Standardised testing has received a lot of political and public attention recently in Australia. This paper describes the sense-making of Year 3 students as they interpret items from the 2008 NAPLAN. Results show that student performance changed dramatically when the terminology of an item was modified and subsequently were not a true indication…

Research Findings: This study examined the validity and reliability of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; R. C. Pianta, K. M. La Paro, & B. K. Hamre, 2008) in Finnish kindergartens. A pair of trained observers used the CLASS to observe 49 kindergarten teachers (47 female, 2 male) on two different days. Questionnaires measuring…

Demands for accountability have seen the implementation of large scale testing programs in Australia and internationally. There is, however, a growing body of evidence to show that externally imposed testing programs do not have a sustained impact on student achievement. It has been argued that teacher assessment is more effective in raising…

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Edition of the School Observation Coding System (REDSOCS). Participants were 68 children ages 3 to 6 who completed parent-child interaction therapy for Oppositional Defiant Disorder as part of a larger efficacy trial. Interobserver reliability on REDSOCS categories was moderate to…

This study involved the development of a two-tier diagnostic instrument to assess Thai high school students' understanding of acid-base chemistry. The acid-base diagnostic test (ABDT) comprising 18 items was administered to 55 Grade 11 students in a science and mathematics programme during the second semester of the 2008 academic year. Analysis of…

Background: This study describes the development and trialling of the Family Life Interview (FLI), a clinical tool designed to examine sustainability of family routines. Materials and Methods: The FLI, a self-report instrument completed by a parent within a semi-structured practitioner--parent interview, was administered to 118 parents, with…

A Spanish translation of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood (ADEC-SP) was administered to 115 children aged 15-73 months in Mexico. In Phase 1, children with Autistic Disorder (AD), a non-Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis or typical development were assessed with the ADEC-SP by a clinician blind to the child's diagnostic…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct validity of the Self-Efficacy/Social Support for Activity for persons with Intellectual Disability (SE/SS-AID) scales developed by Peterson, Peterson, Lowe, & Nothwehr (2009). A total of 146 participants with intellectual disabilities completed 6 self-efficacy (SE) items and 18 social…

This article provides an overview of the development and validation of the Student Tool for Technology Literacy (ST[superscript 2]L). Developing valid and reliable objective performance measures for monitoring technology literacy is important to all organizations charged with equipping students with the technology skills needed to successfully…

This paper represents one outcome from the "Invitational Research Symposium on Technology-Enabled and Universally Designed Assessments," which examined technology-enabled assessments (TEA) and universal design (UD) as they relate to students with disabilities (SWD). It was developed to stimulate research into TEAs designed to make tests…

The aim of this study was to examine the validation of the Hooper Visual Organization Test (HVOT) for use in children by testing for item fit, unidimensionality, item hierarchy, reliability, and screening capacity. A modified scoring system was devised for the HVOT so that children received some credit for being able to describe the function of…

This article surveys efforts at the national and international level to define and assess accomplished teaching with particular attention devoted to how assessments of accomplished teaching connect to student learning. The author finds that most assessments are based on aspects of teaching that, presumably, come together as accomplished teaching.…

This study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of 2 assessment instruments, the "Behavior Problems Inventory-01" ("BPI-01"; Rojahn, Matson, Lott, Esbensen, & Smalls, 2001) and the "Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form" ("NCBRF"; Aman, Tass, Rojahn, & Hammer, 1996). The sample consisted…

Due to the high-stakes nature of medical exams it is prudent for test agencies to critically evaluate test data and control for potential threats to validity. For the typical multiple station performance assessments used in medicine, it may take time for examinees to become comfortable with the test format and administrative protocol. Since each…

Starting next month, 300 schools nationwide will take part in a field test of a new way to gauge principals' effectiveness. Known as VAL-ED, for the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education, the tool has been developed by a team of leadership and testing experts at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania to measure…