We examined the performance of coefficient alpha and its potential competitors (ordinal alpha, omega total, Revelle's omega total [omega RT], omega hierarchical [omega h], greatest lower bound [GLB], and coefficient "H") with continuous and discrete data having different types of non-normality. Results showed the estimation bias was…

This manuscript describes two empirical studies of alternative scoring procedures used with curriculum-based measurement in writing (CBM-W). Study 1 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric in first grade. Study 2 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric, production-dependent, and production-independent scores in…

Open-ended (OE) items are widely used to gather data on student performance in international achievement studies. However, several factors may threaten validity when using such items. This study examined Finnish coders' opinions about threats to validity when coding responses to OE items in the PISA 2012 problem-solving test. A total of 6…

The study aimed to identify the effect of using Jigsaw strategy in teaching science on the acquisition of scientific concepts among the fourth graders of Bani Kinana Directorate of Education compared to the traditional way. The study sample consisted of 70 male and female students, divided into two groups: experimental and control where the…

This article reports the findings of a study that sought to investigate whether computer-based vs. paper-based test-delivery mode has an impact on the reliability and validity of an achievement test for a pedagogical content knowledge course in an English teacher education program. A total of 97 university students enrolled in the English as a…

The aim of this research is to determine whether students' test performance and approaches to test questions change based on the type of mathematics questions (visual or verbal) administered to them. This research is based on a mixed-design model. The quantitative data are gathered from 297 seventh grade students, attending seven different middle…

Problem Statement: Critical reading refers to individuals' thinking about what they read, assessing what they have read, and using their own judgment about what they have read. In order to teach critical reading skills to students, a teacher is expected to have knowledge about text selection, use of appropriate methods, preparation of functional…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of dimensionality, common-item set format, and different scale linking methods on preserving equity property with mixed-format test equating. Item response theory (IRT) true-score equating (TSE) and IRT observed-score equating (OSE) methods were used under common-item nonequivalent groups design.…

The study aims to investigate the effect of using constructivist learning model in teaching science, especially in the subject of light: its nature, mirrors, lens, and properties, on the achievement of eighth-grade students and their scientific thinking. The study sample consisted of (136) male and female 8th graders were chosen from two basic…

One concern when repurposing a test to a new population is whether the test is measuring the same construct in a valid and reliable way that is comparable to the intended population. Following the guidelines of the International Test Commission and the ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness, this study was designed to collect evidence in support…

The purpose of this study is to develop scientific literacy evaluation instrument that tested its validity, reliability, and characteristics to measure the skill of student's scientific literacy used four scientific literacy, categories as follow:science as a body of knowledge (category A), science as a way of thinking (category B), science as a…

This study tested whether individual executive function (EF) tasks were better characterized as formative or reflective indicators of the latent construct of EF. EF data that were collected as part of the Family Life Project (FLP), a prospective longitudinal study of families who were recruited at the birth of a new child (N = 1,292), when…

This study investigated longitudinal pathways leading from early spatial skills in first-grade girls to their fifth-grade analytical math reasoning abilities (N = 138). First-grade assessments included spatial skills, verbal skills, addition/subtraction skills, and frequency of choice of a decomposition or retrieval strategy on the…

To assess the value of individual students' subscores on the Major Field Test in Business (MFT Business), I examined the test's internal structure with factor analysis and structural equation model methods, and analyzed the subscore reliabilities using the augmented scores method. Analyses of the internal structure suggested that the MFT Business…

In the social sciences, latent traits often have a hierarchical structure, and data can be sampled from multiple levels. Both hierarchical latent traits and multilevel data can occur simultaneously. In this study, we developed a general class of item response theory models to accommodate both hierarchical latent traits and multilevel data. The…