In the 21st century, international interaction in social, economic, cultural, and educational fields has increased. Consequently, international standards have become essential in national education policies, reforms, and practices. As an international assessment, PISA has started to function as a prominent tool in this regard. However, the impact…

Research in validity suggests that stakeholders' interpretation and use of test results should be an aspect of validity. Claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed and the score report information. The…

The present paper questions the content validity of the eight creativity-related self-report scales available in PISA 2022's context questionnaire and provides a set of considerations for researchers interested in using these indexes. Specifically, we point out some threats to the content validity of these scales (e.g., "creative thinking…

This study aimed to explore the relationship between students' understanding of the National Matriculation English Test (NMET) and their learning practices through standard multiple regression (SMR) and structural equation modeling (SEM) with the purpose of unraveling the working mechanism of washback. A total number of 3105 Chinese senior high…

As evidence-based interventions are scaled, fidelity of implementation, and thus effectiveness, often wanes. Validated fidelity measures can improve researchers' ability to attribute outcomes to the intervention and help practitioners feel more confident in implementing the intervention as intended. We aim to provide a model for the validation of…

Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, the association between high school exit exams and mathematics course-taking patterns is explored. Exit exams are linked to a decreased likelihood of students taking upward-bound mathematics during their four years of high school. Exit exams are also associated with fewer mathematics credits…

Creativity tests, like creativity itself, vary widely in their structure and use. These differences include instructions, test duration, environments, prompt and response modalities, and the structure of test items. A key factor is task structure, referring to the specificity of the number of responses requested for a given prompt. Classic…

Reading, writing, and mathematics are widely regarded as foundational academic skills upon which many other academic skills depend. Consequently, each receives a considerable allocation of resources for instruction, assessment, and intervention in K-12 education (Hooper, 2002). An additional indicator of the importance of these skills is the…

The ACTFL Assessment of Performance Toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL, https://www.actfl.n.d.org/assessments/k-12-assessments/aappl) assesses proficiency in 11 languages for students in grades 3 to 12 and is often used to award the Seal of Biliteracy. While arguments for the valid interpretation and uses of the AAPPL have previously been…

In the United States, standardized tests shape what, how, and why English Language Arts teachers teach. For the last generation, these tests have increasingly taken a narrowly text-centered approach to literature, making it difficult to enact or research alternatives. But what if it were otherwise? In the current study, we asked teachers to…

This article reports on the development and piloting of a German version of a concept test to assess students' conceptual knowledge of density. The concept test was administered in paper-pencil format to 222 German secondary school students as a post-test after instruction in all relevant concepts of density. We provide a psychometric…

The purpose of this National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Achievement Levels Validity Argument Report is to synthesize evidence currently available to address the validity of the interpretations and uses of the NAEP Achievement Levels. Validity is the extent to which theory and evidence supports or refutes proposed and enacted test…

We investigated the effect of retrieval practice (i.e., the use of testing to enhance learning) by middle school students on science learning in an authentic educational setting. For initial study, all students (n = 39) read a science text and made study notes about the text, a regular study activity in their course. For restudy (2 days later),…

This paper focuses on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) "PISA for Schools" assessment. Our first substantive focus is a descriptive and analytical account of changes and developments in the functioning of this ground-breaking assessment since its creation in 2012. These changes include an expansion of the…

Trust in centralised high-stakes exams in Georgia has grown since 2005, when the introduction of nationwide standardised tests for university entry successfully eradicated the deep-rooted corruption in the admissions system. In 2011, another set of high-stakes exams were introduced for school graduation, resulting in a minimum of 12 exams for…