Although there is an ongoing debate about which achievement feedback is most useful, the majority of researchers agree that social comparisons and a focus on competition are inappropriate for students with learning disabilities and otherwise academically-challenged students. They are highly at-risk to be unfavorably influenced by inappropriate…

Statewide exit examinations play an important role in discussions on school effectiveness. Referring to educational governance concepts, this paper presumes a relation between varying organizational structures of statewide examinations across states, and heterogeneous effects on school actors. It is assumed that their ability to affect work in…

When comparing data derived from tests or questionnaires in cross-national studies, researchers commonly assume measurement invariance in their underlying scaling models. However, different cultural contexts, languages, and curricula can have powerful effects on how students respond in different countries. This article illustrates how the…

Several current international comparative large-scale assessments of educational achievement (ICLSA) make use of "Rasch models", to address functions essential for valid cross-cultural comparisons. From a historical perspective, ICLSA and Georg Rasch's "models for measurement" emerged at about the same time, half a century ago. However, the…

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations, as well as to identify promising areas of research to further clarify and enhance understanding of current and emerging issues. The research described encompasses empirical studies of score comparability and validity studies, as well as…