Item response theory (IRT) is currently the dominant methodological paradigm in educational and psychological measurement. IRT models are based on assumptions about the relationship between latent traits and observed responses, so the accuracy of the methodology depends heavily on the reasonableness of these assumptions. This dissertation consists…

Educating for American Democracy (EAD) partnered with ETS on a symposium held in July 2021 to take stock of what is known and to provide guidance for future research, policy, and practice in measurement of civic learning opportunities and outcomes. This research note is meant to further the work accomplished at the seminar. First, this note…

Even though digital technologies are ubiquitous in education, assessment methods continue to employ traditional assessments even though they are inadequate to provide information about a student's reasoning and conceptual understanding. Digital-based assessment models allow students to demonstrate higher-order skills while integrating digital…

"Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children," Fifth Edition, provides academics and school-based practitioners such as psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers with an up-to-date guide to the assessment of young children. Long recognized as the standard text and reference in its field, this comprehensive,…

Education systems are increasingly creating rich, longitudinal data sets with frequent, and even real-time, data updates of many student measures, including daily attendance, homework submissions, and exam scores. These data sets provide an opportunity for district and school staff members to move beyond an indicators-based approach and instead…

This paper is meant to highlight the occurrence of Simpson's Paradox when using aggregated data obtained from two IEA studies in Israel, while ignoring the effect of a powerful intervening variable in the local context--the ethnicity factor. It will demonstrate faulty conclusions regarding either the absence of relationships between a contextual…

This handbook describes the responsibilities of district and school assessment coordinators in the administration of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). This updated guidebook contains the following sections: (1) General Assessment Guidelines for All Assessments; (2) Writing Specific Guidelines; (3) Reading and Mathematics…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a child's response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices.…

Purpose: The quality of an education system or a comparative international assessment refers more and more to quantitative parameters, i.e. "educational indicators." The paper aims to analyse the structure of several educational indicators and indicator systems and answer the question "What can educational indicators achieve?"…

The evaluation model presented here was developed by the West Northfield (Illinois) District 31 Evaluation Committee in collaboration with consultants from the Institute for Educational Research. Based on a review of the literature prepared by the Institute, the guide elaborates on the steps to be taken in conducting an educational program…

Discusses the use of the chi-square statistic in educational evaluation based on the assumption that the availability of calculators and computers does not absolve educators from the responsibility of understanding this statistically evaluative technique. Illustrates applicability to an action research study in a middle school setting. (NEC)

The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP), part of the U.S. Department of Education, is one of the most important federal mechanisms for recognizing quality in education. Although it has reviewed close to 700 projects in its 15-year history, the JDRP is still not widely known in the field of evaluation. This paper analyzes the JDRP process and…

Given the new European institutional environment for education and training, policy and methodology for evaluation have become closely interwoven and stakes have been raised. This emerging situation calls for a robust reappraisal of existing comparative evaluation data and systems in the light of the perceived needs of European countries and of…

This editorial addresses issues of evaluating school effectiveness, especially in the United Kingdom, with emphasis on use of value-added approaches. It stresses the importance of having a good measure of pupils' prior attainment, the need for noting differences between and within schools, and the finding that most schools obtain results which are…

This paper explores the variety of qualitative methods available, in the context of a larger quantitative-qualitative debate in the field of educational evaluation. Each approach is reviewed in terms of the work of its major proponents. The dominant forms of qualitative evaluation include: (1) ethnography; (2) naturalistic inquiry; (3) generic…