ABLE Members Elected as NABT Officers
Ed Andrews

Ann S. Lumsden, Florida State University, our host for ABLE 20, has been elected President Elect of NABT. Another ABLE Member, Brad Williams, Olathe East High School, Olathe, Kansas, has been elected Director-At-Large.

IF AT: A New Testing Method
Doreen Schroeder, Editor

This summer, a colleague told me about a new testing format for multiple choice exams called IF AT (Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique) that really sounds intriguing. The answer sheets are made with the silver scratch-off areas (like lottery tickets) instead of bubbles to fill in by pencil. The immediate feedback occurs when the student scratches the correct answer and a star is revealed. There is the option with this testing format to allow students to keep scratching off answers until the star appears, but getting increasingly lower points the more areas they scratch off. The downside is that the instructor would have to format their exams to correspond with the placement of the stars ("correct answers") on the answer sheet. The company does make 8 different versions of the answer sheets so students cannot memorize the order of the stars. More details can be found at http://enigma.rider.edu/~epstein/ifat/. I do not teach a large enough class during fall semester to use this testing method, but I plan to try it in my non-majors course this spring. I will report back on how both the students and I liked it. If any of the membership has used this type of exam, why not submit a short note?

Regional Reporters Needed
Doreen Schroeder, Editor

We currently have openings for several Regional Reporters: Eastern Canada and Central U.S. Beginning next year, we will have an opening for the Western U.S., also. Regional Reporters collect information, notes, and articles from ABLE members in their area. They are also encouraged to submit articles of their own. If you are interested in helping out by being a regional reporter, please contact me. See the last page of Labstracts for more information on the regions.

Format for Submissions to Labstracts
Doreen Schroeder, Editor

Labstracts is about communication. So, we always need articles in addition to the basic business of the organization. Think about writing book, technique, or software reviews, notes about conferences, opinions, informational articles, original ideas, workshop uses or spin-offs, short notes, notification of conferences, etc. Don't feel that you can't contribute because you do not have the time to write a long article. A short article can be just as interesting as a long one.

If you do decide to submit an article, please include a short bio on yourself. If you have the capability, send a scanned picture, too. Although I will accept articles sent by snail mail or fax, I would prefer them as e-mail attachments (to djschroeder@stthomas.edu) in either Word or WordPerfect. If you created the document on a Mac, please tell me that too, when you send it. Thanks in advance for your contributions.

Doreen Schroeder
Mail# OWS390, University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave.
St. Paul MN 55105
Office: 651.962.5229
Fax: 651.962.5209