The Australian field of English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching is globally respected for its research and practice achievements over a period of some 30 years. However, this essential field of pedagogy is being diluted in the current Australian reform agenda which is firmly founded on a traditional vision of English as first language, and…

Enactment of policy on diversity and learning in Australian schools is evident in "diversity talk" in daily discourses of school teachers. From policy documents to daily staffroom conversations, there is extensive use in contemporary Western educational discourse of ethnolinguistic categories. The categorization of students to groups on…

This article investigates the accuracy of examinee classification into performance categories and the estimation of the theta parameter for several item response theory (IRT) scaling techniques when applied to six administrations of a test. Previous research has investigated only two administrations; however, many testing programs equate tests…

In many practical testing situations, alternate test forms from the same testing program are not strictly parallel to each other and instead the test forms exhibit small psychometric differences. This article investigates the potential practical impact that these small psychometric differences can have on expected classification accuracy. Ten…

Fitness testing is a prominent element in many physical education programs, but there has been limited investigation concerning motivation constructs associated with the testing. This study investigated the relationships among physical education students' award status and gender to achievement goals, intrinsic motivation, and intentions. After…

The widespread application of personal computers to educational and psychological testing has substantially increased the number of test administration methodologies available to testing programs. Many of these mediums are referred to by their acronyms, such as CAT, CBT, CCT, and LOFT. The similarities between the acronyms and the methods…

Many educational testing programs report examinee performance at more than two levels of proficiency. Whether these assessments have the capacity to support these multiple inferences, though, is a topic that has not been widely discussed. This study proposes a method for evaluating the minimum number of measurement opportunities for reporting…

Psychometricians continue to develop and evaluate methods for linking test scores, both horizontally and vertically. This article describes a social moderation process for articulating (i.e., linking) performance standards across grade levels for an operational state assessment program. The researchers used generated data to evaluate the likely…

Implementing measurement specialists' ideas about content validity with licensure examinations and the problem of court litigation are discussed. Validity issues surfacing when sponsors of national licensure examinations conduct validity investigations are considered. Issues include local versus national focus on content validity, job analysis,…

Argues that high-stakes primary grade testing increases pressure on low-achieving schools to improve test performance and increases chances that low achieving children will be retained in grade or classified as handicapped. It is suggested that current practices be modified to eliminate motives to engage in such placement practices. (SLD)