Purpose: To produce a novel, efficient measure of children's expressive vocal development on the basis of automatic vocalization assessment (AVA), child vocalizations were automatically identified and extracted from audio recordings using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) System technology. Method: Assessment was based on full-day audio…

This article examines the Consortium on Reading Excellence-Phonics Survey (CORE-PS), an informal, inexpensive, and widely disseminated assessment tool that is used to determine primary-grade students' knowledge of and abilities to apply key alphabetic and phonics understandings to decode a mix of real and pseudo-words. Evidence is reported of the…

This meta-analysis reviewed 144 studies from 1996 to 2013 using the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition. Internal consistency was 0.89 and test-retest reliability 0.75. Convergent comparisons were robust across 43 depression instruments. Structural validity supported both one- and two-factor solutions and diagnostic accuracy varied according…

The present study examined the technical adequacy of maze-selection tasks constructed in 2 different ways: typical versus novel. We selected distractors for each measure systematically based on rules related to the content of the passage and the part of speech of the correct choice. Participants included 262 middle school students who were…

Work integrated learning (WIL) educators using reflective practice to facilitate student learning require a set of standards that works within the traditional assessment frame of Higher Education, to ascertain the level at which reflective practice has been demonstrated. However, there is a paucity of tested assessment instruments that provide…

The concept of teacher accountability assumes teachers will use data-driven decision making to plan and deliver appropriate and effective instruction to their students. In order to do so, teachers must be able to accurately interpret the data that is given to them, and that requires the knowledge of some basic concepts of assessment and…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument through facet-factorial analysis to assess high school marching band performance. Forty-one items were chosen to define subscales for the Marching Band Performance Rating Scale - Music and 31 items for the Marching Band Performance Rating Scale - Visual. To examine the stability…

The Texas State University-San Marcos undergraduate healthcare administration program requires all bachelors of health administration (BHA) students to pass a comprehensive examination to demonstrate their knowledge of specific core competencies. This also demonstrates completion of their didactic coursework in order to enter a practical…

The experience of the International Society of Addiction Medicine in setting up the first international certification of clinical knowledge is reported. The steps followed and the results of a psychometric analysis of the tests from the first 65 candidates are reported. Lessons learned in the first 5 years and challenges for the future are…

In this commentary, the authors discuss some of the issues regarding the use of diagnostic classification models that practitioners should keep in mind. In the authors experience, these issues are not as well known as they should be. The authors then provide recommendations on diagnostic scoring.

In educational testing, subscores may be provided based on a portion of the items from a larger test. One consideration in evaluation of such subscores is their ability to predict a criterion score. Two limitations on prediction exist. The first, which is well known, is that the coefficient of determination for linear prediction of the criterion…

The Multimedia Assisted Test of English Speaking was designed to assess global speaking competence of Korean speakers of English at Sookmyung Women's University. The test was developed with the help of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for their proficiency guidelines and of the Center for Applied Linguistics for their…

Although assessment of nursing students' clinical performance is difficult, objections to grading may be based on erroneous assumptions. A combination of criterion- and norm-referenced assessment can clarify minimum competency requirements and reward meritorious performance. (SK)

Classroom assessment information should be the basis for important classroom processes and outcomes: students' study and work patterns, students' understanding of what they are learning, and teachers' instructional and grading decisions. Attention to principles of assessment quality, especially validity and reliability, increases confidence in the…

Enactment of PL 94-142 requires that outcomes of special education programs and related service programs be determined on a regular basis. The problem of aggregation of criterion-referenced test data for special service program outcome evaluation and the strengths and weaknesses of several alternative solutions are examined. (Author)