Poor motivation is commonly cited as a concern when interpreting results from low-stakes standardized tests administered to postsecondary students. This study investigates the associations between test administration procedures and students' self-reported effort and performance on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), an open-ended test of…

Differential item functioning (DIF) can undermine the validity of cross-lingual comparisons. While a lot of efficient statistics for detecting DIF are available, few general findings have been found to explain DIF results. The objective of the article was to study DIF sources by using a mixed method design. The design involves a quantitative phase…

This case study describes the research carried out in partial fulfilment of the degree of doctor of education. The study was qualitative in nature with a phenomenological interpretive paradigm. My primary objective is to share my experience of combining life story and grounded theory research. My main objectives for undertaking the research were…

Through the Common Core State Standards and the development of new assessments aligned to the standards, the public education system is undergoing a transformation--and administrators can help make this vision a reality. Today, more than 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards. The standards, however,…

In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the third-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the fifth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the fourth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

The first national youth fitness evaluation conducted in the United States was in 1958. Since that time, schools have continued to administer fitness evaluations using a variety of tests with no national-level assessment of youth fitness [Institute of Medicine (IOM), 2012]. However, in September 2012, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP)…

It is almost self-evident that test results will be unreliable and misleading if those undergoing assessments do not make a full effort on testing. Nevertheless, objective tests of effort have not typically been used with young adults to determine whether test results are valid or not. Because of the potential economic and/or recreational benefits…

While significant progress has been made in recent years on technology enabled assessments (TEAs), including assessment systems that incorporate scaffolding into the assessment process, there is a dearth of research regarding psychometric scoring models that can be used to fully capture students' knowledge, skills and abilities as measured by…

Although the memorial benefits of testing are well established empirically, the mechanisms underlying this benefit are not well understood. The authors evaluated the mediator shift hypothesis, which states that test-restudy practice is beneficial for memory because retrieval failures during practice allow individuals to evaluate the effectiveness…

In this study, potential benefits of early memory testing were examined in terms of "inoculating" eyewitness memory against forgetting. As predicted by fuzzy trace theory (e.g., Reyna & Titcomb, 1997), a larger testing advantage in the delayed recall of event details was expected after immediate testing than after delayed testing…

Paul E. Newton's article on the consensus definition of validity tackles a number of big issues and makes a number of strong claims. I agreed with much of what he said, and I disagreed with a number of his claims, but I found his article to be consistently interesting and thought provoking (whether I agreed or not). I will focus on three general…

Collaborative testing has been suggested to serve as a good learning activity, for example, compared to individual testing. The aim of the present study was to measure learning at different levels of knowledge during a collaborative final exam in a course in basic methods and statistical procedures. Results on pre- and post-tests taken…

The probability of test takers changing answers upon review of their initial choices is modeled. The primary purpose of the model is to check erasures on answer sheets recorded by an optical scanner for numbers and patterns that may be indicative of irregular behavior, such as teachers or school administrators changing answer sheets after their…