Given the potential consequences of test results, it is important that policy makers, educators, and parents understand the empirical base underlying the use and validity of assessments for measuring the academic progress of English Learners (Abedi, Hofstetter, & Lord, 2004). In order to understand how the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) school…

Through an examination of one institution's efforts to strengthen teaching and learning on campus, the author makes a strong case for the use of common examinations as a powerful form of assessment as well as a fruitful context for faculty deliberations. Providing a continuing occasion for faculty inquiry and discussion, insuring grade…

The results of administering the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) to introductory astronomy students at Henry Ford Community College over three years have shown gains comparable with national averages. Results have also accurately corresponded to course goals, showing greater gains in topics covered in more detail, and lower gains in topics covered…

This article reports on Ontario's way of school improvement which focuses less on test-score results and more on engaging teachers and principals. Like the United States, the Canadian province of Ontario has committed itself to reaching key numeric targets: at least 75 percent of 6th graders able to read, write, and do mathematics at the…

This article intends to help school psychologists understand the nature of high stakes tests, methods for analyzing and reporting high stakes test data, standards for tests and program evaluation, and application of appropriate practices to program planning and evaluation. Although it is readily acknowledged that high stakes test data are not…

High-stakes testing has emerged as a central feature of the educational landscape in primary and secondary schools in the United States. Despite this prominence, there is a paucity of guidance available to practitioners on how they can best make predictions about student performance based on available test data. While achievement gaps based on…

Many credentialing agencies today are either administering their examinations by computer or are likely to be doing so in the coming years. Unfortunately, although several promising computer-based test designs are available, little is known about how well they function in examination settings. The goal of this study was to compare fixed-length…

This paper studies whether equating results can be improved if the variable that accounts for all systematic differences between equating populations is identified and used as an anchor in anchor test design or as a variable on which to match equating samples. The sample invariant properties of four anchor test equating methods (Tucker and Levine…

The relationship between the quantity of nonacademic achievements and personality test scores was investigated. The nonacademic score was derived from nine nonacademic achievement scales on the American College Test. The predictor variables consisted of 14 scale scores from the Omnibus Personality Inventory and one academic aptitude measure.…

Correction for attenuation is important for partial correlations because not even the sign of the partial between true scores can be inferred safely from the partial between observed (fallible) scores. Methods for inferring the corrected partial are discussed. Unfortunately, the corrected partial will sometimes have an overwhelming sampling error.…

In this fictional account, a principal raised his school's ratings by forcing out marginal students and attracting successful students. (IRT)

The use of a cathode ray tube (CRT) terminal as a display device for posting test results is described, and a parts list for the display system is provided. (RAO)

Validity is concerned with the clarification and justification of the intended interpretations and uses of observed scores. It has not been easy to formulate a general methodology set of principles for validation, but progress has been made, especially as the field has moved from relatively limited criterion-related models to sophisticated…