Researchers have documented the impact of rater effects, or raters' tendencies to give different ratings than would be expected given examinee achievement levels, in performance assessments. However, the degree to which rater effects influence person fit, or the reasonableness of test-takers' achievement estimates given their response patterns,…

Technical documentation for educational tests focuses primarily on properties of individual scores at single points in time. Reliability, standard errors of measurement, item parameter estimates, fit statistics, and linking constants are standard technical features that external stakeholders use to evaluate items and individual scale scores.…

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…

It is argued that consequential validity is a concept worth considering. The solution to defining "validity" is not to narrow the concept, but to allow for the differential prediction provided by tests in different circumstances. Consequences of the uses and interpretations of test scores are central to their evaluation. (SLD)

Two easy-to-use microcomputer programs, the Student Problem Package and the Test Analysis Package, both by D. L. Harnisch et al. (1985), are described. These programs efficiently analyze test data for teachers. (SLD)

Issues concerning the selection of judges for standard setting are discussed. Determining the consistency of judges' recommendations, or their congruity with other expert recommendations, would help in selection. Enough judges must be chosen to allow estimation of recommendations by an entire population of judges. (SLD)

A quiz is presented that may call the attention of school personnel to regression effects in educational measurement, and clarify the meaning of statistical regression for educators in schools. Ten questions and their answers explore regression in the contexts of classroom testing, grading, and performance assessment. (SLD)

Results of a 1987 report indicating that elementary students of all states were above the national average are assessed. Issues addressed include teaching for standardized tests, the effect of teaching on national norms, and alternatives available to protect the integrity of instruction and the validity of normed test scores. (TJH)

In 1987, a survey report by J. Cannell was published criticizing state reports based on national standardized testing of elementary school students that indicated that all 50 states were above the national average. This phenomenon--known as the "Lake Wobegon Effect"--is analyzed. Technical problems with the study are considered. (TJH)

Results of a 1987 report--indicating that elementary students of all 50 states were above the national average--were assessed via 2 national mail and telephone surveys. Although results of data for 35 states support the general findings of the 1987 report, it appears that more specific results are less sensational. (TJH)

The documented decline in test scores of the 1960s and 1970s and the unclear picture since then result from educational and noneducational factors. Aspects of the misuse of test scores are (1) simplistic interpretation of performance trends; (2) unsupported evaluations of schooling; and (3) a reductionist view of education. (SLD)