The first step in the Validity and Reliability Study summarizes the history and purpose of California's quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), reviews findings from other QRIS evaluation studies, and describes the approach to validating the system in California. The majority of this report focuses on providing context for the California…

This study is a validity study of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), intended to test the adequacy of NAEP for detecting and monitoring the effects of mathematics education reform. The current study design was intended to support a comparison of the relative effectiveness of three different types of large-scale…

Problem Statement: Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is a sophisticated and efficient way of delivering examinations. In CAT, items for each examinee are selected from an item bank based on the examinee's responses to the items. In this way, the difficulty level of the test is adjusted based on the examinee's ability level. Instead of…

The SAS Educational Value-Added Assessment System (SAS[R] EVAAS[R]) is the most widely used value-added system in the country. It is also self-proclaimed as "the most robust and reliable" system available, with its greatest benefit to help educators improve their teaching practices. This study critically examined the effects of SAS[R] EVAAS[R] as…

Most educational researchers have heard the adage, "If you want to measure change in performance, don't change the measure." At the same time, however, what students need to know and be able to do may change over time as research on teaching and learning provides new insights into the educational process, science and technology advance, and…

Rubrics are a means to communicate the standards or criteria of an assignment and to assess student work formatively or summatively by faculty, peer, and/or self. Given that assessment is a necessary and mandated component of education, this study sought to summarize what is known about rubrics as an assessment tool for student learning. In this…

In June 2007, the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the College Ready School Diagnostic, a web-based diagnostic instrument. The purpose of this tool is to provide individual school profiles and customized recommendations, enabling each institution to make…

A study investigated the appropriateness of the American College Testing Program's College Outcome Measures Program, conducted at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, by applying the criterion of construct validity. Results indicated that while the test primarily measures individual differences, it is also sensitive to the effects of higher…

The criterion issues in the area of outcome research in psychotherapy were addressed and reviewed. Through this review of previous outcome research, it was determined that three basic criterion areas related best to traditional outcome variables such as therapist and community informant ratings, length of stay, and rehospitalization. These three…

The purpose of this study was to determine the value of the Grotelueschen evaluation model in terms of six criteria: usability, comprehensiveness, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, validity, and objectivity. This evaluation process was chosen from six models that were reviewed to determine the effectiveness of an adult education program on career…

A formative committee conducted a developmental study to produce a program evaluation instrument (PEI) that would be effective in conducting an adult basic education (ABE) program evaluation study at Nicolet Area Technical College (NATC). Five procedures were used to complete this product. First, a literature review was conducted that assisted in…

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Office of Program Evaluation and Research is responsible for providing information for program development and improvement; providing test information to special programs coordinators; and acting as a clearinghouse for all information concerning tests, evaluation methodology, and educational…

A project was conducted to develop an assessment instrument for use in identifying welfare recipients who are potentially employable and to evaluate the effectiveness of Florida's three existing pilot employment assistance planning programs (termed PAPAs after the Public Assistance Productivity Act). Data on the employment status of 98 individuals…

This report describes the instructional quality inventory (IQI), which was developed to provide quality control/evaluation procedures for the instructional system development (ISD). The ISD is described as a method used by the military to develop or revise training courses. IQI procedures are detailed in six sections. Section 1 explains the IQI…

In general, the 110 conference papers discuss the selection, training, and evaluation of enlisted personnel and officer personnel, as well as the use of job, task and soft skill analysis. More specific topics are: air traffic controllers; adaptive testing; criterion-referenced testing; performance testing; contingency management; management survey…