Educational reform priorities such as emphasis on quantitative modelling (QM) have positioned undergraduate biology instructors as designers of QM experiences to engage students in authentic science practices that support the development of data-driven and evidence-based reasoning. Yet, little is known about how biology instructors adapt to the…

In recent years, the social sciences have seen a resurgence in the study of divergent thinking (DT) measures. However, many of these recent advances have focused on abstract, decontextualized DT tasks (e.g., list as many things as you can think of that have wheels). This study provides a new perspective by exploring the reliability and validity…

The measurement of higher-order competencies within a tertiary education system across countries presents methodological challenges due to differences in educational systems, socio-economic factors, and perceptions as to which constructs should be assessed (Blömeke, Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Kuhn, & Fege, 2013). According to Hart Research…

Many countries use national-level surveys to capture student opinions about their university experiences. It is necessary to interpret survey results in an appropriate context to inform decision-making at many levels. To provide context to national survey outcomes, we describe patterns in the ratings of science and engineering subjects from the…

The study scrutinized the probable interaction between using cognitive test-taking strategies, reading proficiency, and reading comprehension test performance of Iranian postgraduate students, who studied English as a foreign language. The study also probed the extent to which the participants' test performance was related to the use of certain…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) requires teacher education units to develop assessment systems and evaluate both the success of candidates and unit operations. Because of a stated, but misguided, fear of statistics, NCATE fails to use accepted terminology to assure the quality of institutional evaluative…

Much of the argument about comparability of examination standards is at cross-purposes; contradictory positions are in fact often both defensible, but they are using the same words to mean different things. To clarify this, two broad conceptualisations of standards can be identified. One sees the standard in the observed phenomena of performance…

Robert Coe has claimed that three broad conceptions of comparability can be identified from the literature: performance, statistical and conventional. Each of these he rejected, in favour of a single, integrated conception which relies upon the notion of a "linking construct" and which he termed "construct comparability".…

In this paper it is argued that the problem of construct validation in the construction of instruments and indicators is an important problem for educational researchers and practitioners; moreover, it is claimed that the popular notion of operational definition is a misleading idea which has obscured the problem of construct validity in…

Replied to Hays and Stacy's critique of an article by Holmes, Dungan and McLaughlin in which the validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory alcoholism scales was questioned. Presents support for the original conclusions and comments on Hays and Stacy's reanalysis. (JAC)

Evidence on how the psychometric properties of verbal and quantitative academic aptitude tests are affected when item options are weighted using rather simple conceptual procedures is presented. This is discussed in connection with the scoring methods used on the Graduate Record Examinations. (DG)

This is a report of the development of a system of scoring the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) for Men. The scales which were developed supplement the occupational scales. Their main concern is identifying important clusters of interest which can be generalized beyond a single occupation. Development of the scales was based on an item…

In keeping with the theme of the International Language Testing Association/Language Testing Research Colloquium Conference in 2008, "Focusing on the Core: Justifying the Use of Language Assessments to Stakeholders," I define "stakeholder-friendly tests," "defensible testing," and "testing-context analysis."…

COUNSELORS OFTEN ADMINISTER TESTS OF QUESTIONABLE VALIDITY. IN RELIABILITY STUDIES, EVERY PRECAUTION IS TAKEN TO STABILIZE THE STIMULUS SITUATION. IN ASSESSING VALIDITY, CONCERN CENTERS ON BEHAVIOR UNDER DIFFERENT STIMULUS CONDITIONS. CRONBACH'S THEORETICAL LIMIT FOR A VALIDITY COEFFICIENT OF A TEST IS THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE RELIABILITY…

Validity coefficients, standard errors of estimate, and prediction are discussed. An argument is made for the potential utility of tests with validity coefficients of .60, .50, .40, and even .30, because they can predict the extremes, which is especially valuable for many purposes, such as counseling, college admissions, and personnel selection.…