There is a critical need for research into the use of digital technologies to support the assessment of performance on complex tasks in schools. This paper reports on a component of a pilot study aimed at investigating the use of digital forms of performance assessment, manageable within schools, with high levels of reliability and capable of…

Reviews a number of promising methods for setting performance standards and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. Outlines some areas for future research that address the role of feedback to panelists and validation efforts for performance standards among other topics. (SLD)

Response-to-intervention (RTI) technical adequacy standards should follow from model purpose, procedural specification, procedural adherence, outcome determination, and subsequent plans. Therefore, RTI raises atypical measurement questions for practice, and, for this reason, it may require hybridized technical adequacy methods. Due to RTI model…

Describes an approach to addressing issues of validity of inferences and the extrapolation of inferences to target domains beyond the assessment for alternative assessments. Makes the case that in both language testing and educational assessment the roles of language and content knowledge must be considered, and that the design and development of…

Six distinguishable aspects of construct validity are discussed as they apply to performance assessment, emphasizing content, substantive, structural, generalizability, external, and consequential aspects. Taken together, these aspects provide a way to address validity questions in score interpretation and use. (SLD)

The construct validity of content standards is addressed in terms of their representative coverage of a construct domain and their alignment with the students' cognitive level of developing expertise in the subject matter. The construct validity of performance standards is addressed in terms of the extent to which they reflect increasing levels of…

Provides a general framework for examining the consequences of assessment programs, especially statewide programs that intend to improve student learning by holding schools accountable. The framework is intended for use with programs using performance-based tasks but can be used with programs using traditional item formats as well. (SLD)

A study was conducted to begin a process of validating hypothesized causes of local item dependence (LID) in large-scale performance assessments. Data for the study are item level scores from 26 science tasks from the 1993 edition of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. Causes of high LID were hypothesized from studies by Ferrara et…

The traditional concept of validity divides it into three separate types; content, criterion, and construct validities. This view is fragmented and incomplete, failing to take into account evidence of the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and of the social consequences of score use. The new unified concept of validity…

This book is intended to introduce the classroom teacher and prospective teacher to the elements of measurement and assessment that are essential to good teaching. The main theme is that assessment plays an important role in the instructional process. This edition has been revised to reflect major changes in educational assessment since the last…

The idea that validity should be considered a property of inferences, rather than of assessments, has developed slowly over the past century. In early writings about the validity of educational assessments, validity was defined as a property of an assessment. The most common definition was that an assessment was valid to the extent that it…

New methods are needed to judge the quality of alternative student assessment, methods which complement the philosophy underlying authentic assessments. This paper examines assumptions underlying validity, reliability, and objectivity, and why they are not matched to authentic assessment, concentrating on the constructivist paradigm of E. Guba and…

Different meanings of portfolio assessment are reviewed, and potential applications to program evaluation are explored. At present, portfolio assessments are not recommended as the primary source of evidence about the attainment of program goals in evaluations that compare curricula or programs because of the lack of validity and reliability…

This book, designed as an introductory text in educational measurement, presents comprehensive and balanced coverage of all aspects of assessment relevant to classroom teachers, including construction and use of paper-and-pencil and alternative assessments. This edition expands the coverage of alternative assessments and includes a chapter on the…

Tests are being used widely, and misused widely, to evaluate students, teachers, principals, and other educational administrators. This short primer on testing and assessment is organized into three parts. Part 1, "Essential Statistical Terms," introduces some statistics that are essential to understanding testing concepts and for…