The Scylla and Charybdis in this discussion of teacher evaluation are standardized achievement test data on the one hand, and classroom observational systems on the other. These are the two most common methods used to judge teachers' competency. Both have serious flaws: the former primarily with validity, the latter primarily with reliability. At…

The main problem of the educational evaluation validity is that it just copies the conceptual framework system of validity from educational measurement to its own conceptual system. The validity conceptual system that fits the need of theory and practice of educational evaluation has not been established yet. According to the inherent attributive…

Even though there are four English language skills in the Indonesia's national curriculum at upper secondary schools, each of these skills is given an unequal emphasis since only reading and listening skills are formally tested in the national examination. Although writing competence possesses a particular stake as the determinant of students'…

The article serves as a guide for researchers in developing evidence of validity using bivariate correlations, specifically construct validity. The authors outline the steps for calculating and interpreting bivariate correlations. Additionally, they provide an illustrative example and discuss the implications.

Construct irrelevance (CI) and construct underrepresentation (CU) are 2 major threats to validity, yet they are rarely discussed within the counseling literature. This article provides information about the relevance of these threats to internal validity. An illustrative case example will be provided to assist counselors in understanding these…

Standardizing aspects of assessments has long been recognized as a tactic to help make evaluations of examinees fair. It reduces variation in irrelevant aspects of testing procedures that could advantage some examinees and disadvantage others. However, recent attention to making assessment accessible to a more diverse population of students…

The author's doctoral work involved relating abilities in play to the results of a developmental assessment. She found them to be highly correlated, which should have made her happy. Instead she was troubled by the results. The skills that children use in play are important. Given materials that appeal to them and that "pull for" the desired skill…

Item response theory was used to address gender bias in interest measurement. Differential item functioning (DIF) technique, SIBTEST and DIMTEST for dimensionality, were applied to the items of the six General Occupational Theme (GOT) and 25 Basic Interest (BI) scales in the Strong Interest Inventory. A sample of 1860 women and 1105 men was used.…

Schilling et al. (this issue) have done a commendable job in illustrating a comprehensive process of validating assessments of teacher knowledge (and, more broadly, other types of tests as well). On one hand, the concrete illustration of a process that often remains murky and incomplete is profoundly heartening, as it provides a rigorous model for…

Teacher knowledge has been of theoretical and empirical interest for over two decades, and development of measures is overdue. The researchers represented in this volume have been breaking new ground by developing a measure of mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) without guiding precedents, and in the face of differing perspectives on teacher…

Operating from multiple literature bases in cognitive psychology, mathematics education, and theoretical and applied psychometrics, Schilling, Hill and their colleagues provide a systemic approach to studying the validity of scores of mathematical knowledge for teaching. This system encompasses an array of task formats and methodologies. The…

To validate a measure of a construct is to validate a theory: The process includes theory specification, theory elaboration, choice of methods, choice of research design, reliance on necessary auxiliary theories, and empirical observation. Evaluating the success of the process is likely to be enhanced through quantification. To date, scientists…

Presents the role of human resource development practitioners as organizational researchers. Describes a model for validating instruments, constructs, and strategies, based on communication theory. Cites common errors and issues in the validation of measurement and demonstrates uses of the heuristic validation model. (SK)

Examines a popular perceptual construct, user satisfaction, through a review of information systems effectiveness literature. Problems with this construct are highlighted, social psychology literature is used to clarify these problems, and principles are offered for utilizing user satisfaction as a measure of information systems effectiveness.…

Indicators of mathematics and science education progress are important to policymakers and the public in order to evaluate the quality of education. Recent reports have evaluated existing indicators and suggested core aspects of mathematics and science education that an indicator system should evaluate. This note discusses two fundamental aspects…