In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the sixth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

Professional learning to embed educational reform may need to take account of the stage of the reform rather than previous teaching experience. As reforms move to the embedding phase, some teachers have become more expert in executing the reform than others and may be well placed to provide professional learning. In 2007, the New Zealand Ministry…

Tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of mortality and morbidity in North America and Quitlines are one of the primary cessation resources available to assist tobacco users with quitting. Implementation of best practices is important to the success of quitlines, but unfortunately, it is a complex and elusive process often…

Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

This study analyzes latent change scores using latent curve models (LCMs) for evaluation research with pre-post-post designs. The article extends a recent article by Willoughby, Vandergrift, Blair, and Granger (2007) on the use of LCMs for studies with pre-post-post designs, and demonstrates that intervention effects can be better tested using…

As students enter the upper elementary grades, the emotional dynamics of their assessment experiences begin to affect them in both helpful and harmful ways. Those who experience success on assessments gain a strong sense of academic self-efficacy. Those who experience failure lose their sense of control over their own academic well-being. The…

After months of waiting, the grant reviews came back: "excellent," "excellent," and "fair." What?! How can this be? Why is the third review so out of line with the first two? On more than one occasion a principal investigator (PI) has been frustrated not only by a negative funding decision but more so by the accompanying reviewer evaluation forms…

This paper explores the developing thinking about assessment of graduate trainees preparing for secondary teaching in England. For some years teachers in English schools have worked in a context where the outcomes of formal testing have been used to judge school and teacher performance as well as student achievement. Research evidence that…

School climate surveys are widely applied in school districts across the nation to collect information about teacher efficacy, principal leadership, school safety, students' activities, and so forth. They enable school administrators to understand and address many issues on campus when used in conjunction with other student and staff data.…

In this paper, the author considers certain aspects of the problem of obtaining unbiased information about the merits of a program or product, whether for purposes of decision making or for accountability. The evaluation of personnel, as well as the evaluation of proposals and evaluations, generally involves a different set of problems than those…

It is a special characteristic of all modern societies that people consciously decide on and plan projects designed to improve their social systems. It is their universal predicament that their projects do not always have their intended effects. It seems inevitable that in most countries this common set of problems, combined with the obvious…

This simulation study compared the performance of two multilevel measurement testlet (MMMT) models: Beretvas and Walker's (2008) two-level MMMT model and Jiao, Wang, and Kamata's (2005) three-level model. Several conditions were manipulated (including testlet length, sample size, and the pattern of the testlet effects) to assess the impact on the…

This paper examines measures used by studies associated with Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Initiative (PCER) funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. Analysis of 17 measures of fidelity used by 13 curriculum interventions highlights how research in preschools is and is not measuring fidelity of implementation. The following…

This article examines evaluation field building in South Asia and the role of international collaboration in this field building. The article explores aspects of the supply and demand of development evaluation and the political, historical, and systemic factors that bridge or block evaluation use. The article calls for and suggests elements to…

This paper investigates the use of new media technologies, in particular wikis, for the compiling and grading of group assessment tasks. Wikis are open web pages that can be viewed and modified by anyone with internet access and are well known for their collaborative nature. Wikis are also transparent, which means that any edit/modification is…