This paper examines the utilization of construct validity in formative assessment for classroom-based purposes. Construct validity pertains to the notion that interpretations are made by educators who analyze test scores during formative assessment. The purpose of this paper is to note the challenges that educators face when interpreting these…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

Extended time is one of the most common testing accommodations provided to students with disabilities. It is also controversial; critics of extended time accommodations argue that extended time is used too readily, without concern for how it changes the skills measured by tests, leading to scores that cannot be compared fairly with those of other…

This study was designed to address two frequent criticisms of the SAT essay--that essay length is the best predictor of scores, and that there is an advantage in using more "sophisticated" examples as opposed to personal experience. The study was based on 2,820 essays from the first three administrations of the new SAT. Each essay was…

This study investigated the construct validity of the revised Special Education-Mental Handicaps Georgia Teacher Certification Test (MH-TCT) using hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis and LISREL VI. The primary objective was to determine whether first-order and second-order factors correspond to item/objective/test relationships defined by…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the construct validity for the 2 multiple-content testing programs-the multiple-choice Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) together with the performance-based Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP)-by evaluating the true-score longitudinal associations among…

In the year 2000, the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) was given for the first time. The HSGQE is currently scheduled to be a graduation requirement for all students graduating as of January 2002, but early results from the use of the HSGQE in the Anchorage school district raise serious questions about the use of the…

The statewide teaching performance assessment instruments being used in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida were examined. Forty-one reliability and validity studies regarding the instruments in use in each state were collected from state departments and universities. Georgia uses the Georgia Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument. North…

Articles in this special issue attempt to address the most significant aspect of certification and licensing testing programs: validity. Although construct validity has become the prevailing model, the theoretical formulation of the construct of competence remains a topic of considerable debate. (SLD)

This paper examines the validity of measures of teacher effectiveness from the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS). It considers the following claims regarding teacher effects: (1) they capture teachers' unique contributions to student learning adequately; (2) they reflect adequate standards of excellence for comparing teachers; (3)…

The reliability, content validity, and construct validity were compared for two test formats in a public examination used to assess a secondary school geography course. The 11-item geography portion of the Intermediate Certificate Examination (essay examination) was administered in June 1987 to 400 secondary school students in Ireland who also…

Recent reports of high levels of achievement on the Regents examinations in New York state and relatively poor showing on the eighth grade examinations have led many to speculate that the eighth grade examinations lack good predictive properties with respect to the Regents examinations. There are many problems with arriving at such a conclusion,…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the construct validity of two multiple-content testing programs, the multiple-choice Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) and the performance-based Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), by evaluating the true-score longitudinal associations among multiple-content scores…

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of a performance assessment program, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Based on analyses of the longitudinal associations of Grade 5 MSPAP data in 1996 with Grade 3 MSPAP data in 1994, the following hypothesis was examined: the unattentuated correlation or…

For assessments that present problems that require extended responses and substantial amounts of time, there is often a desire to allow students to choose which problem they will respond to among two or more options. Student choice of problem may allow students a better opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. On the other…