Istzustand und Ausbau der Épreuves Standardisées (ÉpStan)

Presentation (2014, January)

Die Online-Testplattform OASYS

Presentation (2014, January)

Forty years on: Childhood intelligence predicts health in middle adulthood.

in Health Psychology (2014), 33(3), 292-296

Concept maps: A useful and usable tool for computer-based knowledge assessment? A literature review with a focus on usability

in Computers & Education (2014), 78

The concept map is now widely accepted as an instrument for the assessment of conceptual knowledge and is increasingly being embedded into technology-based environments. Usability addresses how ... [more ▼]

The concept map is now widely accepted as an instrument for the assessment of conceptual knowledge and is increasingly being embedded into technology-based environments. Usability addresses how appropriate (for a particular use) or how user-friendly a computer-based assessment instrument is. As we know from human-computer interaction research, if the interface is not user-friendly, a computer-based assessment can result in decreased test performance and reduced validity. This means that the usability of the interface affects the assessment in such a way that if the test is not user-friendly, then the test taker will not be able to fully demonstrate his/her level of proficiency and will instead be scored according to his/her information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills. The guidelines of the International Test Commission (2006) require usability testing for such instruments and suggest that design standards be implemented. However, we do not know whether computer-conducted concept map assessments fulfill these standards. The present paper addresses this aspect. We conducted a systematic research review to examine whether and how researchers have studied and considered usability when conducting computer-based concept map assessments. Only 24 out of 119 journal articles that assessed computer-based concept maps discussed the usability issue in some way. Nevertheless, our review brings to light the idea that the impact of usability on computer-based concept map assessments is an issue that has received insufficient attention. In addition, usability ensures a suitable interaction between test taker and test device; thus, the training effort required for test use can be reduced if a test's usability is straight forward. Our literature review, however, illustrates that the interplay between usability and test use training has mostly been neglected in current studies. [less ▲]

Predictive validity of tracking decisions: Application of a new validation criterion.

in Spiliopoulou, Myra; Schmidt-Thieme, Lars; Janning, Ruth (Eds.) Studies in classification, data analysis, and knowledge organisation: Data Analysis, Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery. (2014)

Differential relations between facets of complex problem solving and students’ immigration background

in Journal of Educational Psychology (2014), Advance online publication

Whereas the assessment of complex problem solving (CPS) has received increasing attention in the context of international large-scale assessments, its fairness in regard to students’ cultural background ... [more ▼]

Whereas the assessment of complex problem solving (CPS) has received increasing attention in the context of international large-scale assessments, its fairness in regard to students’ cultural background has gone largely unexplored. On the basis of a student sample of ninth-graders (N = 299), including a representative number of immigrant students (N = 127), the present study evaluated (1) whether CPS can be assessed fairly among students with or without immigration background and (2) whether achievement differences between these groups exist. Results showed that fair assessment of CPS is possible using the Genetics Lab, a computer-based microworld that incorporates game-like characteristics and multilingual-friendly features. Immigrant students were generally outperformed by their non-immigrant peers, but performance differences can largely be explained by differential enrollment in lower academic tracks. Interestingly, CPS scales were less affected by students’ educational background than a traditional paper-pencil-based reasoning scale. Moreover, a fine-grained analysis of different facets of CPS showed that irrespective of the academic track, immigrant students demonstrated a more efficient task exploration behavior than their native peers (d = .26). In sum, this might point to the potential of computer-based assessment of CPS to identify otherwise hidden cognitive potential in immigrant students. [less ▲]

Computer-based assessment of Complex Problem Solving in educational contexts and how it is influenced by students’ level of Information and Communication Technology literacy

in Journal of Educational Psychology (2014)

Kompetenzmessung im Bildungsbereich

in Steffgen, Georges; Michaux, Gilles; Ferring, Dieter (Eds.) Psychologie in Luxemburg - Ein Handbuch (2014)

HCI Design Methods in CBA: Lessons Learned and Recommendations Based on a Concept Map Use Case

in Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2014 (2014)

This paper focuses on the user-centered design of a computer-based assessment (CBA) instrument for knowledge measurement. We describe relevant design steps in general and illustrate them via the design of ... [more ▼]

This paper focuses on the user-centered design of a computer-based assessment (CBA) instrument for knowledge measurement. We describe relevant design steps in general and illustrate them via the design of our usability improved CBA concept map instrument (ISO 9241-11, 1998; ISO 9241-210, 2010). We discuss design versus evaluation methods from a human-computer interaction (HCI) perspective and emphasize important design steps relevant for constructing usability improved assessment instruments in educational assessment. As these HCI methods are still seldom applied to CBA, this paper helps alleviate the dearth of literature and guidelines in this domain. Our objective is thus to provide the reader with a series of design recommendations for CBA, as derived both from HCI research; and to summarize lessons learned from our specific CBA design use case. [less ▲]

Developing number–space associations: SNARC effects using a color discrimination task in 5-year-olds

in Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (2013), 116

Human adults’ numerical representation is spatially oriented; consequently, participants are faster to respond to small/large numerals with their left/right hand, respectively, when doing a binary ... [more ▼]

Human adults’ numerical representation is spatially oriented; consequently, participants are faster to respond to small/large numerals with their left/right hand, respectively, when doing a binary classification judgment on numbers, known as the SNARC (spatial– numerical association of response codes) effect. Studies on the emergence and development of the SNARC effect remain scarce. The current study introduces an innovative new paradigm based on a simple color judgment of Arabic digits. Using this task, we found a SNARC effect in children as young as 5.5 years. In contrast, when preschool children needed to perform a magnitude judgment task necessitating exact number knowledge, the SNARC effect started to emerge only at 5.8 years. Moreover, the emergence of a magnitude SNARC but not a color SNARC was linked to proficiency with Arabic digits. Our results suggest that access to a spatially oriented approximate magnitude representation from symbolic digits emerges early in ontogenetic development. Exact magnitude judgments, on the other hand, rely on experience with Arabic digits and, thus, necessitate formal or informal schooling to give access to a spatially oriented numerical representation. [less ▲]