This article analyzes the design decisions of a team developing diagnostic assessments for a learning trajectory focused on rational number reasoning. The analysis focuses on the design rationale for key decisions about how to develop the cognitive assessments and related validity arguments within a fluid state and national policy context. The…

It is argued that consequences are a logical part of the evaluation of test use, which has been an accepted part of test validity for several decades. The examination of effects following from test use is essential in evaluating test validity and not merely the domain of policymakers and politicians. (SLD)

A series of studies by the Technical Review Panel (TRP) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to improve the quality and utility of the NAEP is introduced, with a description of the NAEP, the creation of the TRP, the education policy issues that influenced the selection of research topics, and the relationship among the…

During the past 6 years, under a contract from the National Center for Education Statistics, a Technical Review Panel has overseen and conducted a series of research studies addressing a range of validity questions relevant to the various uses and interpretations of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Study topics included: (1)…

Discusses the entrenched nature of standardized testing in the educational system, the anti-testing movement and its supporting evidence, shifts in policy since 1980, current trends, the investment of publishers and test-makers in standardized testing, the true costs of standardized testing, and specifically "American" characteristics of…

The use of portfolio assessment in the Dallas (Texas) Independent School District and the future of portfolio assessment are discussed. A literature review is followed by a description of the development process that preceded the Chapter 1 portfolio assessment of the Dallas schools. Portfolio results are then compared to the standardized measures…

As the first paper in a series of policy papers on high-stakes student assessment programs, this paper examined high school graduation tests. High stakes refers to the use of test results to make important decisions about the test taker. Whether to use a high school graduation test is an essential policy question that will be addressed in a…

Nine papers were presented at the 1986 Educational Testing Service Invitational Conference on outcomes assessment in higher education. The Award for Distinguished Service to Measurement was awarded to Frederic Kuder for development of the Kuder-Richardson 20 and KR-21 formulas for test reliability, the Kuder Preference Record, and the Kuder…

Eighteen papers, 11 in English, and 6 in Finnish and 1 in German are presented on the general theme "Language--Knowledge and Skill," a theme that emphasizes the need to examine the communicative goal in foreign language education from the perspective of both theory and practice. The English-language articles on foreign language testing,…