Four major problem areas inhibit the standardized assessment of critical thinking (CT): (1) content validity; (2) construct validity; (3) technical jargon; and (4) background knowledge. Practical examples of framing multiple-choice items for assessment are suggested. In the area of content validity, new agreement about the definition of CT now…

Teacher knowledge has been of theoretical and empirical interest for over two decades, and development of measures is overdue. The researchers represented in this volume have been breaking new ground by developing a measure of mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) without guiding precedents, and in the face of differing perspectives on teacher…

Operating from multiple literature bases in cognitive psychology, mathematics education, and theoretical and applied psychometrics, Schilling, Hill and their colleagues provide a systemic approach to studying the validity of scores of mathematical knowledge for teaching. This system encompasses an array of task formats and methodologies. The…

This study investigated the use of an online authentic assessment tool to evaluate students' fluency with the World Wide Web (WWW). Participants included 120 middle and high school students with a strong technology background and a familiarity with navigating the World Wide Web. Using the online Web Expertise Assessment and accompanying WWW…

Given the potential long-term outcomes of poorly developed mathematical skills, there is a need to understand the emergence and development of these skills in the context of improving educational experiences and ensuring better outcomes for preschoolers. The purpose of this article is to describe preliminary reliability and validity evidence…

In recent years, many psychological constructs with associated measures have been proposed for educational research and the evaluation of educational programs. Among the most interesting and potentially useful are those reflecting motivational and volitional aspects of human behavior, the conative constructs. Among the conative constructs are…

The purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss a set of standards that can be used to evaluate potential assessment instruments; and (2) to use these standards to evaluate the American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Measures Program (ACT-COMP) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Academic Profile. Using the work of S. Messick (1975,…

Concept mapping is a structured conceptualization that can be used by groups to develop a conceptual framework that guides evaluation or planning. Twelve papers discuss concept mapping in evaluation/planning in terms of theory development; measurement, construct validity, and pattern matching; outcome assessment and internal validity;…

Describes the development of an instrument for evaluating building-level school library media programs based on "Information Power," the American Association of School Libraries' guidelines for such programs. Data collection at an Oklahoma teleconference is described, the use of factor analysis is explained, construct validity is…

Longitudinal, student performance-based, value-added accountability models have become popular of late and continue to enjoy increasing popularity. Such models require student data to be vertically scaled across wide grade and developmental ranges so that the value added to student growth/achievement by teachers, schools, and districts may be…

This article provides an analysis of the current knowledge base of social skills training (SST) with students with, or at risk for, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This knowledge base is evaluated with respect to issues regarding construct, internal, external, and social validity of the SST literature. Research syntheses investigating…

This proof-of-concept investigation describes a computer-based approach for deriving the knowledge structure of individuals and of groups from their written essays, and considers the convergent criterion-related validity of the computer-based scores relative to human rater essay scores and multiple-choice test scores. After completing a…

The relationship construct between physicians and patients was explored in the context of medical education and evaluation focusing on the clinical performance of third-year medical students. The Relationship Instrument, a performance-based assessment, was constructed to measure interpersonal and communication skills of the physician interacting…

This paper discusses the development of a Cultural Anxiety Scale (CAS) for Chinese students studying in the United States. One hundred items were developed using the anxiety research literature, a survey of research on stress and anxiety among college students, and Chinese cross-cultural studies. Face, construct, and content validity analysis were…

Measures of 4traits (cognitive competence, social competence, social maladaption, and personal maladaption) were obtained on 157 persons with mental retardation, using 3 measurements: standardized assessment instrument, day shift staff ratings, and evening shift staff ratings. The multitrait-multimethod matrix procedure demonstrated strong…