Combining methods from earlier content validity and more contemporary content alignment studies may allow a more complete evaluation of the meaning of test scores than if either set of methods is used on its own. This article distinguishes item relevance indices in the content validity literature from test representativeness indices in the…

The objective of this paper is to comment on the think-aloud methods presented in the three papers included in this special issue. The commentary offered stems from the author's own psychological investigations of unobservable information processes and the conditions under which the most defensible claims can be advanced. The structure of this…

Response process validity evidence provides a window into a respondent's cognitive processing. The purpose of this study is to describe a new data collection tool called a whole-class think aloud (WCTA). This work is performed as part of test development for a series of problem-solving measures to be used in elementary and middle grades. Data from…

Contingent argument-based approaches to validity require a unique argument for each use, in contrast to more prescriptive approaches that identify the common kinds of validity evidence researchers should consider for every use. In this article, we evaluate our use of an approach that is both prescriptive "and" argument-based to develop a…

This article discusses critical methodological design decisions for collecting, interpreting, and synthesizing empirical evidence during the design, deployment, and operational quality-control phases for automated scoring systems. The discussion is inspired by work on operational large-scale systems for automated essay scoring but many of the…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) serves over 19 million primary, middle, and high school students from across 26 states and affiliates (Smarter Balanced, n.d). As one of the two Race to the Top (RTT)-funded assessment consortia, Smarter Balanced is responsible for developing formative, interim, and summative…

Assessing complex constructs such as those discussed under the umbrella of 21st century constructs highlights the need for a principled assessment design and validation approach. In our discussion, we made a case for three considerations: (a) taking construct complexity into account across various stages of assessment development such as the…

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…

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) explicates a transparent evidentiary argument to warrant the inferences we make from student test performance. This article describes how the vehicles for gathering student evidence--task models and test specifications--are developed. Task models, which are the basis for item development, flow directly…

In the last few years, the Advanced Placement (AP) Program[R] has used evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) to articulate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be taught in the course and measured on the summative exam for four science courses, three history courses, and six world language courses; its application to calculus and English…

The evidence gathered in the present study supports the use of the simultaneous development of test items for different languages. The simultaneous approach used in the present study involved writing an item in one language (e.g., French) and, before moving to the development of a second item, translating the item into the second language (e.g.,…

The contribution of item response theory to the validity of interpretations of achievement test results is reviewed in the context of four applications. The applications include construction of scales for achievement tests, test construction, development of customized tests, and investigation of the influence of instruction on achievement tests.…

The criterion-related validity evidence and other psychometric characteristics of multiple-choice and multiple true-false (MTF) items in medical specialty certification examinations were compared using results from 21,346 candidates. Advantages of MTF items and implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)

In low-stakes testing, the motivation levels of examinees are often a matter of concern to test givers because a lack of examinee effort represents a direct threat to the validity of the test data. This study investigated the use of response time to assess the amount of examinee effort received by individual test items. In 2 studies, it was found…