Randy Ellsworth

Multiple-Choice Test Items: What Are Textbook Authors Telling Teachers?.

AbstractThe purposes of this study were to (a) Look at what teachers are being told about multiple-choice test item construction by introductory educational psychology textbook authors and (b) to evaluate the quality of test items that preservice teachers may be exposed to if their university instructors use unedited multiple-choice items provided by the publishers of their classroom text. A comprehensive survey of educational psychology texts was completed to identify the textbook authors’ recommended guidelines for teachers to follow when writing multiple-choice test items. Next, a reduced set of 12 guidelines was identified on the basis of the frequency of author recommendations. These 12 guidelines were used to evaluate 60 multiple-choice items (N = 1,080) that were randomly selected from 18 different instructor guides to introductory educational psychology texts. The results indicated that approximately 60% of the items violated one or more guidelines.

Length of wait-times used by college students given unlimited wait-time intervals

Abstract Teacher use of wait-time after asking a question appears to be a relatively powerful teaching technique based on both theory and research data. Wait-times of 3 to 5 s after questions are often recommended in the literature. However, missing from the literature are studies investigating the amount of time students would take to respond to a question if given an unlimited amount of time to respond. The present study investigated this issue with college students and found that students asked a question and given an unlimited amount of time within which to respond on the average responded from a low of 8.82 s to a convergent question to a high of 32.95 s to a more complex divergent question. With only one exception, student level of knowledge of the content over which they were questioned did not correlate significantly with the amount of wait-time used before responding to the questions.

A Validation Study of the Inventory of Teacher Knowledge of Reading

The reliability and construct validity of an instrument designed to measure teacher knowledge of reading are examined. The instrument was administered to a sample of 304 elementary school teachers. Results revealed significant differences among teachers grouped by number of years of teaching experience, degree level, number of reading courses, and grade level taught. All differences were interpreted as supporting the construct validity of the instrument. Internal consistency reliability was estimated at .91.

A Public School Validation Study of the Achievement Sections of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery with Learning Disabled Students.

This study investigated selected aspects of the concurrent validity of the achievement sections of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery. A random sample of 30 elementary students referred for possible learning disabilities was selected and each student was evaluated by two different staffing committees, one having achievement information from traditionally used school district tests of Key Math, Brigance Inventory of Basic Skills, PIAT, and WRAT while the second evaluation committee had Woodcock-Johnson achievement information in place of the traditionally used tests. Identical LD placement decisions were reached on 23 out of 30 students evaluated (p < .05). In addition, it was found that Woodcock-Johnson cognitive ability scores correlated +.63 with WISC-R scores and were about 12 IQ points lower on the average.

A Validation Study of the Diagnostic Analysis of Reading Errors (DARE) Screening Test

The ability of the Diagnostic Analysis of Reading Errors (DARE) test to differentiate among students representing special populations was investigated. The DARE was administered to adolescents who had been previously placed in classes for learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, giftedness, and regular education. Data were analyzed by comparing group differences in scores on the DARE correct scale and by determining how accurately the DARE classification criteria reflected differences in actual educational placement. Results indicated that the DARE might have some value as a preliminary screening instrument for identifying adolescents who are at risk for educational problems. The results also indicated, however, that no consistent pattern of scores was unique to any educational grouping of students.