This article describes a grant project that generated a technical guide for PK-12 educators who are utilizing social and emotional learning (SEL) assessments for educational improvement purposes. The guide was developed over a two-year period with funding from the Spencer Foundation. The result was the collective contribution of a widely…

This article provides a brief introduction to the set of four articles in the special issue. To provide a foundation for the issue, key terms are defined, a brief historical overview of validity is provided, and a description of several different validation approaches used in the issue are explained. Finally, the contribution of the articles to…

This paper provides an overview of evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) and some general information about of the Advanced Placement (AP[R]) Program. Then the papers in this special issue are discussed, as they relate to the use of ECD in the revision of various AP tests. This paper concludes with some observations about the need to validate…

The cornerstone of evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) is an evidentiary argument that requires that each target of measurement (e.g., learning goal) for an assessment be expressed as a "claim" to be made about an examinee that is relevant to the specific purpose and audience(s) for the assessment. The "observable evidence" required to…

The idea that formative assessments embedded in a curriculum could help guide teachers toward better instructional practices that lead to greater student learning has taken center stage in science assessment research. In order to embed formative assessments in a curriculum, curriculum developers and assessment specialists should collaborate to…

The report, "Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress", provides a number of recommendations for addressing validity concerns about NAEP. This article identifies actions that could be taken by the Congress, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Assessment Governing Board--which share responsibility for…

Presents a procedure for standard setting that involves the cluster analysis of test takers to discover examinee groups that are useful for envisioning marginally competent performance or defining borderline or contrasting groups. Illustrates use of the procedure with a statewide mathematics test, and concludes that cluster analysis is useful in…

Presents conclusions of an independent measurement expert that the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) was constructed according to acceptable professional standards and tests curricular material considered by the Texas Board of Education important for graduates to have mastered. Also supports the validity and reliability of the TAAS and…

Discusses the plaintiffs' arguments, the state's responses, and the specific findings in the context of major themes of "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency," which found that the Texas graduation test was valid and reliable and met applicable professional standards, including motive and opportunity to learn. (SLD)

Draws seven conclusions for professionals who administer state assessment programs from the "GI Forum V. Texas Education Agency" ruling. These conclusions are grouped into observations about test development and observations about test use. Discusses some implications for test use in other states. (SLD)

Discusses the implications of the "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency" (2000) decision supporting the use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for other state assessment programs. Notes that the legal success of the state test in Texas was not due merely to good fortune, but to the test's adherence to legally defensible principles.…

Describes approaches taken in Texas to bring about academic accountability for students of limited English proficiency through evaluating and reporting annually on their progress in English-language literacy and their learning of school subjects and by documenting the growth in successful performance on state tests by this special population. (SLD)

Provides a chronological summary of the evolution of statewide achievement tests in Texas to facilitate understanding of the issues behind the "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency" litigation (1999), which challenged the curricular links of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and other "opportunity to learn" issues. (SLD)

Our project to embed formative student assessments in the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching curriculum required a close collaboration between curriculum developers at the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) and assessment developers at the Stanford Educational Assessment Laboratory (SEAL). This was a new endeavor for each…

With the exception of the procedures developed by Porter and colleagues (Porter, 2002), other methods of defining and measuring alignment are essentially limited to alignment between tests and standards. Porter's procedures have been generalized to investigating the alignment between content standards, tests, textbooks, and even classroom…