Another round of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) reporting has come and gone and the world is still spinning. So is the media. For the classroom teacher, generally, today is another day where they will teach and children and youth will learn. So do the PISA results impact on a day in the life of a classroom teacher? Author…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of answer copying on the ability level estimates of cheater examinees in answer copying pairs. The study generated answer copying pairs for each of 1440 conditions, source ability (12) x cheater ability (12) x amount of copying (10). The average difference between the ability level estimates…

The article challenges common practice in relation to resits of ignoring the main assessment results and making high-stakes decisions on the basis of resit results alone. Implications for institutions, students and educators are discussed. The proposal is that not all resits should be treated equally and that, in some circumstances, more robust…

The study aimed at investigating TOEIC score distribution patterns and learner satisfaction in an intensive TOEIC course and drew implications for pedagogical practice. A one-group pre-test post-test experiment and a survey on learner satisfaction were conducted on Taiwanese college EFL students (n = 50) in a case study. Results showed that the…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation spawned a plethora of standardized testing services for all the high stakes testing required by the law. We argue that one-size-fits all assessments disadvantage students who are English Language Learners, in the USA, as well as students with limited economic resources, special needs, and not reading on…

In this keynote address, the author shares his reflections on politics, economics, and testing. He focuses on assessment and accountability and begins with some data from large scale written educational testing, "circa 1840". The author argues that people's penchant for accountability and their appetite for standardized testing are, in…

This paper aims to tell how the Russian national examination in mathematics (the Uniform State Examination or USE) has been conducted most recently. The author must say at once that the history of the system of secondary school graduation examinations or even the history of the USE will be covered only to the small degree that is necessary for…

The rapid development of the information and communication technologies has brought about the modernization of teaching and learning across the globe. Today, teaching and learning are made easy through the use of computer technologies and/or the electronic and other multi-media elements. It is widely accepted that electronic learning naturally…

This article sets the stage for the description of a variety of approaches to test reviewing worldwide. It describes the importance of test reviewing as a protection of the public and of society and also the benefits of this activity for test users, who must choose measures to use in particular situations with particular clients at a particular…

People dislike the Common Core for several different reasons, and so it is important to disaggregate the sources of opposition and to assess and then to dispel some of the myths that have built up around it. It also is important to understand the unusual political alliances that have emerged in opposition to Common Core implementation and how they…

Researches and educators' recognition of positive and negative effects of tests on teaching and learning activities goes back at least four decades. Although educators frequently claim that they do not want to teach to a test, the reality is that every educator wants his/her students to be successful. Decision makers, teachers, and students equate…

The read-aloud accommodation is one of the most frequently used accommodations. Many educators need training to more confidently select, implement, and evaluate the use of the read-aloud accommodation. Planning by special education leaders can help ensure that test day goes smoothly for students who need the read-aloud accommodation.

This study focuses, from a bilingual perspective, on how a Swedish national test is intended to promote critical literacy and language development in line with related aims in syllabuses for Swedish and Swedish as a second language. The material consists of reading and writing assignments and prescribed classroom preparations (including…

Sampling errors limit the accuracy with which forms can be linked. Limitations on accuracy are especially important in testing programs in which a very large number of forms are employed. Standard inequalities in mathematical statistics may be used to establish lower bounds on the achievable inking accuracy. To illustrate results, a variety of…

Most experts in the testing community have presumed that the $350 million promised by the U.S. Department of Education to support common assessments would promote those that made greater use of open-ended items capable of measuring higher-order critical-thinking skills. But as measurement experts consider the multitude of possibilities for an…