In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Jeffrey Harring and Ms. Tessa Johnson introduce the linear mixed effects (LME) model as a flexible general framework for simultaneously modeling continuous repeated measures data with a scientifically defensible function that adequately summarizes both individual change as well as the average response. The module…

Already under fire before spring 2020, the dominance of federally mandated test-based accountability in American education had led many educators and policymakers to decry the system as largely out of balance and to suggest that this imbalance has stifled productive local efforts toward meaningful, lasting improvements in student learning. It is…

Despite considerable efforts to increase the quality of Higher Education (HE) in many countries, the absence of a methodology to guide scholars and policymakers to assess its quality has been a barrier. In 2017, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Mohamad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) launched the Global Knowledge…

In Australia, under the National Assessment Plan, educational accountability testing in literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken with all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to monitor student achievement and inform policy. However, the extent to which these data have been analysed to report student progress is limited. This article reports a…

The need to find ways of ameliorating a number of what seemed to be gross abuses of 'science', logic, and authority in relation to educational policy emerged as a priority whilst revisiting writings on early childhood and elementary education. In the current paper, it is argued that many of these abuses stem from the uncritical acceptance of…

Research has shown that the context of practice tasks can have a significant impact on learning, with long-term retention and transfer improving when tasks of different types are mixed by interleaving (abcabcabc) compared with grouping together in blocks (aaabbbccc). This study examines the influence of context via interleaving from a psychometric…

This report summarises the results of the project "Measuring Learning Mobility in Vocational Education and Training" (specific contract n° VC/2019/0024 signed between Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Unit E3 and GOPA, under the Eurostat framework contract 2018.0086). The current project has aimed at…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential to use this challenging global context as an opportunity to build back better and more equitable educations systems. Design/methodology/approach: The approach taken involves drawing on the emerging literature to explore the…

The article asks three questions of equality in education. First, what kind of equality we are talking about - numerical equality, proportional equality, formal equality, or moral equity? Second, how to categorize the indicators in a practical manner? Third, how to use the equality indicators based on the national level assessment of student…

Within higher education, the importance of learning outcomes has become well-established. They are expected to guide the teaching and learning process, assessment, and curriculum development, while at the same time act as foundational elements to transitions towards national qualifications frameworks, competency-based education, and international…

Despite the call for an argument-based approach to validity over 25 years ago, few examples exist in the published literature. One possible explanation for this outcome is that the complexity of the argument-based approach makes implementation difficult. To counter this claim, we propose that the Assessment Triangle can serve as the overarching…

This paper presents a novel explanation for the continued absence of a children's rights strategy within high-stakes educational assessment with reference to the competing purposes of high-stakes assessments and group-based constructions of fairness in assessment. We provide an original critique of group-based perspectives on the validity of…

This Review draws on a substantial stakeholder consultation report and the outcome of other reviews and evaluations relating to the role and functions of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), specifically the Review of the Australian Curriculum that was published on 12 October 2014, the Review of "My…

Recent research in multidimensional item response theory has introduced within-item interaction effects between latent dimensions in the prediction of item responses. The objective of this study was to extend this research to bifactor models to include an interaction effect between the general and specific latent variables measured by an item.…

Twenty years after the publication of "Inside the Black Box," the landmark review of formative classroom assessment, international education experts Christine Harrison and Margaret Heritage tackle assessment for learning (AfL) anew, with fresh insights gained from two decades of research, theory, and classroom practice. "The Power…