Examination dishonesty is a global problem that became particularly critical after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote learning. Academic research has often examined this phenomenon as only one aspect of a broader concept of academic dishonesty and as a one-dimensional construct. This article builds on existing knowledge…

Purpose: Well-designed assessment methodologies and various cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) to extract diagnostic information about examinees' individual strengths and weaknesses have been developed. Due to this novelty, as well as educational specialists' lack of familiarity with CDMs, their applications are not widespread. This article aims at…

Measurement errors attributable to cultural issues are complex and challenging for educational assessments. We need assessment tests sensitive to the cultural heterogeneity of populations, and psychometric methods appropriate to address fairness and equity concerns. Built on the research of culturally responsive assessment, this dissertation…

Examinees' thinking processes have become an increasingly important concern in testing. The responses processes aspect is a major component of validity, and contemporary tests increasingly involve specifications about the cognitive complexity of examinees' response processes. Yet, empirical research findings on examinees' cognitive processes are…

It is imperative that counselors understand how to critically evaluate assessments before using them to make clinical decisions. This evaluation can be conducted through integrating the 5 sources of validity. Each source of validity is discussed, along with methods to appraise psychometric quality, throughout this special issue.

Paul E. Newton provides an insightful and scholarly overview of central issues in validity theory. As he notes, many of the conceptual problems in validity theory derive from the fact that the word "validity" has two meanings. First, it indicates "whether a test measures what it purports to measure." This is a factual claim about the psychometric…

As a property of test scores, reliability/dependability constitutes an important psychometric consideration, and it underpins the validity of measurement results. A review of interpreter certification performance tests (ICPTs) reveals that (a) although reliability/dependability checking has been recognized as an important concern, its theoretical…

Recent calls for an increase in educational accountability in K-16 resulted in an uptick of low-stakes testing and, consequently, an increased need for ensuring that students' test scores are reliable and valid representations of their true ability. Focusing on accountability testing in higher education, the current program of research was…

Allowing respondents to retake a cognitive ability test has shown to increase their test scores. Several theoretical models have been proposed to explain this effect, which make distinct assumptions regarding the measurement invariance of psychometric tests across test administration sessions with regard to narrower cognitive abilities and general…

As the population of young dual language learners continues to rise, how can early childhood professionals choose culturally and linguistically appropriate assessments for Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers? They'll get expert guidance in this one-of-a-kind resource, a comprehensive roundup and analysis of 37 developmental assessments…

IQ test scores should be corrected for high stakes decisions that employ these assessments, including capital offense cases. If scores are not corrected, then diagnostic standards must change with each generation. Arguments against corrections, based on standards of practice, information present and absent in test manuals, and related issues,…

Emphasis on regular mathematics skill assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring under the RTI model has created a need for the development of assessment instruments that are psychometrically sound, reliable, universal, and brief. Important factors to consider when developing or selecting assessments for the school environment include what…

The testing of English language learners (ELLs) is, to a large extent, a random process because of poor implementation and factors that are uncertain or beyond control. Yet current testing practices and policies appear to be based on deterministic views of language and linguistic groups and erroneous assumptions about the capacity of assessment…

The authors center their presentation of material around a conceptual understanding of psychometric issues, such as validity and reliability, and on purpose rather than procedure, the "why" rather than the "how to." Their goal is to introduce psychometric principles at a level that is deeper and more focused than found in introductory…

Speech act theory-based, second language pragmatics testing (SLPT) poses problems for validation due to a lack of correspondence with empirical conversational data. Since conversation analysis (CA) provides a richer and more accurate account of language behavior, it may be preferred as a basis for SLPT development. However, applying CA methodology…