graduation exams in British Columbia, results were similar in terms of mean, standard deviation, error of estimation, and correlation…

Evaluates the equivalence of translated achievement tests administered to 4,400 English- and French-speaking sixth-graders. Items displaying differential item functioning were flagged using three statistical methods; results were relatively consistent across methods, but not identical. Substantive review of French items via back-translation to…

Ontario third-grade mathematics assessment results were analyzed on three knowledge/skill dimensions and five content strands. Seventy percent of students had the same subscores on the dimensions (flat profile); 30 percent differed on only one dimension (contoured profile); 69 percent had flat or contoured content profiles. Profiles were used to…

A model of expert tutors' knowledge of applied statistics was used to create a web-based computer coach that emulates human tutoring. Cognitive assessments are obtained from records of students' actions as, with the computer tutor's help, they learn to apply components of procedural knowledge required to solve problems. Learning is evaluated by…

An "ill-defined" informal performance task was constructed to evaluate secondary students' problem solving in mathematics. The task for 170 students in grades 9 and 10 was to evaluate other students' solutions to two mathematics questions. Higher-achieving students generally preferred responses reflecting multiple approaches to problem solving,…

Presents a cognitive theory of learning to read and examples of how its theoretical constructs can be measured. Measures of five phonological processing constructs were administered to 161 kindergarten children. Phonological awareness, naming speed, and letter recognition were the most frequent significant predictors of reading achievement in…

Analysis of Longitudinal Study of American Youth data indicates that during grades 7-11, males and females acquired mathematical skills at the same rate. Variation in student scores increased over time, and students maintained their initial position in the distribution. This fan-spread phenomenon also occurred among schools and was more pronounced…

Describes ongoing research engaged in an antiracist critique of transcultural nursing theory (TCN). TCN's core theme of cultural sensitivity organizes and reproduces White racial identity as a dominant but invisible presence in nursing texts. The research will test an instrument that supports nursing faculty and students in examining…

Describes ongoing research on part-time teaching in selected Alberta (Canada) school districts. Themes include benefits and drawbacks of part-time teaching for individuals, students, and schools; incentives to attract part-time teachers; effects on principals in small schools; rural-urban differences; driving forces; and implications for the…

Introduces the five chapters of this theme issue, which explores the learner characteristics, task components, and context variables (including instruction), that can facilitate or inhibit the occurrence of transfer. These chapters represent the diversity of opinion about transfer and instruction. (SLD)

Describes fundamental dimensions that appear to underlie effective transfer: subject-matter knowledge; general cognitive and metacognitive strategies; and motivation. Summarizes five generalizations about transfer drawn from the literatures on transfer, domain learning, and analogical reasoning. (SLD)

Describes three kinds of transfer: from prior knowledge, from learning to new learning, and from learning to application. Suggests that all three start from the dilemmas learners face trying to reach transfer and outlines six such dilemmas. Describes exemplary studies that illustrate transfer solutions developed and their effectiveness. (SLD)

Studied transfer with 60 adults in 4 different computer-based learning environment conditions (simulation of a business with multiple or uniform contexts) for which learners were given either no guidance, problem-solving guidance, or worked-out examples. Results suggest that to optimize learning, learning by problem solving should be combined with…

Reviews evidence from more than 40 studies that multimedia learning environments can promote constructivist learning that enables problem-solving transfer. Explores the problem of how multimedia instructional messages can be designed to promote problem-solving transfer. (SLD)

Focuses on transfer of cognitions, motivations, and dispositions related to learning across different cultural-educational contexts, illustrating the discussion with research on learners of Confucian heritage from Singapore and Hong Kong studying in their own countries and in Australia. Discusses implications for educational practice in a…