This paper analyzes the nature and perceived effects of mid-stakes testing (known as the EQAO) in Ontario, Canada. Ontario's mid-stakes tests were meant to ensure accountability and transparency, and assure system-wide improvement, while avoiding the negative effects and perverse incentives of their high-stakes counterparts. The paper provides new…

In educational and psychological research, we are often interested in discrete latent states of individuals responding to an assessment (e.g., proficiency or non-proficiency on educational standards, the presence or absence of a psychological disorder). Diagnostic classification models (DCMs; also called cognitive diagnostic models [CDMs]) are a…

The article deals with the innovative, cutting age solution within the language testing realm, namely computer adaptive language testing (CALT) in accordance with the NATO Standardization Agreement 6001 (NATO STANAG 6001) requirements for further implementation in foreign language training of personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AF of…

A common interpretation of achievement test results is that they provide measures of achievement that are much like other measures we commonly use for height, weight, or the cost of goods. In a limited sense, such interpretations are correct, but some nuances of these interpretations have important implications for the use of achievement test…

To help faculty use research-based materials in a more significant way, we learn about their perceived needs and desires and use this information to suggest ways for the physics education research community to address these needs. When research-based resources are well aligned with the perceived needs of faculty, faculty members will more readily…

Why has large-scale standardised testing attracted such a bad press? Why has pedagogic benefit to be derived from test results been downplayed? The paper investigates this question by first surveying the pros and cons of testing in the literature, and goes on to examine educators' responses to standardised, large-scale tests in a sample of low…

This article investigates several questions regarding the impact of different item formats on measurement characteristics. Constructed response (CR) items and multiple choice (MC) items obviously differ in their formats and in the resources needed to score them. As such, they have been the subject of considerable discussion regarding the impact of…

The accuracy of achievement test score inferences largely depends on the sensitivity of scores to instruction focused on tested objectives. Sensitivity requirements are particularly challenging for standards-based assessments because a variety of plausible instructional differences across classrooms must be detected. For this study, we developed a…

The path from a collection of observations and measurements to a set of warranted conclusions is fraught with hazards. This chapter describes the path and offers some guidance on how to negotiate it. It also discusses presenting results in a way that can be understood by nontechnically trained persons. It should enable the reader to better…

For some situations the beta-binomial distribution might be used to describe the marginal distribution of test scores for a particular population of examinees. Several different methods of approximating the maximum likelihood estimate were investigated, and it was found that the Newton-Raphson method should be used when it yields admissable…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress uses a variety of test items and scoring techniques in measuring the writing achievement of three age groups--nine, thirteen, and seventeen year olds. This document discusses the holistic scoring of essays, including mechanical correctness and grammatical usage; the primary-trait method of scoring,…

During 1970 and 1971, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted its first assessment of reading, measuring the achievement of specific reading objectives by individuals aged 9, 13, 17, and 26-35. In 1974, the Right to Read Effort directed that a Mini-Assessment of Functional Literacy (MAFL) be conducted to determine basic…

A modified form of Sigel's Styles of Categorization Test was constructed, permitting the independent measurement of Descriptive Part-Whole (DPW), Relational-Contextual (RC), and Categorical-Inferential (CI) categorizations. The test was administered to 243 5th, 8th, and 11th graders on two occasions. At each grade level, a majority of…

This is a condensed report of a study commissioned by the Minister's Advisory Committee on Student Achievement (MACOSA). The study was designed to provide information about current levels of achievement in mathematics among students in Alberta schools and to provide a data base for future assessments. The test was given to third-, sixth-, ninth-,…

Seven major topics were included in the conference proceedings: (1) Improving Evaluation of Educational Outcomes at the College Level; (2) Individual versus Group Decision Making; (3) Problems and Procedures in Profile Analysis; (4) Making Test Results Meaningful; (5) The Teaching of Educational Measurement; (6) The Interview as an Evaluation…