High stakes test-based accountability systems primarily rely on aggregates and derivatives of scores from tests that were originally developed to measure individual student mastery of content specifications. Current validity models do not explicitly address this use of aggregate scores to measure the performance of teachers, administrators, and…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) cemented a standardized testing assessment culture in the United States but research has highlighted the inequities (Au, 2020; Dixon, 1978; Grodsky et al., 2008; Khan, 2020; Moses & Nanna, 2007), unreliability (Hunt et al., 2010; Pizmony-Levy & Green Saraisky, 2016) and negative impacts (Berryhill et al., 2009;…

Purpose: The purpose of this document analysis study was to examine current teacher evaluation systems, understand current practices, and determine whether the instrumentation is a valid measure of teaching quality as reflected in teacher behavior and effectiveness specific to physical education (PE). Method: An interpretive document analysis…

This chapter is a research summary of the author's doctoral dissertation completed in May, 2015, which investigates the way Standardized Assessment (SA) is used in state educational accountability structures. This quasi-experimental quantitative study found that SA scores trend towards consistency over time, and that there is additional variance,…

Currently, in order to reform the Malaysian education system, there have been a number of education policy initiatives launched by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE). All these initiatives have encouraged and inculcated teaching and learning for creativity, critical, innovative and higher-order thinking skills rather than conceptual…

Background/Context: The evolution of validity understandings from mid-century to now has emphasized that test validity depends on test purpose--adding consequence considerations to issues of interpretation and evidentiary warrants. Purpose: To consider the tensions created by multiple purposes for assessment and sketch briefly how we got to where…

This guide is designed to assist States, agencies, and/or facilities who work with youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk (N or D). The information in the guide will benefit those who are (a) interested in implementing pre-posttests, (b) in the process of identifying an appropriate pre-posttest, or (c) ready to evaluate current testing…

In order to comply with the regulations put forth by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to submit evidence associated with their statewide accountability systems to the United States Department of Education (ED) for peer review. Some states have elected to…

There is something incalculable about teacher expertise and whether it can be observed, detected, quantified, and as per current educational policies, used as an accountability tool to hold America's public school teachers accountable for that which they do (or do not do well). In this commentary, authors (all of whom are former public school…

In order to comply with the regulations put forth by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to submit evidence associated with their statewide accountability systems to the United States Department of Education (ED) for peer review. Thirty-eight states submitted…

This commentary on the article titled "Examining the Internal Structure Evidence for the Performance Assessment for California Teachers: A Validation Study of the Elementary Literacy Teaching Event for Tier 1 Teacher Licensure" provides an overview of Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT), its relationship to edTPA and…

This column focuses on the challenge of assessment and accountability in providing services to gifted students.The new Common Core State Standards in mathematics and language arts require new assessments for measuring student progress. The gifted field must be a part of the conversation in designing these tools. The National Association for Gifted…

This article describes key findings from contemporary research on screening for early primary grade students in the area of mathematics. Existing studies were used to illustrate the constructs most worth measuring and the diverse strategies that researchers used to study potential measures. The authors discussed the strengths and weaknesses of…

Background: Many in education argue for the importance of incorporating teacher judgements in the assessment and reporting of student performance. Advocates of such an approach are cognisant, though, that obtaining a satisfactory level of consistency in teacher judgements poses a challenge. Purpose: This study investigates the extent to which the…

Value-added evaluations use student test scores to assess teacher effectiveness. How student achievement is judged can depend on which test is used to measure it. Thus it is reasonable to ask whether a teacher's value-added score depends on which test is used to calculate it. Would it change if a different test was used? Specifically, might a…