Recently, there has been a change from traditional language testing approaches, with a focus on psychometric properties towards critical language testing (CLT) with its social practice nature. CLT assumes tests not as neutral devices but as instruments of power and control which are related to authorities' policy agendas to shape individuals' and…

The International Test Commission's "Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests" (2010) provide important guidance on developing and evaluating tests for use across languages. These guidelines are widely applauded, but the degree to which they are followed in practice is unknown. The objective of this study was to perform a…

The Adaption-Innovation Inventory (AII), originally developed by Kirton (1976), is a widely used self-report instrument for measuring problem-solving styles at work. The present study investigates how scores on the AII are affected by different response styles. Data are collected from a combined sample (N = 738) of students, employees, and…

In this article, we investigate disparate impact analysis as a validation tool for understanding the local effects of writing assessment on diverse groups of students. Using a case study data set from a university that we call Brick City University, we explain how Brick City's writing program undertook a self-study of its placement exam using the…

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions-Adult Form (BRIEF-A) when used with deaf college students. The BRIEF-A was administered to 176 deaf and 184 hearing students of whom 25 deaf students and 56 hearing students self-identified as having an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity…

There has been an active debate in the literature over the validity of value-added models. In this study, the author tests the central assumption of value-added models that school assignment is random relative to expected test scores conditional on prior test scores, demographic variables, and other controls. He uses a Chicago charter school's…

Academic language is frequently assumed to be especially challenging for students from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) and even more so for language-minority students. Due to their often especially disadvantaged position regarding socioeconomic background and exposure to the language of instruction, language minority students are…

We investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument has considerable implications on methodologies…

Trend estimation in international comparative large-scale assessments relies on measurement invariance between countries. However, cross-national differential item functioning (DIF) has been repeatedly documented. We ran a simulation study using national item parameters, which required trends to be computed separately for each country, to compare…

The present study investigated the social physique anxiety scale's factor structure and item properties using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory. An additional aim was to identify differences in response patterns between groups (gender). A large sample of high school students aged 11-15 years (N = 1,529) consisting of n =…

The authors study the characteristics of students who take the Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B) versus those who do not. The authors find that students with higher cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) are more likely to take the test. Additionally, students are more likely to take the test if it is offered late in the semester. Further…

The tests we use to evaluate student achievement may well be sound measures of what students know, but they are faulty indicators at best of how well they have been taught. A remedy to this this situation of judging teachers by the performance of their students on high-stakes tests may be in hand already. We should look to the methods successfully…

Most research on linguistic features of test items negatively impacting English language learners' (ELLs') performance has focused on lexical and syntactic features, rather than discourse features that operate at the level of the whole item. This mixed-methods study identified two discourse features in 162 multiple-choice items on a standardized…

Federal education legislation continues to emphasize the role of assessment in elementary and secondary schools. Perhaps most prominently, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), requires the use of test-based educational accountability systems in states and specifies the…

In this article, I show how item response models can be used to capture multiple response processes in psychological applications. Intuitive and analytical responses, agree-disagree answers, response refusals, socially desirable responding, differential item functioning, and choices among multiple options are considered. In each of these cases, I…