Value-Added Models (VAMs) are both common and controversial in education policy and accountability research. While the sensitivity of VAMs to model specification and covariate selection is well documented, the extent to which test scoring methods (e.g., mean scores vs. IRT-based scores) may affect VA estimates is less studied. We examine the…

The indefinite nature of test fairness and different interpretations and definitions of the concept have stirred a lot of controversy over the years, necessitating the reconceptualization of the concept. On this basis, this study aimed to explore the empirical validity of Kunnan's (2008) Test Fairness Framework (TFF) and revisit the established…

When the coronavirus pandemic was declared a public health crisis in March 2020, school psychologists were forced into situations where face-to-face interaction with their students was discouraged and in some cases, prohibited. Consequently, the traditional practice of school psychology abruptly ended. Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and…

This revision of "Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide" is aligned with both the updated National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards and the NAGC and The Association for the Gifted, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC-TAG) professional development standards. This book is…

Rhode Island is committed to ensuring that all educators receive fair, accurate, and meaningful educator evaluations that provide information that can help all teachers improve and refine their practice. Currently, districts in Rhode Island may submit a district-designed model for approval that complies with the Educator Evaluation System…

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…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of behavior screening tools available, including free and commercially available options. Next, the authors offer step-by-step procedures for (a) selecting, (b) scheduling, (c) preparing, (d) administering, and (e) scoring and interpreting behaviors screening tools. The authors conclude with…

Rhode Island is committed to ensuring that all educators receive fair, accurate, and meaningful educator evaluations that provide information that can help all teachers improve and refine their practice. This commitment is an outgrowth of the state's recognition of the influence teachers have on student growth and achievement. Currently, districts…

The ability to flexibly adapt to the changing demands of the environment is often reported as a core deficit in fragile X syndrome (FXS). However, the cognitive processes that determine this attentional set-shifting deficit remain elusive. The present study investigated attentional set-shifting ability in fragile X syndrome males with the…

This paper reports on the development and testing of a hybrid model of teaching games--The Style "E" Tactical (SET) Model. The SET is a combination of two pedagogical approaches: Mosston and Ashworth's Teaching Styles and Bunker and Thorpe's Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU). To test the efficacy of this new model, the SET was…

What is effective teaching? It is not enough to say "I know it when I see it"--not when we are expecting so much more from students and teachers than in the past. To help teachers achieve greater success with their students we need new and better ways to identify and develop effective teaching. The Measures of Effective Teaching (MET)…

This book provides educators with a flexible framework to guide decision making for effective and efficient use of portfolios in classrooms and schools. It targets major categories of decision making, as reflected in the first 10 chapters: (1) "Determining the Basics of Student Portfolios"; (2) "Selecting Categories for Entries"; (3) "Identifying…

The 9th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2016) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, in the USA. The conference, held June 29-July 2, 2016, follows the eight previous editions (Madrid 2015, London 2014, Memphis…

A recently developed model of validation (T. J. Crooks, M. T. Kane, and A. S. Cohen, 1996) is briefly outlined. It conceptualizes assessment as divided into a chain of eight linked stages: (1) administration; (2) scoring; (3) aggregation; (4) generalization; (5) extrapolation; (6) evaluation; (7) decision; and (8) impact. The model is then used to…

A brief history of developments in the assessment of the reliability of credentialing examinations is presented, and some new results are outlined that highlight the interactions among scoring, standard setting, and the reliability and validity of pass-fail decisions. Decision consistency is an important concept in evaluating credentialing…