Posterior Predictive Model Checking (PPMC) is a Bayesian model checking method that compares the observed data to (plausible) future observations from the posterior predictive distribution. We propose an alternative to PPMC in the context of structural equation modeling, which we term the Poor Persons PPMC (PP-PPMC), for the situation wherein one…

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has often been used to evaluate efficiency in the context of higher education institutions. Yet there are numerous alternative non-parametric measures of efficiency available. This paper compares efficiency scores obtained for institutions of higher education in England, 2013-2014, using three different methods: the…

The aims of this study were to determine faculty's ability to accurately and reliably categorize exam questions using Bloom's Taxonomy, and if modified versions would improve the accuracy and reliability. Faculty experience and affiliation with a health sciences discipline were also considered. Faculty at one university were asked to categorize 30…

Precision is a key facet of test development, with score reliability determined primarily according to the types of error one wants to approximate and demonstrate. This article identifies and discusses several primary forms of reliability estimation: internal consistency (i.e., split-half, KR-20, a), test-retest, alternate forms, interscorer, and…

Reviewing the assessment literature, dynamic assessment is the most recently advocated type of assessment in that it not only argues for integration between assessment and instruction, but also takes into consideration the testees' past, present, and future potentials. However, as far as dynamic assessment is concerned, a key question is: How much…

Particularly in urban schools, school-family partnerships can contribute to a student's academic achievement and reduce educational disadvantage, regardless of the family's socioeconomic background. Based on the recommendations of a former explorative field study (also published in this issue), conventional school-family partnership procedures…

For the last seven years, an interdisciplinary course known as "Greener Solutions", offered by the University of California, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, has brought together graduate students in chemistry, environmental health, and engineering to understand each other's disciplines, and to work together to develop safer…

Background: Outcomes of static tests provide an indication of what children have learned in the past, up to the moment of testing, and can therefore underestimate the cognitive abilities of atypically developing children, such as children with language difficulties. In contrast, dynamic tests aim to examine children's potential for learning. The…

States continue to navigate the shift that came with the 1% threshold on participation in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). This shift, following the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, limited participation in the…

The purpose of this brief is to summarize some of the past exclusionary practices that resulted from low expectations for students with disabilities, and how those were addressed in policies related to standards-based reform. The brief is based on a comprehensive paper that takes a cross disciplinary approach to examining expectations for students…

Sound test security policies and procedures are needed to ensure test security and confidentiality, and to help prevent cheating. In this era when cheating on tests draws regular media attention, there is a need for thoughtful consideration of the ways in which possible test security measures may affect accessibility for some students with…

This article advocates using Leventhal's (1980) justice judgment theory to incorporate distributive and procedural justice into summative assessment of student learning in higher education. It reviews important commonalities between the process of employee performance appraisal in organizations and practices to assess student learning in academe…

European Frame for Higher Education has led universities to adapt their teaching schemes. Degrees must train students in competences including specific and cross-curricular skills. Nevertheless, there are important limitations to follow skill improvement through the consecutive academic years. Final-year dissertation (FYD) offers the opportunity…

Purpose: This research investigated a first step in implementing the dynamic assessment (DA) component of Triadic Gaze Intervention (Olswang, Feuerstein, Pinder, & Dowden, 2013; Olswang et al., 2014), an evidence-based protocol for teaching early signals of communication to young children with physical disabilities. Clinician attitudes about…

The number of Chinese engineering students has increased greatly since 1999. Rating the quality of these students' English essays has thus become time-consuming and challenging. This paper presents a novel automatic essay scoring algorithm called PSOSVR, based on a machine learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine for Regression (SVR), and a…