Assessments in higher education healthcare programmes can be challenging because they not only need to be fair, valid, and transparent, but it is also necessary to gauge safety, practical skill competence, and professionalism. One way to help maximise validity in practical assessments is to utilise 'standard setting' which aims to set a fair 'cut…

This study evaluated the efficacy of two proposed methods in an operational standard-setting study conducted for a high-stakes language proficiency test of the U.S. government. The goal was to seek low-cost modifications to the existing Yes/No Angoff method to increase the validity and reliability of the recommended cut scores using a convergent…

The subjective aspect of standard-setting is often criticized, yet data-driven standard-setting methods are rarely applied. Therefore, we applied a mixture Rasch model approach to setting performance standards across several testing programs of various sizes and compared the results to existing passing standards derived from traditional…

The present qualitative action research study was conducted to gain further understanding of administrator and teacher perceptions about grading systems in elementary schools, administrators' and teachers' ability to ensure consistent and fair practices and any correlation that grades may have to students' social, emotional, and/or academic…

Since the No Child Left Behind Act (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2001) was enacted, the Bookmark method has been used in many state standard setting studies (Karantonis and Sireci; Zieky, Perie, and Livingston). The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the criticism that when panelists are presented with data during the Bookmark standard…

This paper represents a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles which included reports of parental dis/satisfaction about their child's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and diagnoses. Five themes emerged which are visualised in evidence maps: country comparisons of parental dis/satisfaction; factors which enhanced satisfaction;…

Evaluation decisions regarding students' success in Open Education faculties such as pass/fail based on cut-off scores affect the quality of these systems. The qualification of Open Education students to obtain a bachelor's or associate's degree is determined by their passing grade. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the minimum…

In this paper we assert that the practice of principled assessment design renders traditional standard-setting methodology redundant at best and contradictory at worst. We describe the rationale for, and methodological details of, Embedded Standard Setting (ESS; previously, Engineered Cut Scores. Lewis, 2016), an approach to establish performance…

The objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is a reliable assessment of practical skills in anatomy teaching. It is often administered as low-stake assessments to track progress at multiple time points in anatomy curricula. Standard-setting OSPEs to derive a pass mark and to ensure assessment quality and rigor is a complex task. This…

The New Zealand Government has announced a change package in response to a recent review of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). In this article, Charles Darr, a chief researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, outlines several elements of standards-based assessment that can usefully inform NCEA's…

Validating performance standards is challenging and complex. Because of the difficulties associated with collecting evidence related to external criteria, validity arguments rely heavily on evidence related to internal criteria--especially evidence that expert judgments are internally consistent. Given its importance, it is somewhat surprising…

This article first makes a case for the need to establish evaluation reporting standards, support for which is rooted in the growing demand for professionalization, in the growing meta evaluation literature, and in growing efforts to develop reporting standards for inquiry efforts. Then, a case is made for a particular set of such standards…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to outline their academic and English language proficiency goals and provide a detailed proposal for the statewide accountability system in a state ESSA plan. This brief, a collaboration between Achieve and UnidosUS, provides a two-part analysis of states' goals for English learners (ELs) in…

This article draws on three assessment paradigms -- psychometrics, outcomes-based and curriculum-based assessment -- to discuss paradigmatic changes in senior school assessment and achievement standard-setting in Queensland, Australia, over the last 50 years. These include radical reforms in 1970 from university-controlled examinations to…