School inspections are fundamental to quality assurance and improvement in many countries. Yet the question of the validity of these inspections has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This paper proposes a systematic approach to assessing the validity of school inspections, based on Messick's multifaceted concept of validity. We apply each…

This article focuses on school self-evaluations (SSE). It addresses whether SSE meets quality indicators and whether differences can be found between the quality judgments of school principals and inspectors. Data stem from two complementary data collections: population data of school inspections and a survey of a representative sample of school…

With the increasing popularity of peer assessment as an assessment tool, questions may arise about its measurement quality. Among such questions, the extent peer assessment practices adhere to standards of measurement. It has been claimed that new forms of assessment, require new criteria to judge their validity and reliability, since they aim for…

High quality assessment practice is expected to yield valid and useful score-based interpretations about what the examinees know and are able to do with respect to a defined target domain. Given this assertion, the article presents a framework based on the "unified view of validity," advanced by Cronbach and Messick over two decades ago, to assist…

This study tested the validity and applicability of the Standards for Evaluation of Education Programs, Projects and Materials (Joint Committee, 1981) by applying them to four alternative methods of testing oral proficiency in English as a Foreign Language. (BS)

Issues of dimensionality, validity, reliability, and generalizability of students' ratings of instruction were studied with 610 college students who evaluated their instructors on the Teacher Effectiveness Scale. The Scale had high internal consistency, but interrater reliability, generalizability, and predictive validity warrant further study.…

It is widely claimed that public schools do not prepare students for academic success or for success in the workplace and that public investment in nonpublic schooling would remedy these problems. These conclusions are analyzed with reference to international studies of student achievement, and their validity is challenged. (SLD)