Implications of the multiple-use of accountability assessments for the process of validation are examined. Multiple-use refers to the simultaneous use of results from a single administration of an assessment for its intended use and for one or more additional uses. A theoretical discussion of the issues for validation which emerge from…

In this article we rethink validation within the complex contexts of high-stakes assessment. We begin by considering the utility of existing models for validation and argue that these models tend to overlook some of the complexities inherent to assessment use, including the multiple interpretations of assessment purposes and the potential…

The Transfer Procedure Test is taken by children around 11 years of age who wish to attend grammar schools in Northern Ireland. It is a high stakes test in that children are only allowed one attempt and their performance determines their future schooling in a manner that is not of their choice or of their parents. Candidates usually take two test…

In five studies, the applicability of two North American instruments for student evaluation of teacher performance was assessed at the University of Western Sydney (Macarthur, Australia). Results of a multitrait-multimethod analysis indicate the instruments are applicable at this institution and across diverse educational settings. (Author/MSE)

Evaluates the Dutch Text Comprehension Test, developed to help improve the education of secondary school minority students in the Netherlands. Finds the test proved reliable for both L1 students and L2 students. Suggests, although classification results were not optimal, the test can be used for diagnostic purposes provided a relatively large…

When the drive to develop and administer tests comes from a public call for accountability in a profession, from the government's response to this call, or from politicians attempting to identify a hot issue, it may be said that the test must first have political validity in order to be implemented. Only after this political validity has been…

Students, faculty and administrators at a major Canadian university were surveyed to investigate the utility or "consequential validity" of student ratings of instructors. Of the 1,229 (approximately equal number of males and females) students and alumni, about half (52%) indicated that they had never used the ratings, but of those who…

Investigated the validity of the Swedish model for selection to higher education, using S. Messick's (1989) four-faceted model of validity and grade-point-average and admissions test data for 314 college students. Results challenges the unidimensional use of the selection instruments. (SLD)

A recently developed model of validation (T. J. Crooks, M. T. Kane, and A. S. Cohen, 1996) is briefly outlined. It conceptualizes assessment as divided into a chain of eight linked stages: (1) administration; (2) scoring; (3) aggregation; (4) generalization; (5) extrapolation; (6) evaluation; (7) decision; and (8) impact. The model is then used to…

Focuses on Subject-Pair Analysis, a technique for comparing examinations in different subjects, to demonstrate that reliance on statistical comparisons of standards between subjects is misplaced. Explicates the fundamental assumptions underlying the Subject-Pair Analysis. Argues that this and related analyses are inappropriate for dealing with the…

Explores issues involved in using assessments to define standards and encourage efforts to meet them and compares the European examination system with the American testing system. Also considered are issues of the definition of learning domains in ways that do not encourage narrowly focused training on specific assessment items. (SLD)

The thought of Samuel Messick has influenced language testing in 2 main ways: in proposing a new understanding of how inferences made based on tests must be challenged, and in drawing attention to the consequences of test use. The former has had a powerful impact on language-testing research, most notably in Bachman's work on validity and the…

This paper gives an overview of the methods of moderation, or quality assurance and quality control, as they may be more widely known, that are used to enhance the quality of student assessment. The discussion is based on the educational systems of the United Kingdom but is applicable to assessment in other countries. Quality in assessment is seen…