This paper presents the findings of a study that intended to seek the content validity (CV) evidence of an instrument to measure the reading ability of university students in Sri Lanka. The reading passages and items were adapted from CEFR aligned Learning Resource Network (LRN) materials. The items were designed based on the cognitive processing…

Investigating the processes underlying test performance is a major source of data supporting the explanation inference in the validity argument (Chappelle, 2021). One way of modeling the cognitive processes underlying test performance is by constructing a Q-matrix, which is essentially about summarizing the attributes explaining test-takers'…

This study investigates test-takers' processing while completing banked gap-fill tasks, designed to test reading proficiency, in order to test theoretically based expectations about the variation in cognitive processes of test-takers across levels of performance. Twenty-eight test-takers' eye traces on 24 banked gap-fill items (on six tasks) were…

The study is an attempt to find out the influence of assessment process on students higher order learning in science subjects in Bangladesh. The main objectives of the study are: (1) to identify the nature of the question items of science subjects; (2) to examine what kind of learning is influenced by the question items; and (3) to identify the…

This article describes two research studies conducted on the linguistic modification of test items from K-12 content assessments. In the first study, 120 linguistically modified test items in mathematics and science taken by fourth and sixth graders were found to have a wide range of outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs, with…

In this article, we highlight the need for a precisely defined construct in score-based validation and discuss the contribution of cognitive theories to accurately and comprehensively defining the construct. We propose a framework for integrating cognitively based theoretical and empirical evidence to specify and evaluate the construct. We apply…

Due to the lack of span test for the use in language-specific and cross-language studies, this study provides L1 and L2 researchers with a reliable language-independent span test (math span test) for the measurement of working memory capacity. It also describes the development, validation, and scoring method of this test. This test included 70…

The authors describe the development and validation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y), a child-report measure of psychological inflexibility engendered by high levels of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance. Consistent with the theory underlying acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), items converged into a…

Objective: The objective of this study is to develop and validate the Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale (CMSAS) to measure the cognitive coping strategies that Chinese people adopt to make sense of adversity. Method: A 12-item CMSAS was developed by in-depth interview and item analysis. The scale was validated with a sample of 627 Chinese…

This study offers one bit of evidence that quizzes written to require reasoning are more effective in attaining thinking" objectives than are recall quizzes. (Author)

Butch and Slim was written as a response to a need for a rather specialised group of items in the Reasoning sub-scale of the British Intelligence Scale. (Author)

Although methods for estimating item difficulty are abundant, little attention has been given to the psychological processes involved when a student responds to a single test item. Mastery of educational objectives is not proven when a student supplies the correct answer to items intended to test these objectives. The student's problem solving…

Despite differences in origin and orientation, Piagetian theory and criterion referenced measurement share a general purpose--that of diagnosing human behavior. Beginning with a review of both perspectives, this paper illustrates their highly comparable natures and indicates how they could be used together to improve student evaluation. (Author/…

One purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of item complexity on subsequent student achievement to help clarify the effectiveness of the transfer and hierarchical models. (Authors/MB)