The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A), a widely used high-stakes language proficiency test for university admissions and migration purposes, underwent a notable change from a three-hour to a two-hour version in November 2021. The implementation of the new version has prompted inquiries into the washback effects on various stakeholders.…

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is a computer adaptive test of English proficiency that is increasingly used for English-medium university admissions purposes. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, test centers were shut down in many countries, and major tests including the TOEFL iBT and IELTS could not be administered. The DET is an "at…

The literature indicates that the effects of sources of demographic biases on fairness in classroom assessment (CA) are under-researched in the Iranian higher education context. Hence, this study aims to explore the Iranian university teachers' perceptions of the effects of demographic biases (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic (SES)) on…

We employed qualitative research methods to examine student learning in context during a teacher's unit on 1920s-Great Depression in an 11th grade United States & Virginia History class in a standards-based setting with a high-stakes end-of-course test. We focused on four focal students (all of whom were classified as English learners at some…

This paper reports on the proposed transfer of a paper-based English proficiency exam to an online platform. We discuss both the potential predetermined advantages, which were the impetus for the project, and also some emergent benefits, which prompted an in-depth analysis and reconceptualisation of the exam's role, which in turn we hope will…

Lord's (1980) equity theorem claims observed-score equating to be possible only when two test forms are perfectly reliable or strictly parallel. An analysis of its proof reveals use of an incorrect statistical assumption. The assumption does not invalidate the theorem itself though, which can be shown to follow directly from the discrete nature of…

The study examined Social Studies teachers' perception of values clarification strategy for curbing examination mal-practice in upper basic schools in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara state. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population for this study was all teachers in Upper Basic schools while the target population was Upper Basic…

This study examined seven Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) teachers' accounts of current Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA) practices, elicited through semi-structured interviews, in order to explore "washback" -- the effects of PBLA on teaching and learning. Portfolios are primarily useful as formative…

Formative assessments are an important component of massive open online courses (MOOCs), online courses with open access and unlimited student participation. Accurate conclusions on students' proficiency via formative, however, face several challenges: (a) students are typically allowed to make several attempts; and (b) student performance might…

This paper is the third in a series of Analytical Insights papers, which provide accessible, up-to-date analysis of educational datasets. The insights in this paper are drawn from the latest National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy in Australia (LLANIA) data to discuss student participation…

One major aim of international large-scale assessments (ILSA) like PISA is to monitor changes in student performance over time. To accomplish this task, a set of common items (i.e., link items) is repeatedly administered in each assessment. Linking methods based on item response theory (IRT) models are used to align the results from the different…

Recent Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) analyses find that cyber charter schools in seventeen states show consistently low reading and mathematics value-added test scores compared to traditional public schools serving comparable students. This generally accords with prior research. We hypothesize that the relatively poor…

In recent years, the use of external proficiency-based tests to measure learners' language ability has increased significantly, in part thanks to the Seal of Biliteracy movement. However, there exists very limited research investigating the influence of such tests and their subsequent outcomes data on teachers' practices. As such, this study…

In undergraduate research settings, students are likely to encounter anomalous data, that is, data that do not meet their expectations. Most of the research that directly or indirectly captures the role of anomalous data in research settings uses post-hoc reflective interviews or surveys. These data collection approaches focus on recall of past…

Daniel Koretz is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on educational assessment and policy, particularly the effects of high-stakes testing on educational practice and the validity of score gains. He is the author of "Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells…