This test review focuses on the current version (2009) of [Chinese characters omitted] (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi), literally translated as the Chinese Language Proficiency Test and abbreviated as HSK. Tailored to non-native speakers of the Chinese language, this test consists of six proficiency levels (Levels 1 and 2 as beginners, Levels 3 and 4 as…

How we choose to use a term depends on what we want to do with it. If "validity" is to be used to support a score interpretation, validation would require an analysis of the plausibility of that interpretation. If validity is to be used to support score uses, validation would require an analysis of the appropriateness of the proposed…

The number of public school students who are English learners (ELs) has been increasing steadily in the United States. According to a report by Snyder, de Brey, and Dillow (2016), in the 2014-2015 school year, nearly 4.6 million students enrolled in Kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) in U.S. schools were English learners, representing…

Not much is known about the ways in which assessment data have actually been used in education policy to date. Understanding the role of assessments in informing system-level decision-making is a first step towards helping stakeholders improve the design and usefulness of assessments. Moreover, this understanding can help to further discussions…

The research methodology literature in recent years has included a full frontal assault on statistical significance testing. An entire edition of "Experimental Education" explored this controversy. The purpose of this paper is to promote the position that while significance testing by itself may be flawed, it has not outlived its…

This study examined the general nature of school-based student assessment in a small sample (five elementary and three middle schools and one high school). It relies on descriptive analyses and the presentation of data obtained during site visits. The schools have been separated into those with well-developed student assessment systems and those…

In determining what will best help learning, the timeliness and possible reversibility of teachers' decisions are influenced by standardized achievement tests. Ways tests can supplement other performance information and confirm or challenge teachers' impressions of student achievement are described. (CM)

Poor performance of medical students, residents, and faculty on a newly developed Inventory of Cognitive Biases in Medicine, suggests that cognitive biases detract from reliance on logical and statistical strategies in medical decision making. The test shows promise for use in instructional and research efforts to reduce such bias. (Author/MSE)

This paper compares the decision-making strategies which have been incorporated in the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments in Georgia and the Assessments of Performance in Teaching developed for use in South Carolina. Although both instruments are designed for use with beginning teachers, the decision-making structure of these two…

A recently developed model of validation (T. J. Crooks, M. T. Kane, and A. S. Cohen, 1996) is briefly outlined. It conceptualizes assessment as divided into a chain of eight linked stages: (1) administration; (2) scoring; (3) aggregation; (4) generalization; (5) extrapolation; (6) evaluation; (7) decision; and (8) impact. The model is then used to…

Passing scores for licensure and certification tests are justified by showing that decisions based on the passing score achieve the purposes of the credentialing program while avoiding any serious negative consequences. The passing score is justified to the extent decisions based on it have positive consequences. More specifically, the standard…

Discusses the role and consistency of judges' interpretations of teacher performance as part of an evaluative scheme for complex performance, with reference to the ideological framework of professional standards. The tension between assessment decisions and the recognition that assessment involves interpretation is explored. (SLD)

A scale was developed for measuring the persuasive impact of qualitative and quantitative evaluation reports on decision makers. Using two exploratory (n=192 graduate and undergraduate students) and two confirmatory (n=200 administrators) samples, researchers developed a 28-item Likert-type scale that demonstrated high reliability and validity.…

This study looks at how testing affects critical decisions for U.S. students, focusing on the impact of testing on individual students. It examines common misuses of tests, their political and social contexts, what happens when test issues are taken to court, special student populations, social promotion, and other issues of current interest. The…

Tables for testing clinical hypotheses about counseling clients are presented, and their use is described. Primary uses are determining a critical value or cutoff score on a predictor that can be used to classify an individual as a member of a clinical group, and instructing those unfamiliar with the limitations of tests about the conditions under…