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The conclusions of Sarikoc, Ozcan, and Elcin (2017) had weaknesses. An uncontrolled variable (time spent in training) could account for the results. The difference in the control and experimental groups was not statistically significant. Acceptance of the hypothesis that video with interviews is more effective than videos alone is premature.

While many literary sources outline the product development process, few make mention of the prototyping and testing stage. This thesis suggests that because of its importance in the product development process, "Testing" should be documented as a major step and not just listed as a side note. As part of the testing step, it is suggested that standardized, in-use, and market tests be used to properly evaluate a product. While many rely solely on standardized tests to validate their products, effective in-use tests can be another vital tool that can prove the performance of the product in more specific and relevant applications. In-use tests are a major focus in this thesis and the process of developing and using these in-use tests is explored. A case study is used to prove that effective product development will follow the outlined testing procedure. Also, it shows that in-use testing, combined with other types of testing, can be a vital tool to ensuring the successful launch of a newly developed product. As a result of the case study, the traditional new product development process is amended and a set of guidelines are proposed for use in constructing a successful testing methodology for the new product development process.

Traditionally, appeals for improving the teaching of psychology at the post-secondary level have focused on increasing teacher training and motivation. However, wide-scale success may be limited because both approaches involve significant demands on teachers' time. I describe two recommendations that may improve teaching while requiring minimal time investment from individual teachers. The first is the development of an end-of-major assessment taken by undergraduate psychology majors that would provide valuable feedback to teachers on which areas of the curriculum need improvement. The second recommendation is to create a new database of research on teaching and learning that focuses on streamlining relevant information and improving user-friendliness through the use of a wiki interface. The feedback from the end-of-major assessment would link to the sections of the database that might prove most beneficial for improvement of the curricular areas indicated. Suggestions are provided for immediate implementation of both recommendations.

Few constituencies exist where it is more important to produce information literate individuals than teacher candidates, yet rarely is it suggested that practitioners entering the field are adequately prepared to teach and model information literacy to their students. As a result, information literacy has been established as a key outcome by a number of teacher education accrediting bodies and professional associations. Corollary to this initiative is the effort to develop valid instruments that assess information literacy skills. Yet, at the time of this dissertation, no rigorously reviewed instruments were uncovered that measure the information literacy skills levels of teacher candidates. The study describes the development and validation of the Beile Test of Information Literacy for Education (B-TILED). Funded in part by the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the study is part of a national initiative spear-headed by the Project for the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS). Test content is based on nationally recognized standards from the International Society for Technology in Education and the Association of College and Research Libraries. Procedures designed to enhance the scale's validity were woven throughout its development. 172 teacher education students at a large, metropolitan university completed a protocol consisting of 22 test items and 13 demographic and self-percept items. This instrument can be used to inform curricular and instructional decisions and to provide evidence of institutional effectiveness for program reviews.

There is an abundance of literature that focuses on the standardized test score difference between minority and non-minority students. Within this literature, socio-economic factors, parental influences, and school-level resources have been used to explain the difference in test scores. The purpose of this study is to identify the variables that are thought to significantly influence test score achievement. The data come from the Florida Department of Education and the US Census. Linear regression analyses results are used to examine the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. The results showed that overall economic factors are more closely related to FCAT scores than race. More specifically, the percent of students receiving free lunch was negatively correlated with FCAT scores.

Today's focus on high-stakes standardized tests has had a massive impact on education throughout America, and standardized test preparation is one of the ugly, open secrets of education. Ever since 2001 when President Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a bipartisan reauthorization of Johnson's landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, students have been bombarded with standardized tests from the earliest grades. Politicians believe these measures are the only way to remedy the perceived weaknesses in the education system because "stringent accountability mandates… [provide] vital levers of change, inclusiveness, and transparency of results" (Education Week, 2011, para. 15). Yet as time progresses, the quantity and importance of the exams increase to such proportions that, by the time students are in high school, their performance dictates whether they will graduate or attend college. While proponents of such exams say that they only test the skills that students ought to be learning anyway, the reality tends to be that teachers start to focus only on the specific questions the test will cover, and thereby lose the ability to provide full, comprehensive education. "Teaching to the test" is the much-maligned experience of most high schools. In order to combat the pressure students feel to perform and teachers feel to shortchange the learning experience, a "Build Your Own Adventure" manual designed around research-based principles demonstrated to improve student learning gains will allow students to focus on the key areas needed to improve test performance, demystify the test itself, and thus help students obtain score improvement. In so doing, students will not only perform better on standardized assessments, but ultimately be able to attend more elite colleges.

With the passing of the No Child Left Behind legislation (2001), individual states have been required to administer standardized tests to measure students’ academic achievement in several academic areas, including reading comprehension. Many schools are using curriculum embedded reading comprehension tests to assess students’ progress in achieving grade level expectations before the administration of state standardized test. This study used de-identified student data on curriculum embedded reading comprehension tests and the state standardized reading test, FCAT 2.0 to assess the correlation between a specific curriculum-based measure and the FCAT 2.0. The researcher used Pearson and Spearman Correlation to assess the predictive relationship of the curriculum-embedded reading tests and FCAT 2.0 reading. Strong correlations were found between the two assessments which educators may find useful when planning and differentiating reading comprehension instruction throughout the school year.

This study examines the potential correlation between standardized testing and teacher practice. Building upon the conceptual framework, are constructs of school climate and assessment to develop themes such as leadership role, teacher role, district role, and coach’s role as well as teacher practice, classroom assessment, standardized assessment, and the alignment of curriculum to standardized testing. In discovering the parallel between standardized testing and teacher practice, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through research and observations, but more importantly through a survey and focus group. Over a two-semester period, it became evident that there was an eminent parallel between each the themes and constructs within the conceptual framework, ultimately answering the research question. Although the data fulfilled the research question of this study, future research would require a more in-depth, longitudinal study in order to suggest possible ideas for solutions.