We explored three approaches to resolving or re-scoring constructed-response items in mixed-format assessments: rater agreement, person fit, and targeted double scoring (TDS). We used a simulation study to consider how the three approaches impact the psychometric properties of student achievement estimates, with an emphasis on person fit. We found…

In low-stakes assessments, some students may not reach the end of the test and leave some items unanswered due to various reasons (e.g., lack of test-taking motivation, poor time management, and test speededness). Not-reached items are often treated as incorrect or not-administered in the scoring process. However, when the proportion of…

Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the online administered format of the Test of Narrative Language--Second Edition (TNL-2; Gillam & Pearson, 2017), given the importance of assessing children's narrative ability and considerable absence of psychometric studies of spoken language assessments administered online.…

Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the online administered format of the Test of Narrative Language--Second Edition (TNL-2; Gillam & Pearson, 2017), given the importance of assessing children's narrative ability and considerable absence of psychometric studies of spoken language assessments administered online.…

This study investigated the application of "WriteToLearn" on Chinese undergraduate English majors' essays in terms of its scoring ability and the accuracy of its error feedback. Participants were 163 second-year English majors from a university located in Sichuan province who wrote 326 essays from two writing prompts. Each paper was…

Tucker and chained linear equatings were evaluated in two testing scenarios. In Scenario 1, referred to as rater comparability scoring and equating, the anchor-to-total correlation is often very high for the new form but moderate for the reference form. This may adversely affect the results of Tucker equating, especially if the new and reference…

Classroom observation of teachers is a significant part of educational measurement; measurements of teacher practice are being used in teacher evaluation systems across the country. This research investigated whether observations made live in the classroom and from video recording of the same lessons yielded similar inferences about teaching.…

The Script Concordance Test (SCT) uses a panel-based, aggregate scoring method that aims to capture the variability of responses of experienced practitioners to particular clinical situations. The use of this type of scoring method is a key determinant of the tool's discriminatory power, but deviant answers could potentially diminish the…

Longitudinal research has demonstrated a link between exposure to sexual content in media and subsequent changes in adolescent sexual behavior, including initiation of intercourse and various noncoital sexual activities. Based on a reanalysis of one of the data sets involved, Steinberg and Monahan (2011) have challenged these findings. However,…

Stanford education professor Martin Carnoy examines four main critiques of how international test results are used in policymaking. Of particular interest are critiques of the policy analyses published by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Using average PISA scores as a comparative measure of student achievement is misleading…

There is accumulating evidence that individual differences in stress reactivity contribute to the risk for stress-related disease. However, the assessment of stress reactivity remains challenging, and there is a relative lack of questionnaires reliably assessing this construct. We here present the Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale (PSRS), a…

The Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) is a 50-item multiple choice instrument designed to assess the ability of college students to use English. In this study, based upon a sample of 45 students, the TSWE was revalidated with writing samples. The coefficient of 0.54 was most impressive given that the TSWE scores were restricted to those…

This study is an attempt at a cohesive characterization of the concept of essay reliability. As such, it takes as a basic premise that previous and current practices in reporting reliability estimates for essay tests have certain shortcomings. The study provides an analysis of these shortcomings--partly to encourage a fuller understanding of the…

This study explores the utility of analytic scoring for the TOEFL® Academic Speaking Test (TAST) in providing useful and reliable diagnostic information in three aspects of candidates' performance: delivery, language use, and topic development. G studies were used to investigate the dependability of the analytic scores, the distinctness of the…