The program evaluation standards approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1994 that deal with reliability and validity accurately represent contemporary views of the psychometric community with regard to reliability and validity. As such, these standards move the field forward. The ANSI standards recognize that reliability…

Native American programs have affective and cognitive objectives stated in project proposals. Most evaluations focus upon the cognitive, quantitative results of particular projects, programs, or interventions. Project evaluators need to use or develop instruments designed to assess the affective domain. This paper addresses the technical,…

Discussed are nine questions regarding standard setting issues in educational testing: (1) Should normative or content-referenced standards be used? (2) Different standard setting methods yield different results. Does this finding present a problem? (3) Assess the adequacy of the grounding of various methods of standard setting in psychological…

The Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) project is a joint Armed Services coordinated effort to develop and evaluate a system for automated, adaptive administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The CAT is a system for administering personnel tests that differs from conventional test administration in two major…

This paper presents the investigation of the psychometric properties of the Graduate Program Self-Assessment (GPSA) questionnaires, developed by the Educational Testing Service, for the evaluation of nursing doctoral education. The data are from the 1984 cooperative program evaluation from 326 faculty, 659 doctoral students, and 296 alumni. The…

Educational assessment tools are used for accountability; selection and licensure, and to measure the effects of instruction for student diagnosis and treatment. Psychometric instruments currently in use are flawed in two ways: they attempt to rank people on fundamentally multidimensional traits, and the problem of the validity of these…

A broad review of educational assessment during the past 40 years (1930's to 1970's) is presented. The review begins with the birth of the term "evaluation", when the depression made educators aware of the need for new programs and ways to appraise them, and continues into an explanation of the Eight-Year Study (1933-41), which gave attention to…

In a previous paper the authors presented a model of assessing portfolios, the Cognitive Model for Assessing Portfolios (CMAP), as a lens to view, think about, and make decisions about portfolio projects. Two projects in which the CMAP has been used are described. One is an authentic assessment project in mathematics and science by the Educational…

This paper focuses on a review of data collected from the second wave of a three wave longitudinal study (Head Start Planned Variations-HSPV) designed to assess the relative impacts of a variety of preschool curricula. Head Start children formerly in the HSPV program were tested when they entered selected Follow Through schools and throughout…

This report describes the development and psychometric qualities of a new instrument to assess clinical teaching effectiveness in medical education. The strength of the instrument is seen to lie in the qualitative development process involving iterative checking with key stakeholders; its high reliability, validity, and feasibility; and its ease…

Lessons from the 18-year institutional experience of Alverno College in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) with assessment for the improvement and verification of student learning are summarized. Principles are described that should inform a national assessment system with the dual purposes of improvement and accountability by incorporating the following key…

This paper provides a theoretical discussion of educational program evaluation. Psychometric theory and developmental psychology are compared as they pertain to the testing of children. The nature of change in childhood makes it necessary to examine the assumptions and goals related to the testing of children as a means of evaluating educational…