The formative Assessment for Learning proposals outlined by Black and Wiliam (e.g. Black et al. , 2002 ) have been well publicised. Since 2002, in its Assessment is for Learning programme, the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) has been exploring ways of bringing research, policy and practice in assessment into closer alignment using…

Although focus groups continue to gain popularity in marketing and social science research, their use in program evaluation has been limited. Here we demonstrate how focus groups can benefit evaluators, program staff, policy makers and administrators by providing an in-depth understanding of program effectiveness from the perspective of…

Women's autonomy has long been a central concern for researchers examining the social position of women in developing countries. However, little emphasis has been placed on the measurement of autonomy, despite its importance for assessing the validity of comparative research. In this research, we use confirmatory factor analyses to determine (1)…

P. A. Arbisi and Y. S. Ben-Porath (1995) originally proposed that the Infrequency Psychopathology scale, F(p), be used as the final step in an algorithm to determine the validity of a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) protocol. The current study used taxometric procedures to determine the latent structure of F(p) among…

The present research evaluated an intervention, derived from the "extended contact hypothesis," which aimed to change children's intergroup attitudes toward refugees. The study (n=253) tested 3 models of extended contact among 5- to 11-year-old children: dual identity, common ingroup identity, and decategorization. Children read friendship stories…

Not all policy questions can be addressed by social experiments. Nonexperimental evaluation methods provide an alternative to experimental designs but their results depend on untestable assumptions. This paper presents evidence on the reliability of propensity score matching (PSM), which estimates treatment effects under the assumption of…

The psychometric literature is replete with comprehensive discussions of test validity, test validation, and the characteristics of quality assessment programs. The most authoritative source for guidance regarding sound test development and evaluation practices is the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. However, the Standards are…

In order to teach individuals with developmental disabilities to request stimuli they are motivated to obtain (mand), it is often necessary to initially deliver the item requested immediately and frequently. This may result in an undesirably high rate of mands that is impractical to maintain. The purpose of the current investigation was to extend…

Complex survey designs often employ multistage cluster sampling designs and oversample particular units to ensure more accurate population parameter estimates. These issues must be accommodated in the analysis to ensure accurate parameter estimation. Incorporation of sample weights in some statistical procedures has been studied. However, research…

Differential item functioning (DIF) is an important consideration in assessing the validity of test scores (Camilli & Shepard, 1994). A variety of statistical procedures have been developed to assess DIF in tests of dichotomous (Hills, 1989; Millsap & Everson, 1993) and polytomous (Penfield & Lam, 2000; Potenza & Dorans, 1995) items. Some of these…

Ipsative data (individual scores subject to a constant-sum constraint), suggested to minimize response bias, are sometimes observed in behavioral sciences. Chan and Bentler (1993, 1996) proposed a method to analyze ipsative data in a single-group case. Cheung and Chan (2002) extended the method to multiple-group analysis. However, these methods…

Goodness-of-fit (GOF) indexes provide "rules of thumb"?recommended cutoff values for assessing fit in structural equation modeling. Hu and Bentler (1999) proposed a more rigorous approach to evaluating decision rules based on GOF indexes and, on this basis, proposed new and more stringent cutoff values for many indexes. This article discusses…

The usefulness of assessing individual fit in latent growth curve models was examined. The study used simulated data based on an unconditional and a conditional latent growth curve model with a linear component and a small quadratic component and a linear model was fit to the data. Then the overall fit of linear and quadratic models to these data…

This article describes the Self-Assessment of Program Evaluation Expertise instrument and procedure developed to help participants assess their learning gains in a 3-week evaluation institute. Participants completed the instrument in a pre- and posttest format. To reduce both the threat of embarrassment from individual results and the temptation…

This paper reports on a conference held at the Leyte Institute of Technology, Tacloban City, The Philippines. Entitled: Qualitative Approaches to Educational Evaluation, it was a cooperative venture between the College of Arts and Sciences at the Leyte Institute of Technology and the School of Education at Flinders University. A central purpose of…