Ready or not, educators in most states will soon be asked to implement online testing to meet NCLB or common core standards requirements or simply to make better use of student data and ensure that it is used to improve learning. All but five states--Virginia, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska, and Minnesota--have joined two consortia that will share $350…

School librarians and other specialists should take note of the new wave of computer-based assessments required by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), testing that is only now beginning to get off the ground. The new testing necessitates that districts possess the right hardware, install the requisite software, and, in some cases, create…

Standards-based science education, with its emphasis on monitoring and accountability, is rapidly becoming a key part of the globalization of science education. Standards-based testing within countries is increasingly being used to determine the effectiveness of a country's educational system, and international testing programs such as Programme…

Although response times on test items are recorded on a natural scale, the scale for some of the parameters in the lognormal response-time model (van der Linden, 2006) is not fixed. As a result, when the model is used to periodically calibrate new items in a testing program, the parameter are not automatically mapped onto a common scale. Several…

Choosing whether to test via computer is the most difficult and consequential decision the designers of a testing program can make. The decision is difficult because of the wide range of choices available. Designers can choose where and how often the test is made available, how the test items look and function, how those items are combined into…

This report identifies the states with current or pending state-level end-of-course assessment (EOC) programs, the subjects in which EOCs are administered in the states, and the EOCs (if any) students must pass to graduate from high school. Twenty-two states currently administer one or more EOCs to all students in an EOC course. This number will…

Talent Development Centers are just one of many tools every family, teacher, and gifted advocate should have in their tool box. To understand the importance of Talent Development Centers, it is essential to also understand the Academic Talent Search Program. Talent Search participants who obtain scores comparable to college-bound high school…

The test review process used by the Buros Center for Testing is described as a series of 11 steps: (1) identifying tests to be reviewed, (2) obtaining tests and preparing test descriptions, (3) determining whether tests meet review criteria, (4) identifying appropriate reviewers, (5) selecting reviewers, (6) sending instructions and materials to…

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) offers a flexible, collaborative approach to developing and implementing an assessment of learning outcomes that yields high-quality, nationally relevant data. MTEG is a service that involves ACER staff working closely with each country to develop an assessment program that meets the country's…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2015 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e.,…

One of the more noteworthy developments in university-based teacher education today is the proliferation of preservice teacher assessment, and in particular, teacher performance assessment (TPA). Indeed, more than 160 teacher education programs in more than 25 states recently adopted the edTPA, a Stanford University developed teacher performance…

This article sets the stage for the description of a variety of approaches to test reviewing worldwide. It describes the importance of test reviewing as a protection of the public and of society and also the benefits of this activity for test users, who must choose measures to use in particular situations with particular clients at a particular…

As the tenth anniversary of NCLB has come and gone, both new and experienced educators continue to wrestle yearly with the standardized testing culture that has pervaded the educational experience of nearly every American child and teacher. Despite the requests for waivers to exempt certain states from NCLB, the majority of students and their…

"No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) dictates students in Grades 3, 5, and 8 pass state tests to be promoted. Accordingly, most state education codes require students to pass reading and math exams for promotion. The majority of those who fail, however, appear to be promoted anyway. This article addresses core questions concerning the paradigm…

Over the past few decades, those who take tests in the United States have exhibited increasing diversity with respect to native language. Standard psychometric procedures for ensuring item and test fairness that have existed for some time were developed when test-taking groups were predominantly native English speakers. A better understanding of…