In this policy brief, the author explores the problems with attainment measures when it comes to evaluating performance at the school level, and explores the best uses of value-added measures. These value-added measures, the author writes, are useful for sorting out-of-school influences from school influences or from teacher performance, giving…

This report summarizes research findings and implementation practices for teacher and principal value-added models (VAMs), as a first step in the Team Pennsylvania Foundation's (Team PA) pilot project to inform the development of a full, statewide model evaluation system. We have selected 21 studies that represent key issues and findings in the…

As more institutions of higher education engage in the practice of leadership education, the effective assessment of these efforts lags behind due to a variety of factors. Without an intentional assessment plan, leadership educators are liable to make one or more of several common errors in assessing their programs and activities. This article…

The aim of this study was to find the most prominent source of intersubject variability in neuronal activation for reading familiar words aloud. To this end, we collected functional imaging data from a large sample of subjects (n = 76) with different demographic characteristics such as handedness, sex, and age, while reading. The…

Regression models used in the analysis of interrupted time-series designs assume statistically independent errors. Four methods of evaluating this assumption are the Durbin-Watson (D-W), Huitema-McKean (H-M), Box-Pierce (B-P), and Ljung-Box (L-B) tests. These tests were compared with respect to Type I error and power under a wide variety of error…

Almost all introductory and intermediate level statistics textbooks include the topic of confidence interval for the population mean. Almost all these texts introduce the median as a robust measure of central tendency. Only a few of these books, however, cover inference on the population median and in particular confidence interval for the median.…

The reliability and validity of course evaluations in higher education is often assumed. The typical Likert-type surveys utilized when students' evaluate the course and instructor often overlook measurement issues, or deal with them in an ineffective manner. Given the importance that is placed on higher education course evaluations, with results…

This research examines the utility of the s-x[superscript 2] statistic proposed by Orlando and Thissen (2000) in evaluating item fit for multidimensional item response models. Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to investigate both the Type I error and statistical power of this fit statistic in analyzing two kinds of multidimensional test…

It is shown that the Angoff and bookmarking cut scores are examples of true score equating that in the real world must be applied to observed scores. In the context of defining minimal competency, the percentage "failed" by such methods is a function of the length of the measuring instrument. It is argued that this length is largely…

Schools and school systems throughout the nation are increasingly experimenting with using various instructional technologies to improve productivity and decrease costs, but evidence on both the effectiveness and the costs of education technology is limited. A recent report published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute sets out to describe "the…

A formula is presented for the standard error of estimate of Deviation Quotients (DQs). The formula is shown to perform well when used with data on short forms of two of Wechsler's scales. (Author/JAC)

There is often confusion about distinctions between growth models and value-added models. The first half of this paper attempts to dispel some of these confusions by clarifying terminology and illustrating by example how the results from a large-scale assessment can and will be used to make inferences about student growth and the value-added…

Issues of equity and fairness across subgroups of the population (e.g., gender or ethnicity) must be seriously considered in any standardized testing program. For this reason, many testing programs require some means for assessing test characteristics, such as reliability, for subgroups of the population. However, often only small sample sizes are…

Measurements of social constructs that evaluate natural hazard preparedness are important to decrease natural hazard vulnerability. Preparedness reduces natural hazard impacts and human vulnerability. Investment in education and education research contribute to human sustainable development and natural hazard preparedness. Faced with other needs,…

The present report demonstrates the difference between classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) approach using an actual test data for chemistry junior high school students. The CTT and IRT were compared across two samples and two forms of test on their item difficulty, internal consistency, and measurement errors. The specific…