In data collected from virtual learning environments (VLEs), item response theory (IRT) models can be used to guide the ongoing measurement of student ability. However, such applications of IRT rely on unbiased item parameter estimates associated with test items in the VLE. Without formal piloting of the items, one can expect a large amount of…

In operational testing programs using item response theory (IRT), item parameter invariance is threatened when an item appears in a different location on the live test than it did when it was field tested. This study utilizes data from a large state's assessments to model change in Rasch item difficulty (RID) as a function of item position change,…

There has been little data collected on how much testing actually goes on in America's schools and how the results are used. So in the Spring of 2014, the Council staff developed and launched a survey of assessment practices. This report presents the findings from that survey and subsequent Council analysis and review of the data. It also offers…

This article examines data from nine statewide administrations of the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Assessment (ICLA) over three-years. The ICLA measures pre-service teachers' knowledge of research-based content and pedagogy related to reading instruction and assessment. The purpose of this article was first to examine pre-service candidates'…

The purpose of this handbook is to provide information and guidelines for using data from standardized tests. The handbook consists of six sections: (1) explains the rationale for district-wide testing; (2) discusses a district testing program; (3) presents guidelines for testing which describes procedures for administering standardized tests; (4)…

Despite its widespread use in evaluation data analysis, statistical testing has come under persistent criticism resulting in calls for its rethinking, and even possible elimination (Carver, 1978, 1993). Saxon and Boylan issue a call "to strengthen developmental education research and to make it more accessible" (2003, p. 2). Among the types of…

The pros and cons of using behavioral objectives, the merits of norm-referenced versus objective-referenced tests, and the virtues of sampling versus census testing are familiar topics in evaluation literature. Far less common is practical information on how to implement objective-referenced testing, particularly the large-scale testing required…

Much of the intrinsic wealth of planning and instructional information available from achievement testing programs goes untapped in typical reporting procedures. Large-scale programs reporting only pupil scores and the results of aggregating those scores stop far short of the purposes intended and fail to realize the potential of such information.…