The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for all students, including English…

This chapter addresses the psychometric challenges in assessing English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). The first section addresses some general considerations in the assessment of ELLs and SWDs, including the prevalence of ELLs and SWDs in the student population, federal and state legislation that requires the…

The general education teacher has the greatest influence on a student's success in school, and a teacher's attitude towards inclusion is a major factor in determining whether inclusion will be successful. The ATTAS-mm is a 9-item scale with strong reliability and validity. The three subscales: believing all students can succeed in general…

The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3) is a revised and updated comprehensive academic achievement test (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2014). Authored by Drs. Alan and Nadeen Kaufman and published by Pearson, the KTEA-3 remains an individual achievement test normed for individuals of ages 4 through 25 years, or for those in…

The response to a previous article by Mardell-Czednowski and Lessen notes the lack of common criteria for evaluating technical adequacy of assessment instruments used with handicapped children and stresses the need to evaluate instruments with the specific populations to which they are administered. (DB)

Special education tests evaluated by M. Thurlow and J. Ysseldyke with regard to technical adequacy were reevaluated using the same criteria. There was disagreement of 11 of the 30 tests used in both evaluations, demonstrating that current test standards are vague enough that experts disagree. (Author/CL)

The study examined the individualized education program (IEP) process by investigating and observing instructional settings, interviewing IEP service providers, and reviewing handicapped students' records. Ninety students were randomly selected for examination of their IEPs. Data were collected, recorded, and analyzed by using record review,…

A review of alternative methodologies and a conceptual framework for the study of reliability of criterion-referenced tests are presented. The possibility of aptitude-x-assessment interactions is considered and implications are discussed. (Author)

Content validity is an overriding problem in all measures evaluating written expression because there is no complete model of written language. Direct atomistic measures have greater instructional utility in diagnostic assessment, grouping, monitoring and decision making, reporting student progress, and giving feedback to students than do indirect…

A Web-based survey of 25 experts in testing theory and large-scale assessment examined the utility of out-of-level testing for making decisions about students and schools. Survey respondents were given a series of scenarios and asked to judge the degree to which out-of-level testing would affect the reliability and validity of test scores within…

A study involving 202 undergraduates and 115 regular educators examined the reliability of the Rucker-Gable Educational Programming Scale, a measure of teachers' attitudes toward and knowledge of appropriate program placement for handicapped children. Results showed the scale to be only moderately reliable. (SB)

The hypothesis that multisensory imagery is a specific teacher competency associated with effective pedagogy, particularly in special education, was tested in a study of 63 special education teacher trainees (18-24 years old) who were given a self-report graphic Multisensory Imagery Scale. (Author)

A study of 71 students (ages 7-17) with disabilities investigated the interrater agreement of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA), a behavior rating scale used in school settings. Participants were rated by 29 educational professionals in 24 classrooms. Results found ASCA produced acceptable levels of interrater agreement.…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) Intelligence Quotients (IQs) of 49 students (ages 7-16) referred for a three-year reevaluation were analyzed. Correlations of WISC-III IQs to WISC-III IQs three years previously were high for the Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQs. Even so, IQs dropped a statistically significant…

This study examined the relationship between scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) and the older Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). School psychologists in Wisconsin were asked to provide data on 300 special education re-evaluations completed during the 1992-93 academic year. Pearson product…