ERIC Number: EJ957955
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0969-594X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Educational Measurement Issues and Implications of High Stakes Decision Making in Final Examinations in Secondary Education in the Netherlands
van Rijn, P. W.; Beguin, A. A.; Verstralen, H. H. F. M.
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, v19 n1 p117-136 2012
While measurement precision is relatively easy to establish for single tests and assessments, it is much more difficult to determine for decision making with multiple tests on different subjects. This latter is the situation in the system of final examinations for secondary education in the Netherlands and is used as an example in this paper. This examination system consists of several school-specific and central parts. A method is presented for quantifying measurement precision for multiple tests in terms of a classification table of true and observed classifications. With this method the percentage of students that is either correctly or incorrectly classified by the tests being administered can be estimated. The method is used to assess the effects of different pass/fail decision rules by application to data from high stakes examinations in pre-university education in 2008. The results are mixed, but generally indicate good properties of compensatory aspects of decision rules. Implications of the results are discussed. (Contains 11 tables, 2 figures and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Secondary Education, Tests, Foreign Countries, Decision Making, Exit Examinations, Measurement Objectives, Measurement Techniques, Outcome Measures, Classification, Pass Fail Grading, Academic Standards, Achievement Rating, Weighted Scores, Equated Scores, Test Theory, Statistical Analysis, Quality Assurance, Educational Quality, Educational Practices, Educational Policy, Evaluation Methods, Item Analysis, Testing Problems
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A