Items on test score scales located at and below the Proficient cut score define the content area knowledge and skills required to achieve proficiency. Alternately, examinees who perform at the Proficient level on a test can be expected to be able to demonstrate that they have mastered most of the knowledge and skills represented by the items at…

This study describes enrollment and achievement trends of limited English proficient (LEP) students in New Jersey public schools between 2002/03 and 2008/09. It documents achievement gaps between LEP and general education students in language arts literacy and math. The study's main findings include: (1) From 2002/03 to 2008/09, LEP student…

In practice, vertical scales have been continually used to measure students' achievement progress across several grade levels and have been considered very challenging psychometric procedures. Recently, such practices have been drawing many criticisms. The major criticisms focus on dimensionality and construct equivalence of the latent trait or…

This technical report provides an overview of the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), including a description of the purpose of the NYSAA, the processes utilized to develop and implement the NYSAA program, and Stakeholder involvement in those processes. The purpose of this report is to document the technical aspects of the 2013-14 NYSAA.…

Psychometricians continue to develop and evaluate methods for linking test scores, both horizontally and vertically. This article describes a social moderation process for articulating (i.e., linking) performance standards across grade levels for an operational state assessment program. The researchers used generated data to evaluate the likely…

This paper reports on teachers' views of the effects of compulsory numeracy testing in Years 3, 5, and 7 in Queensland schools. Teachers were surveyed on (i) the validity and worth of the tests, (ii) the impact the tests had on their teaching of mathematics, and (iii) how they were using the results of the tests. Although the results reveal a…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 calls for 100% proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014. The mandate thus transforms reading and mathematics into high-stakes subject areas. This quantitative cross-sectional study examined legislated testing mandates in relation to burnout subscales, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal…

This report, submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, contains summary details of Delaware students' growth in the areas of reading, mathematics, writing, science and social studies. The results reported herein are part of a long-term effort to gather data on Delaware students' educational progress and use the data to inform decisions about…