The No Child Left Behind Act and the accountability movement in public education caused many states to develop criterion-referenced academic achievement tests. Scores from these tests are often used to make high stakes decisions. Even so, these tests typically do not receive independent psychometric scrutiny. We evaluated the 2005 Arkansas…

This paper presents the development and revision of a dual-response instrument entitled, "Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry" ("SUSSI"). Built on the most recent science education reform documents and existing literature on the nature of science, SUSSI blends Likert-type items and related open-ended questions to assess…

In a survey of all PhD programs in psychology in the United States and Canada, the authors documented the quantitative methodology curriculum (statistics, measurement, and research design) to examine the extent to which innovations in quantitative methodology have diffused into the training of PhDs in psychology. In all, 201 psychology PhD…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all states to assess the English proficiency of English language learners each school year. Under Title I and Title III of No Child Left Behind, states are required to measure the annual growth of students' English language development in reading, listening, writing, and speaking and in comprehension…

This article describes the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course. The test focuses on linguistic aspects that cause difficulty for trainee teachers of German as a foreign language and assesses implicit and explicit…

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the nature of individual attitudes toward sex offenders. Because the term "sex offender" tends to evoke strong emotions, and given that open-ended self reports tend to be highly subjective, particularly in the context of such pointed terminology, this study sought to develop an attitude…

This research set out to compare the quality, length and nature of (1) exam responses in combined question and answer booklets, with (2) responses in separate answer booklets in order to inform choices about response format. Combined booklets are thought to support candidates by giving more information on what is expected of them. Anecdotal…

The Persistence In Engineering (PIE) survey was developed to identify and characterize the fundamental factors that influence students' intentions to pursue an engineering degree over the course of their undergraduate career, and upon graduation, to practice engineering as a profession. The PIE survey is one of five data-gathering methods used in…

This study examined the psychometric properties of an adolescent version of the "triangular love scale" (TLS), which assesses three components of romantic relationships: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Using data from 435 Dutch adolescents aged 12-18 years, we found evidence for convergent validity, showing that dimensions of…

At the core of the argument-based approach to test validation as it has been presented by Kane (1992, 2004, 2006) is a relatively simple premise: test validity is demonstrated by linking the score that is observed from a test instrument to the use of that score for some subsequent inference. Details, however, are not so simple: How does one craft…

Lissitz and Samuelsen (2007) propose a new framework for validity theory and terminology, emphasizing a shift in theory and practice toward issues of test content rather than constructs. The author of this article argues that several of Lissitz and Samuelsen's critiques of validity theory focus on previously considered, but subsequently discarded,…

This article describes the revision of the White Racial Consciousness Development Scale (D. Claney & W. M. Parker, 1989). A multistage approach including item generation, item refinement and selection, and evaluation of score validity and reliability was used to test construction and validation. Implications for theory, practice, and future…

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

This article is a description of the process of constructing an assessment of written and oral language for pre-service teachers. This assessment was used prior to their formal admission into the teacher education programme. The rationale for this evaluation is presented along with the actual processes involved. Finally, comparisons are made…

This study aims to show that training using a computer game incorporating an audio-visual phoneme discrimination task with phonological units, presented simultaneously with orthographic units, might improve literacy skills. Two experiments were conducted, one in secondary schools with dyslexic children (Experiment 1) and the other in a…