During the past two decades, an increasing number of European countries have introduced language requirements for residency, citizenship, and sometimes even for entry to the country and family reunification. As a result, democratic rights as well as basic human rights have come to depend upon an individual's ability to obtain a certain score on a…

The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test is a new English language proficiency test in the "TOEFL"® family of assessments. It measures foundational language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. The test covers the four language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking and is intended…

Test developers are continually exploring the possibilities Computer Based Assessment (CBA) offers the Mathematics domain. This paper describes the trial of the Place Value Assessment Tool (PVAT) and its online equivalent, the PVAT-O. Both tests were administered using a counterbalanced research design to 253 Year 3-6 students across nine classes…

In 2002, Fan and his colleagues developed the Attention Network Test (ANT), a cognitive tool that provides a score for each of the attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive functioning). Since publication, this study has been cited over 3,500 times. The authors state one of the indicated uses of this tool is to measure how different…

Measuring learning outcomes on core skills is key to building evidence on which teaching and learning interventions are most effective, and ultimately informing policy that prioritises these skills, amongst early learners. However, developing national or systems-level assessments pose considerable challenges, including implementing an effective…

English language proficiency has been considered as an important prerequisite for hiring new faculty members for various disciplines by the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE). For this, the Departments of English across the major universities of Afghanistan such as Kabul, Nangarhar, Shaheed Prof. Rabbani Education; Heart and Balkh…

The increasing use of computer-based mode in language testing raises concern over its similarities with and differences from paper-based format. The present study aimed to delineate discrepancies between TOEFL PBT and CBT. For that objective, a quantitative method was employed to probe into scores equivalence, the performance of male-female…

The field of educational measurement has evolved considerably since the first doctoral programs were established. In response, programs have typically tacked on courses that address newly developed theories, methods, tools, and techniques. As our review of current programs evidences, this approach produces artificial distinctions among topics and…

This paper reflects on the findings of two studies focused on teachers' perspectives on the standards agenda. The original study was carried out in 2010-2011 and published in 2015 in Education 3-13 [Brown, Z., and K. Manktelow. 2015. "'Perspectives on the Standards Agenda: Exploring the Agenda's Impact on Primary Teachers' Professional…

Assessments are a way for stakeholders in education to understand what students know and can do. They can take many forms, including but not limited to paper and pencil or computer-adaptive formats. However, assessments do not have to be tests in the traditional sense at all; rather, they can be carried out through teacher observations of students…

Despite the call for an argument-based approach to validity over 25 years ago, few examples exist in the published literature. One possible explanation for this outcome is that the complexity of the argument-based approach makes implementation difficult. To counter this claim, we propose that the Assessment Triangle can serve as the overarching…

Detecting mental illness in school students may prevent poor school outcomes. Clinicians often use universal behavioral screeners to identify students at risk for mental illness. This study examined the applicability of Kane's interpretation and use argument (IUA) to the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener--Teacher Rating Scale…

When superintendent Rudy Hernandez first arrived at Cicero School District 99, he knew he had challenges to address across the district. With a near-90 percent poverty level and a student population made up of 50 percent English language learners, he knew he needed to work with teachers to build a data-driven support system to affect change.…

In response to increasingly multilingual and multicultural demographics in U.S. K12 schools, scholars have called for more equity and social justice orientations to teacher leadership. In this dissertation, I argue that this call is especially pertinent for ESOL Teacher Leaders (ELTs) who manage rapidly-growing language support programs for…

We are developing the Equitable Screening to Support Youth (ESSY) Whole Child Screener to address concerns prevalent in existing school-based screenings that impede goals to advance educational equity using universal screeners. Traditional assessment development does not include end users in the early development phases, instead relying on a…