The purpose of this paper is to provide states and school districts with processes they can use to help ensure high-quality data collection during teacher observations. Educational Testing Service's (ETS's) goal in writing it is to share the knowledge and expertise they gained: (1) from designing and implementing scoring processes for the Measures…

Background: Effective interpersonal communication skills in the advisor-advisee relationship context are important to the success of graduate students. Few instruments have previously been developed to assess students' communication skills in this context. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study reports the development and validation of the Science,…

Assessing student learning is a critical element in today's higher education environment. Learning assurance programs seek to assess and improve the quality of student learning, and may employ both direct and indirect measures. In this paper, we describe a practical learning assurance assessment measure developed and used as a part of a broader…

This conceptual framework proposes a multi-level, multi-dimensional course alignment model to implement a contextualised constructive alignment of rubric design that authentically evidences and assesses learning outcomes. By embedding quality control mechanisms at each level for each dimension, this model facilitates the development of an aligned…

Developmental screening has become an established component of child health programs in many developed countries. The research objective of this project was to translate and adapt a developmental assessment (Oregon Project Skills Inventory) for use with young children with visual impairments who speak Arabic. The study was prompted by the lack of…

In England, pupils aged 16 take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations for a range of subjects. The current assessment models for GCSE include a two-tier structure for some subjects and a non-tier model for the others. The tiered subjects have a higher tier designed for high achieving pupils and a lower tier for low…

In his focus article, Koretz (this issue) argues that accountability has become the primary function of large-scale testing in the United States. He then points out that tests being used for accountability purposes are flawed and that the high-stakes nature of these tests creates a context that encourages score inflation. Koretz is concerned about…

Applied linguists should strive to ensure that the tests they design and use are not only fair and socially acceptable, but also have positive effects--this, in light of the fact that tests can sometimes have far-reaching and often detrimental effects on test-takers. What this paper will attempt to do, is highlight how this concern for responsible…

Assessing whether or not a teacher candidate is ready to take their own class is a high-stakes decision that requires consideration of multiple, often competing, sources of information. Three research instruments were designed to explore how mentors judge readiness to teach during final practicum placements. This article describes the three…

In this testimony, the author first describes her qualifications, as well as the lack of relevant qualifications in Common Core's standards writers and in most of the members of Common Core's Validation Committee, on which she served in 2009-2010. The author then details some of the many problems in the 2011 Massachusetts ELA standards, written by…

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale of instrument, the Principal Leadership Index (PLI), to assess principal leadership practices within the framework of ELCC (2011) standards adopted by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. Items of the PLI were initially developed by the researcher followed by expert…

Background: The shortage of skilled workers choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers in the USA and worldwide has fueled a movement towards STEAM, in which the "A" addresses the arts and humanities. STEAM education has been proposed as a way to offer relevant problems to solve while drawing on creative and…

Student's ability to use and manipulate scientific concepts has been widely explored; however there is still a need to define the characteristics and nature of science ability. Also, the tests and performance scales that require minimal conceptual knowledge to measure this ability are relatively less common. The aim of this study was to develop an…

Developing multiculturally competent citizens is at the forefront of the espoused mission of higher education. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-report instrument to measure traditional-age (18-to 24-year-old) college students' multicultural consciousness (e.g., awareness of self, knowledge of difference, and…

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument to determine the level of school administrators' diversity leadership based on teachers' perceptions. For this purpose, an item pool was created which includes 68 questions based on the literature, and data were obtained from 343 teachers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was…