In this study, tasks measuring digital media literacy developed by Stanford University were administered at a school in Finland to consider the efficacy and transfer of critical thinking (CT) skills of a 'pre-IB' cohort preparing to enter the two year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and a graduating 'IB2' cohort. While the IB2…

Evidence-centered design (ECD) is an orientation towards assessment development. It differs from conventional practice in several ways and consists of multiple activities. Each of these activities results in a set of useful documentation: domain analysis, domain modeling, construction of the assessment framework, and assessment…

The foregoing articles constitute what I consider a comprehensive and clear description of the redesign process of a major assessment. The articles serve to illustrate the problems that will need to be addressed by large-scale assessments in the twenty-first century. Primary among them is how to organize the development of such assessments to meet…

The building of historical thinking skills has historically been a lonely endeavor for AP U.S. history teachers. Many often generate their own pedagogy, perhaps modified from an AP workshop or generally gleaned from released exam essay questions. However, as currently scheduled, in 2014, the AP U.S. history exam will undergo a redesign that will…

This paper provides an overview of evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) and some general information about of the Advanced Placement (AP[R]) Program. Then the papers in this special issue are discussed, as they relate to the use of ECD in the revision of various AP tests. This paper concludes with some observations about the need to validate…

The cornerstone of evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) is an evidentiary argument that requires that each target of measurement (e.g., learning goal) for an assessment be expressed as a "claim" to be made about an examinee that is relevant to the specific purpose and audience(s) for the assessment. The "observable evidence" required to…

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) explicates a transparent evidentiary argument to warrant the inferences we make from student test performance. This article describes how the vehicles for gathering student evidence--task models and test specifications--are developed. Task models, which are the basis for item development, flow directly…

In the last few years, the Advanced Placement (AP) Program[R] has used evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) to articulate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be taught in the course and measured on the summative exam for four science courses, three history courses, and six world language courses; its application to calculus and English…

In many large-scale assessment programs, achievement level descriptors (ALDs) provide a critical role in communicating what scores on the assessment mean and in interpreting what examinees know and are able to do based on their test performance. Based on their test performance, examinees are often classified into performance categories. The…

"Uneducated Guesses" challenges everything our policymakers thought they knew about education and education reform, from how to close the achievement gap in public schools to admission standards for top universities. In this explosive book, Howard Wainer uses statistical evidence to show why some of the most widely held beliefs in…

The authors investigated the extent to which taking specific types of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and the number of courses taken predicts the likelihood of passing subject benchmarks and earning a score of 19 on the composite score on the ACT test, and examined the role gender plays in the projection. They found evidence that taking an AP…

The increased popularity of desktop documentary making among both teachers and students in history classrooms warrants an examination of its integration into classroom instruction. This multiple case study focused on two secondary students in an AP European History course during a unit that featured desktop documentary making. Employing Cultural…

Dual and concurrent enrollments enable students to earn postsecondary credits while still in high school. The 2006 Perkins legislation encourages such enrollments as a component of programs of study. There is evidence that students who earn dual enrollment credits have slightly (typically 4% to 5%) more positive outcomes in postsecondary education…