This article offers a critique of the validity argument put forward by Camara, Mattern, Croft, and Vispoel (2019) regarding the use of college-admissions tests in high school assessment systems. We challenge their argument in two main ways. First, we illustrate why their argument fails to address broader issues related to consequences of using…

In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

Suggests that members of the educational measurement community are at least in part responsible for the fact that many U.S. children are receiving a reduced quality education because of the increasing misuse of educational tests. Assessment personnel have failed to speak out against the use of tests to assess school quality. (SLD)

There is no agreement at present about the importance or meaning of the term "consequential validity." It is important that the authors of revisions to the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" recognize the debate and relegate discussion of consequences to a context separate from the discussion of validity.…

Statements from six major professional educational organizations describe their points of view about testing and measurement. The organizations include the National Education Association; American Association of School Administrators; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National School Boards Association; National Association of…

Instructional validity indicates that a district is testing what is taught. Minimum standards of fairness in pursuing educational equity are proposed. The standards include efforts to remediate students who fail competency tests, use instructional validity studies; present an adequate opportunity to learn, make an appropriate use of results, and…

The concept of consequential validity wrongly links the idea of the consequences of test use with the idea of validity, widely held to be rooted in the accuracy of inferences drawn from examinees' test performances. The reification of consequential validity can distract from a needed clarity about test use consequences. (SLD)

This commentary discusses three essential themes in performance assessment and its scoring. First, scores should mean something. Second, performance scores should permit fair and meaningful comparisons. Third, validity-reducing errors should be minimal. Increased attention to performance assessment may overcome these problems. (SLD)

This reply to William A. Mehrens argues that although some psychometricians are reluctant to endorse the use of test data for educational decision making, it is desirable that measurement specialists provide decision makers with practical, understandable ways to use test data. (JAZ)

A response, by Carlson, to the National Commission on Excellence in Education's report proposes establishment of an independent agency. This entity, in conjunction with the National Assessment of Educational Progress, would define common content domains, develop calibrated normed item banks, and develop content referenced reporting systems. (DWH)

The assistance of professionals in measurement is called for to help schools deal with controversial issues in standardized testing by increasing public understanding of test uses and limitations. Schools' representation on the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) and the dissemination of NCME-published information to schools is…

It is argued that consequences are a logical part of the evaluation of test use, which has been an accepted part of test validity for several decades. The examination of effects following from test use is essential in evaluating test validity and not merely the domain of policymakers and politicians. (SLD)

It is argued that consequential validity is a concept worth considering. The solution to defining "validity" is not to narrow the concept, but to allow for the differential prediction provided by tests in different circumstances. Consequences of the uses and interpretations of test scores are central to their evaluation. (SLD)

This article presents the viewpoint that care must be taken to fit the specifics of a testing program to its intended purpose. Testing for diagnosing individual student learning and for school evaluation should not be confused. Statewide testing programs may provide evaluative information, but are inadequate sources of diagnostic information. (LMO)

The findings in Volume I of the Committee on Ability Testing's report (see ED 213 770 and ED 213 771) are shown to be ambiguous regarding the meaning of ability, vague regarding test validity, and ingenuous regarding test uses and misuse. The neglect of the basic question of what tests measure is noted. (CM)