COVID-19 is disrupting assessment practices and accelerating changes. With special focus on K-12 and credentialing exams, this article describes the series of changes observed during the pandemic, the solutions assessment providers have implemented, and the long-term impact on future practices. Additionally, this article highlights the importance…

Local assessment systems are being marketed as formative, benchmark, predictive, and a host of other terms. Many so-called formative assessments are not at all similar to the types of assessments and strategies studied by Black and Wiliam (1998) but instead are interim assessments. In this article, we clarify the definition and uses of interim…

Based on the results of a generalizability study of measures of teacher knowledge for teaching mathematics developed at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California, Los Angeles, this article provides evidence that teachers are better at drawing reasonable inferences about student…

Assessments labeled as formative have been offered as a means to improve student achievement. But labels can be a powerful way to miscommunicate. For an assessment use to be appropriately labeled "formative," both empirical evidence and reasoned arguments must be offered to support the claim that improvements in student achievement can be linked…

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…

Provides an argument for incorporating consideration of consequences into validity theory that is grounded in the reflexive nature of social knowledge. It also calls for the consideration of evidence of validity based on the actual discourse surrounding the practices and products of testing. (SLD)

The utility of the federally funded National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is often unclear, and critics have claimed that NAEP is not used. This paper summarizes an exploratory study of evidence against these claims, including that data are most useful to audiences with a national perspective. (Author/CM)

The Joint Committee on Testing Practices has completed the "Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education," which is meant for the public and focuses on the proper use of tests in education--admissions, educational assessment and diagnosis, and student placement. The Code separately addresses test developers' and users' roles. (SLD)

Three major pragmatic issues in computerized testing are addressed: (1) encouraging teacher use; (2) reporting of information; and (3) test construction. Reference is made to four related articles. Additional areas for research include reporting of test information; item bank standards; validity; and rules for stopping in computerized testing.…

Ways to use standard-setting data to adjust cutoff scores on examinations are reviewed. Ten sources of information to be used in determining standards are listed. The decision to modify passing scores should be based on these types of information and consideration of adverse impact or rating process irregularities. (SLD)

An expanded framework for validating tests is needed to include the perspectives of teachers and students as well as of test makers and scientists. The development of educational assessments must take place within an understanding of how tests are used in context. (SLD)

This training module is intended to clarify the notion of portfolio assessment and help users design such assessments. The rationale for assessment alternatives is presented; and portfolio definitions, characteristics, pitfalls, and design considerations are reviewed. The use of portfolios in large-scale assessments is particularly demanding of…