In this commentary, the author addresses what is referred to as the deterministic input, noisy "and" gate (DINA) model. The author mentions concerns with how this model has been formulated and presented. In particular, the author points out that there is a lack of recognition of the confounding of profiles that generally arises and then discusses…

Rupp and Templin (2008) do a good job at describing the ever expanding landscape of Diagnostic Classification Models (DCM). In many ways, their review article clearly points to some of the questions that need to be answered before DCMs can become part of the psychometric practitioners toolkit. Apart from the issues mentioned in this article that…

This article traces quality assurance and evaluation (QAE) developments in Finnish compulsory schooling. The central question is this: Is there a Finnish model of QAE? We conclude that it may be a rhetorical overstatement to speak about a specific Finnish 'Model' of QAE in a strong sense. However, neither is it valid to conclude that what happens…

Considered are three components of comprehension (literal meaning, presupposition and inference, and illocutionary acts), and reviewed are types of clinical instruments used to measure language comprehension in children. (Author/CL)

Job application procedures, including the evaluation and selection of prospective employees, need to be improved. (CK)

Measurement topics are reviwed to introduce special educators to current perspectives and terminology. The discussion is organized under the five important characteristics of a measuring instrument: objectivity, validity, reliability, comparability, and usability. A brief list of supplementary references is included for those who would like to…

What are other states doing to assess whether K-12 teachers are meeting the technology proficiency standards (NET) outlined by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)? What are alternatives to the IC3 test? This question was answered by contacting state leaders and also by finding information on the Internet. Many states have an…

One of the central challenges in mastering English is becoming sensitive to consistency from spelling to sound (i.e. phonological consistency) and from sound to spelling (i.e. orthographic consistency). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined the neural correlates of consistency in 9-15-year-old Normal and Impaired Readers…

Educators, students, and families face many challenges in responding to the testing mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), including providing students with disabilities with individualized, approved, valid, effective, and acceptable testing…

The manuscript explores gender stereotyping in performance evaluations in undergraduate mock trial competitions. The central hypothesis is that gendered expectations for attorney and witness behavior in the legal community inform and influence the evaluation of undergraduate performance in relation to communication methods, argumentation…

The intention of this article is to illustrate how assessment is an "emotional practice" (Hargreaves, 1998) for teachers and how paying attention to the emotions involved can provide useful information about assessment practices to teachers, teacher-educators and policy-reformers. Through presenting a review of research literature it makes three…

This study investigates whether the functions linking number-correct scores to the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) scaled scores remain invariant over gender groups, using test data on the 16 testlet-based forms of the CLEP College Algebra exam. To be consistent with the operational practice, linking of various test forms to a common…

Pre- and postcourse assessment has become a very important tool for education research in physics and other areas. The web offers an attractive alternative to in-class paper administration, but concerns about web-based administration include reliability due to changes in medium, student compliance rates, and test security, both question leakage…