In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

This essay argues that reliability should be reconceptualized in a way that reflects the importance of the theoretical expectations of the test specialist and the learning and problem solving of the test takers. It is time to characterize clearly the substantive theoretical framework supporting reliability studies and the technical evaluation of…

In an attempt to frame an agenda for research on grading practices, the grading practices of 15 high school teachers of mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies were examined. Results underscore the ambiguity in current grading practices and highlight 19 possible reasons for deviations from recommended practices. (SLD)

This article examines how psychometric models based on certain assumptions have come to be used counterproductively by many practitioners in ways that limit the kinds of conclusions that can be made. The general problem of the context's influence on performance is discussed, and some implications are drawn. (SLD)

Activities of the new ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation (ERIC/AE) are described, and planned activities and services are reviewed. ERIC/AE gathers information pertaining to assessment, evaluation, and learning theory; and it makes that information available to a number of audiences through print and electronic media. (SLD)