Measuring teachers' skills to carry out the complex tasks required in teaching is an important means of evaluating the effectiveness of teacher education but remains a challenging activity to conduct in practice. It is necessary to optimise approaches for usability and effectiveness along a continuum from low-effort and low-authenticity measures…

The profession of Occupational Therapy has over a 100-year history embracing technology. The relationship of technology and occupational therapy remains prevalent as a foundational skill taught in the occupational therapy curriculum. To stay current with emerging technology, a course written for master level occupational therapy students included…

The Student Background survey administered along with achievement tests in studies of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement includes scales of student motivation, competence, and attitudes toward mathematics and science. The scales consist of positively- and negatively keyed items. The current research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare two years of results for one state's performance-based assessments for principal licensure Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL). This includes the field trial (2014-2015) and first year of statewide implementation (2015-2016) when passing score requirements and fees were added. Survey results on…

The PM Benchmark Reading Assessment Resource (PM Benchmarks) provides information about primary students' level of achievement in reading accurately, fluently, and in understanding unseen texts. As part of the assessment, students have to orally retell what they have read and orally answer comprehension questions. This oral use of language…

The past decade has seen an emerging interest in mapping (aligning or linking) test scores to language proficiency levels of external performance scales or frameworks, such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), as well as locally developed frameworks, such as China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE). Such alignment is…

Background: Policymakers are focusing increased attention on the role of schools to promote and support children's mental health, and evidence-based models of good practice are in demand. Pyramid Club is a school-based, socio-emotional intervention, demonstrably effective with primary-aged pupils. Aims: This study extends previous Pyramid Club…

The authors consider mature make-believe play a critical component of childhood that helps children develop new skills and learn to communicate. They argue that, although theoretical accounts of play have emphasized the importance of make-believe play for children to achieve social and academic competence, the absence of a reliable and valid…

Borrowing from a clinical psychology observational methodology, thin-slice observations were used to assess autism characteristics in toddlers. Thin-slices are short observations taken from a longer behavior stream which are assigned ratings by multiple raters using a 5-point scale. The raters' observations are averaged together to assign a…

Identifying creatively gifted students remains a challenging yet important task. Often, teacher rating scales are used to assess students' creative behaviors; however, the school environment may not always provide opportunities for students to demonstrate creative ability, making it challenging for teachers to observe students' creative potential.…

During the past decade, the NAEP Validity Studies (NVS) Panel has been monitoring, studying, and commenting on potential issues with the validity of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) arising from changes that have been brought about by the adoption of rigorous state college and career readiness standards, such as the Common…

Clinical assessment relies on both "construct validity", which focuses on the accuracy of conclusions about a psychological phenomenon drawn from responses to a measure, and "case validity", which focuses on the synthesis of the full range of psychological phenomena pertaining to the concern or question at hand. Whereas construct validity is…

I congratulate Paul E. Newton on a thoughtful and evenhanded contribution to test validity theory. I especially appreciate the evident care that went into interpreting the various authors whose work Newton discusses. I found many useful insights along with the few minor points with which I might quibble. I comment on three aspects of Newton's…

The scoring process is critical in the validation of tests that rely on constructed responses. Documenting that readers carry out the scoring in ways consistent with the construct and measurement goals is an important aspect of score validity. In this article, rater cognition is approached as a source of support for a validity argument for scores…

Currently, the government of Indonesia has implemented a computer-based test for the national examination for secondary schools in Indonesia. It is believed that the administration of computer-based national examination (CBNE) would address some challenges related to dishonesty and validity. The present study is aimed to investigate the teachers'…