In language assessment, AI technology has been incorporated in task design, assessment delivery, automated scoring of performance-based tasks, score reporting, and provision of feedback. AI technology is also used for collecting and analyzing performance data in language assessment validation. Research has been conducted to investigate the…

Over the past decade, testing and assessing spoken-language interpreting has garnered an increasing amount of attention from stakeholders in interpreter education, professional certification, and interpreting research. This is because in these fields assessment results provide a critical evidential basis for high-stakes decisions, such as the…

Assessments are one of the most important--and often misunderstood--elements of education. In most cases, tests are administered by the state as well as by districts and schools. Assessments at each of these levels have distinct purposes, yield different information, and are part of a powerful, coordinated approach to improving student outcomes.…

Although Diagnostic Classification Models (DCMs) were introduced to education system decades ago, it seems that these models were not employed for the original aims upon which they had been designed. Using DCMs has been mostly common in analyzing large-scale non-diagnostic tests and these models have been rarely used in developing Cognitive…

This technical report documents the processes and procedures employed by NWEA® to build and support the English MAP® Reading Fluency™ assessments administered during the 2020-2021 school year. It is written for measurement professionals and administrators to help evaluate the quality of MAP Reading Fluency. The seven sections of this report: (1)…

Reading scores exist for a continuum of purposes, from informal assessment to formal standardized tests. This brief aims to answer the question: What matters most for elementary-grade teachers when thinking about reading scores, and what could policymakers do to help teachers? Three positions worth pursuing in this regard are shared: (1) every…

In today's digital age, tests are increasingly being delivered on computers. Many of these computer-based tests (CBTs) have been adapted from paper-based tests (PBTs). However, this change in mode of test administration has the potential to introduce construct-irrelevant variance, affecting the validity of score interpretations. Because of this,…

In "The Testing Charade: Pretending to Make Schools Better", the author's new book from which this article is drawn, the failures of test-based accountability are documented and some of the most egregious misuses and outright abuses of testing are described, along with some of the most serious negative effects. Neither good intentions…

In the service of educational accountability, student achievement tests are being used to measure constructs quite unlike those envisioned by test developers. Scores are compared to cut points to create classifications like "proficient"; scores are combined over time to measure growth; student scores are aggregated to measure the…

Accrediting agencies for English language programs, such as the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA), require a plan in writing for monitoring and reviewing assessment practices. Nonetheless, web-search queries such as "assessing assessment," "how to assess assessment," "assessing assessment…

Throughout the world, tests are administered to some examinees who are not fully proficient in the language in which they are being tested. It has long been acknowledged that proficiency in the language in which a test is administered often affects examinees' performance on a test. Depending on the context and intended uses for a particular…

Concepts of second language proficiency and how proficiency may be assessed have changed considerably over the last 20 years. New notions of validity with respect to the interpretation and uses of test scores have begun to shape discussions about test validity and quality assurance in college world language departments, in government, and in…

In Winter 2021-2022, the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) assessments are administered in ELA and mathematics in Grades 3-8. In Spring 2021-2022, the NSCAS assessments are administered in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in Grades 3-8 and in science in Grades 5 and 8. The purposes of the NSCAS assessments are to…

In 2017, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded Mathematica to conduct the Infant and Toddler Teacher and Caregiver Competencies (ITTCC) project. The project aims to examine existing efforts across states, institutions of higher education, professional organizations, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education across the globe leading countries to adapt how they administer and manage high-stakes examinations and large-scale learning assessments. This thematic review describes the measures that countries have taken, in terms of policies and practices, when learning assessments are disrupted by emergencies and…