The Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) is a statewide assessment system that embodies Nebraska's holistic view of students and helps them prepare for success in postsecondary education, career, and civic life. It uses multiple measures throughout the year to provide educators and decision-makers at all levels with the insights…

Michael Kane writes in this article that he is in more or less complete agreement with Professor Koretz's characterization of the problem outlined in the paper published in this issue of "Measurement." Kane agrees that current testing practices are not adequate for test-based accountability (TBA) systems, but he writes that he is far…

Just as comprehension strategies have helped millions of students learn to read like proficient readers, they can also help students think like effective test-takers. The authors show how students can use background knowledge, mental images, synthesizing, monitoring, inferring, questioning, and determining of importance to understand the genre of…

U.S. state educational testing programs administer tests to track student progress and hold schools accountable for educational outcomes. Methods from item response theory, especially Rasch models, are usually used to equate different forms of a test. The most popular method for estimating Rasch models yields inconsistent estimates and relies on…

The Bookmark method for setting standards on educational tests is currently one of the most popular standard-setting methods. However, research to support the method is scarce. In this report, we review the published and unpublished literature on this method as well as some seminal work in the area of evaluating standard-setting studies. Our…

Now that standardized tests are a fact of life in every school and classroom, here's a book that explains how to use sample questions from high-stakes tests as the basis for constructing engaging lessons and meaningful learning experiences. Using samples from language arts, science, social studies, and math, Karen Tankersley familiarizes you with…

During 1969 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement began a series of cross-cultural studies to investigate the workings of multiple-choice achievement tests and student guessing behaviors. Empirical models to correct for guessing are discussed in terms of test item difficulty, number of response choices,…

This book is a practical guide for assessing the intended learning outcomes of classroom instruction. It is based on the premise that assessment of student achievement plays a vital role in instruction and that the main goal of assessment is to improve learning. The new title of this sixth edition reflects a shift from major concern with classroom…

Investigations into item bias provide an empirical basis for the identification and elimination of test items which appear to measure different traits across populations or cultural groups. The Psychometric rationales for six approaches to the identification of biased test items are reviewed: (1) Transformed item difficulties: within-group…

Under Title V, Guidance, Counseling, and Testing of the "National Defense Education Act of 1958," the Congress of the United States has recognized the value of tests as a tool which may be used to help make an early determination of the aptitudes and abilities of the students in U.S. schools. This bulletin attempts to explain the use and…