Teaching is a complex construct, and there is near-universal consensus, in the literature in the United States and internationally, that capturing this complexity requires collecting multiple measures from multiple sources. Yet, what measures to use and how is a contentious area of education policy research. In practice, there is little specific…

Trying to understand PISA is analogous to the parable of the blind men and the elephant. There are many facets of the PISA program, and thus many ways to both applaud and critique this ambitious international program of assessment that has gained enormous importance in the crafting of contemporary educational policy. One of the facets discussed in…

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a national citizen-led rapid assessment of children's ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic. ASER is designed and facilitated by the Indian nongovernment organisation Pratham, and has been conducted every year since 2005 by partner organisations in every rural district of India,…

Most assessment arguments are about measurement. When is it better to use direct versus indirect measures of student learning? Is one standardized test of critical thinking better than another? Is applying rubrics to student work better than using standardized tests? How valid are self-reported measures of learning? Although these arguments are…

The recent "Nationwide academic achievement and study situation survey" was clearly influenced by the idea of "authentic assessment", an educational assessment perspective focused on "quality" and "engagement". However, when "performance assessment", the assessment method corresponding to this…

Studied the reliability of the Addiction Severity Index (1980) by using eight trained professional actors as client surrogates to examine the reliability of the instrument when administered in the field. With careful surrogate selection and training, the method proves to be an effective means of assessment. (SLD)

Discusses Educational Testing Service (ETS) findings that teachers matter most for student achievement. ETS used 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data to examine relationships between student achievement and teacher characteristics. This paper critiques the research, noting serious flaws in the study design, highlighting…

This study established criterion-referenced standards for selected tests of arm and shoulder girdle strength and endurance in college females. Tests of trained and untrained students using the contrasting groups method yielded criterion cutoff scores that classified subjects as trained or untrained based on upper arm and shoulder girdle resistance…

A measurement and psychometric examination of cognitive tasks was carried out with 195 undergraduates, investigating stability of latencies and number correct scores over a 2-week period and relations with standardized test and ability measure scores. Results are discussed in terms of the need for evaluating cognitive task measurement properties.…

Tennessee has adopted a model of educational accountability called the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS). The model attempts to measure district, school, and teacher effects on student academic gains, rather than emphasizing achievement scores at a single time, using data generated by a standardized test, the Tennessee Comprehensive…

This study compared 4 methods (2 case history and 2 performance-based) used to classify the status of adult subjects in familial studies of developmental language disorders, involving 24 parents of children with developmental language disorders and 24 unrelated adult controls. Classification by case history found fewer affected adults than…

Recent debates regarding the crisis in American education have led to two essentially contradictory positions: one calling for a movement away from a unified concept of education toward a concept which recognizes and incorporates diversity; and the other calling for increased accountability on all levels of education. The purpose of this paper is…

This appendix accompanies "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report." This appendix focuses on the findings and domain comparisons of the study. This appendix contains the following: (1) Decision Rules; (2) Full Set of…

This document includes three papers which address the special demands that supported employment places on vocational evaluation and assessment practices. An introductory chapter by Frank Rusch et al. discusses target populations of the Illinois Supported Employment Program, program evaluation, degree of program implementation, and costs and…

A study investigated the usefulness of a new ambulatory medicine clerkship design by randomly assigning students to it or to an existing traditional general medicine rotation, then comparing student performance on the licensing examination, a laboratory interpretation test, written work, and a problem-solving exam. Performances were the same…