It is desirable for an educational assessment to be constructed of items that can differentiate different performance levels of test takers, and thus it is important to estimate accurately the item discrimination parameters in either classical test theory or item response theory. It is particularly challenging to do so when the sample sizes are…

Students' test-taking motivation confounds test performance. This study examines students' conceptions of tests and test-taking motivation when different test consequences are at play. In a between-subjects experimental design, a sample of 479 New Zealand senior secondary school students were randomly assigned to one of the three vignette…

Over the last decade, there have been multiple recommendations for evaluating, assessing, or holding teacher preparation accountable. This article analyzes recent policy proposals regarding "best practices for evaluating teacher preparation programs" by critiquing 19 major reports explicitly focused on evaluation. The analysis revealed…

Purpose: The higher education sector has been lately facing new challenges. The ease and speed with which the workforce adapts to these changes determine their agility level. This study attempts to develop a conceptual model to measure workforce agility in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review revealed…

Assessment is a necessary task in all areas of education, but there is no agreement on how to assess the impacts of different approaches to sex education, both on an individual level and on a population level over time. The history of mid-20th Century Family Life Education in the United States illuminates some of the obstacles that have made…

Agreement between stakeholders in a school change initiative can positively impact its success (Branson, 2008; Donnell & Gettinger, 2015); however, agreement has been largely unexplored within the context of a change initiative and its stakeholders. The current study analyzed the agreement between three key stakeholders in a change initiative:…

Education and academic related services have become as important as manufacturing and, in some cases, even more important. Considering the importance of these services as it relates to manufacturing, a problem exists. Products such as education and academic services are far less specific in value when comparing with manufactured goods, even though…

It has become a common practice to categorize the different perspectives on media education as following either a protectionist approach or an empowerment approach. However, the way scholars write about the distinction between these two approaches can be confusing and sometimes misleading. This article presents an examination into the ways media…

This article offers new empirical evidence regarding the limits of the premises of educational privatisation policies. Educational markets rely on the assumption that private participation has the potential to boost school diversification and open new educational opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Using a fresh empirical…

This article, which is intended as a contribution to wider conversations around music literacy, explores current conceptions of music literacy within the UK, using the area of aural skills training as a focus. Specifically, it considers the nature of music literacy and aural training in secondary (ages 11-18) music curricula and the role of aural…

State Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) can effectively support the improvement of school-age childcare programs by leveraging Program Quality Assessments (PQAs) alongside structured improvement planning and professional development. Real-world implementations in Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania underscore the impact and adaptability…

High-quality assessments are crucial to many aspects of the educational process. They can help policymakers monitor long-term educational trends, assist state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in allocating resources and professional development opportunities, provide insights to teachers about how well students…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an integral measure of academic progress over time. It is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what our nation's students know and can do in various subjects such as civics, mathematics, reading, science, technology and engineering literacy, U.S. history, and…

This article presents the consensus of an National Council on Measurement in Education Presidential Task Force on Foundational Competencies in Educational Measurement. Foundational competencies are those that support future development of additional professional and disciplinary competencies. The authors develop a framework for foundational…

This report summarizes an investigation of literature published in 1985-2023 on universal design (UD) of large-scale assessments. State education agencies, K-12 assessment vendors, teacher trainers, and classroom teachers are increasingly applying the principles of UD to the instruction and assessment of students from special populations. In…