Propensity score matching and weighting methods are applied to balance covariates and reduce selection bias in the analysis of observational study data, and ultimately estimate a treatment effect. We wish to evaluate the impact of a Supplemental Instruction (SI) program on student success in an Introductory Statistics course. In such student…

Due to repeated observations of an outcome behavior in N-of-1 or single-case design (SCD) intervention studies, the occurrence of missing scores is inevitable in such studies. Approximately 21% of SCD articles published in five reputable journals between 2015 and 2019 exhibited evidence of missing scores. Missing rates varied by designs, with the…

Technical difficulties and other unforeseen events occasionally lead to incomplete data on educational tests, which necessitates the reporting of imputed scores to some examinees. While there exist several approaches for reporting imputed scores, there is a lack of any guidance on the reporting of the uncertainty of imputed scores. In this paper,…

One of the assessed research elements in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise in 2014 was the research environment. The quality of the research environment was assessed by expert peer reviewers who were given a set of quantitative factors to support their decision making. However, there is no systematic procedure to integrate this…

Scholars have lamented that current methods of assessing student performance do not align with contemporary views of learning as situated within students, contexts, and time. Here, we introduce and describe one theoretical--psychometric paradigm--termed "dynamic measurement"--designed to provide a valid representation of the way students…

Shanghai has always led college entrance examination reform in China, and has piloted the new round of college entrance examination reform for 5 years. At present, the comprehensive quality evaluation of general high school students has been carried out on a regular basis, and the comprehensive quality evaluation information of graduates of the…

Much is made of students generally rating assessment lower than other aspects of their educational experience. It is frequently cited in research literature as evidence for a general crisis in assessment, and it strongly influences institutional enhancement efforts and media coverage of student feedback. Focusing on the UK's National Student…

For assessments that use different forms in different administrations, equating methods are applied to ensure comparability of scores over time. Ideally, a score scale is well maintained throughout the life of a testing program. In reality, instability of a score scale can result from a variety of causes, some are expected while others may be…

In 2013, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), working collaboratively with state education agencies, released a set of criteria for states to use to evaluate and procure high-quality assessments. The English Language Arts (ELA)/Literacy section of the document included nine content-specific criteria to evaluate the alignment of…

Free text answers to short questions can reflect students' mastery of concepts and their relationships relevant to learning objectives. However, automating the assessment of free text answers has been challenging due to the complexity of natural language. Existing studies often predict the scores of free text answers in a "black box"…

Objective: Readiness assurance testing has enjoyed increased use as a tool for the delivery and reinforcement of pharmacy concepts. This study was conducted to determine the influence of the readiness assurance test (RAT) on major examination outcomes in pharmacy calculations. Methods: The Blackboard Learning Management System was identified as an…

The process of setting and evaluating student learning objectives (SLOs) has become increasingly popular as an example where classroom assessment is intended to fulfill the dual purpose use of informing instruction and holding teachers accountable. A concern is that the high-stakes purpose may lead to distortions in the inferences about students…

Balancing assessment of learning outcomes with the expectations of students is a perennial challenge in education. Difficult exams, in which many students perform poorly, exacerbate this problem and can inspire a wide variety of interventions, such as a grading curve. However, addressing poor performance can sometimes distort or inflate grades and…

Rating scale development in the field of language assessment is often considered in dichotomous ways: It is assumed to be guided either by expert intuition or by drawing on performance data. Even though quite a few authors have argued that rating scale development is rarely so easily classifiable, this dyadic view has dominated language testing…

A novel approach is described using primary literature manuscripts for the final examination of an upper level undergraduate course in virology. This innovative technique was applied as an alternative to a core comprehensive final examination. A recent primary literature paper in virology was assigned several weeks before the end of the semester.…