The early detection of item drift is an important issue for frequently administered testing programs because items are reused over time. Unfortunately, operational data tend to be very sparse and do not lend themselves to frequent monitoring analyses, particularly for on-demand testing. Building on existing residual analyses, the authors propose…

This brief paper introduces a new approach to assessing the trustworthiness of research comparisons when expressed numerically. The 'number needed to disturb' a research finding would be the number of counterfactual values that can be added to the smallest arm of any comparison before the difference or 'effect' size disappears, minus the number of…

In a recent study we found that testing as a final activity in a skills course increases the learning outcome compared to spending an equal amount of time practicing. Whether this testing effect measured as skills performance can be demonstrated on long-term basis is not known. The research question was: does testing as a final activity in a…

Standardized testing has been part of the American educational system for decades. Controversy from the beginning has plagued standardized testing, is plaguing testing today, and will continue to be controversial. Given the current federal educational policies supporting increased standardized testing, psychometricians, educators and policy makers…

A theory-driven approach to evaluation (TDE) emphasizes the development and empirical testing of conceptual models to understand the processes and mechanisms through which programs achieve their intended goals. However, most reported applications of TDE are limited to large-scale experimental/quasi-experimental program evaluation designs. Very few…

This paper offers a practical guide to use null hypotheses significance testing and its alternatives. The focus is on improving the quality of statistical inference in quantitative communication research. More consistent reporting of descriptive statistics, estimates of effect size, confidence intervals around effect sizes, and increasing the…

This study contributes a novel perspective on grade retention by empirically examining how classroom composition relates to the standardized-testing performance of grade-retained students in their post-retained years. This evaluation employed a sample of entire cohorts of urban elementary school children in the Philadelphia School District over 6…

In recent years, computer-based testing (CBT) has grown in popularity, is increasingly being implemented across the United States, and will likely become the primary mode for delivering tests in the future. Although CBT offers many advantages over traditional paper-and-pencil testing, assessment experts, researchers, practitioners, and users have…

The present paper discusses criticisms of statistical significance testing from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Statistical significance testing is greatly influenced by sample size and often results in meaningless information being over-reported. Variance-accounted-for-effect sizes are presented as an alternative to statistical…

Because of criticisms leveled at statistical hypothesis testing, some researchers have argued that measures of effect size should replace the significance-testing practice. We contend that although effect-size measures have logical appeal, they are also associated with a number of limitations that may result in problematic interpretations of them…

Too few researchers understand what statistical significance testing does and does not do, and consequently their results are misinterpreted. This Digest explains the concept of statistical significance testing and discusses the meaning of probabilities, the concept of statistical significance, arguments against significance testing,…