In large-scale assessments, such as state-wide testing programs, national sample-based assessments, and international comparative studies, there are many steps involved in the measurement and reporting of student achievement. There are always sources of inaccuracies in each of the steps. It is of interest to identify the source and magnitude of…

In practice, vertical scales have been continually used to measure students' achievement progress across several grade levels and have been considered very challenging psychometric procedures. Recently, such practices have been drawing many criticisms. The major criticisms focus on dimensionality and construct equivalence of the latent trait or…

This study examined the validity of a single-item measure of HIV risk stage of change that HIV prevention contractors were required to collect by the California State Office of AIDS. The single-item measure was compared to the more conventional University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA). Participants were members of Los Angeles…

The three articles in this newsletter focus on questions of what teacher knowledge consists of and how it can be measured. Three contemporary efforts to assess teacher knowledge, each with a different purpose, are presented. The first, based on a report of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, summarizes state assessment efforts and…

Recent focus on student achievement and the effectiveness of schools, school boards, and teachers has lead to increased demands for accountability in education. Large scale assessments are now used in most provinces in Canada to examine the degree to which educational standards are being reached and explore issues of accountability. Alternative…

Year-to-year rater variation may result in constructed response (CR) parameter changes, making CR items inappropriate to use in anchor sets for linking or equating. This study demonstrates how rater severity affected the writing and reading scores. Rater adjustments were made to statewide results using an item response theory (IRT) methodology…