The goal of this study was to extend research on scale contextualization (i.e., frame-of-reference effect) to the decision making styles construct, compare the effects of contextualization across three unique decision style scales, and examine the consequences of scale contextualization within an item response theory framework. Based on a mixed…

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the challenges posed by disinformation in an educational context. The paper aims to review existing information assessment techniques, highlight their limitations, and propose a conceptual design for a multimodal, explainable information assessment system for higher education. The ultimate goal…

This publication is the fourth in a series of practical Cedefop skills anticipation guides for policymakers, analysts, and expert professionals. The three previous guides presented a rich mosaic of conventional and emerging methods for identifying technological change and its impact on skills. They assessed the merits and challenges of using…

In this article, we consolidate and present in one place what is known about quality indicators for setting standards so that stakeholders may be able to recognize the signs of standard-setting quality. We use the context of setting standards to associate English language test scores with language proficiency descriptions such as those presented…

Education systems are increasingly creating rich, longitudinal data sets with frequent, and even real-time, data updates of many student measures, including daily attendance, homework submissions, and exam scores. These data sets provide an opportunity for district and school staff members to move beyond an indicators-based approach and instead…

The vital role of principalship in improving schools in general and enhancing student achievement in particular has been well documented. Given its importance, there is a need for tools to improve principalship, particularly ones emphasizing those dimensions associated with student achievement. Given the accountability movement, with its…

This article explores epistemological awareness and instantiation of methods, as well as uninformed ambiguity, in qualitative methodological decision making and research reporting. The authors argue that efforts should be made to make the research process, epistemologies, values, methodological decision points, and argumentative logic open,…

The authors of a report on the technical adequacy of alternative reading measures reflect on issues concerning "whole language" terminology, the use of both quantitative and qualitative measures, and instructional decision making. (DB)

Two studies focused on concurrent validity and instructional decision making in using alternative reading measures with elementary regular and special education students. The first study examined the relation of oral reading performance to several other reading measures; the second study investigated teacher decision making, using quantitative and…

Describes three basic approaches to needs assessment--problem identification, problem analysis, and problem verification--and assesses them in terms of their potential utility to users in business and educational settings as measured by their estimated time requirement, accuracy, and cost. Needs assessment data collection resources and techniques…

This paper uses the concepts of decision reliability and validity to analyze three alternative psychoeducational assessment strategies: multiple gating, template matching, and time-series methods. It argues that relatively little knowledge is gained through analysis of individual scales and assessment technologies without considering the…

Paralleling the interest among researchers in naturalistic inquiry is a resurgence in action research, and particularly in research which involves the collaboration of researchers and research subjects. This paper locates the negotiation of research outcomes between researcher and subject on a continuum, with the separation of researcher and…

Addresses the use of functional assessment in making treatment decisions with students having emotional/behavioral disorders. Discussion covers indirect and direct measures of the relationship between the target behavior and variables maintaining the behavior. Strategies for selecting and verifying hypothesis-driven treatment decisions are…

The diagnostic decision-making standards used by practicing clinicians to determine language impairment were investigated. Results showed significant interrater agreement among the 27 clinicians' decisions and moderate intrarater reliability within clinician's decisions. Most of the clinicians' diagnostic decision-making standards could be modeled…

The study of teachers as decision-makers is a recent paradigm in educational research. This decision-making approach considers the teacher as an active professional engaged in various decision-making activities prior to and during instruction. This paper describes a naturalistic research design employed in a recent dissertation that investigated…