St. in Ed. Evaluation 2012. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Rigorous Test Development Introduction: The Core Principles
Although Evidence Centered Design (ECD) has been an important advancement in assessment, it remains focused – as its name implies – on the design phases of test development. We present a framework to complement ECD that focuses on the test production, especially the time- and resource-consuming work of item development. Rigorous Test Development’s (RTD) principles and practices aim to improve the alignment of items with content standards and specifications, and thereby increase the validity of assessments and the inferences based upon them. This approach is particularly important in an age in which standardized test results play an increasing role in high stakes decisions and the assessment community has so little control over the uses to which its products are put.
Complete Work- Social and Technical Issues in Testing: Implications for Test Construction and Usage
1984
Tests are constructed and used to facilitate assessment and understanding of human beings in all their multifaceted complexity. Hence, testing by its very nature is both a scientific and a social endeavor. The interplay between testing and society has resulted in both praise and criticism from concerned citi zens, psychologists, educators, and numerous other professional and consumer groups. For over 40 years, Oscar K. Buros, as Director of The Institute of Mental Measurements and Editor of the Mental Measurements Yearbooks. contributed immensely to this interplay between testing practices and societal issues. On March 19, 1978, Oscar Buros died. Luella Buros , his wife and lifelong helpmate, completed the work on The Eighth Mental Measurements Yearbook with the support of the Institute's devoted staff. She also took steps to relocate the Institute to ensure the continuation of the Institute's scholarly work and services for test consumers. The new Buros Institute of Mental Measurements is now at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is under grant from The University of Nebraska Foundation. An important objective of the new Buros Institute is to conduct an extended outreach effort that will help communicate more effectively with test users about contemporary issues in testing. Thus, it was the combination of recent social issues focusing on testing and our desire to fulfill more vigorously the mission of the Buros Institute that motivated the development of an annual scholarl y symposium and this series on measurement and testing. We intend each symp.osium and volume in this series to present state-of-theart knowledge that will contribute to the improvement of test construction and test usage. Such a schema will incorporate topics across a broad spectrum such as theoretical models of human behavior, test standardization procedures, soc ial and legal factors in testing, admin istration of testing programs , and test-based decision making. Thus, the series will be focused thematically and yet be flexible enough to integrate current and future measurement and testing issues into its schema. The success of our first Buros-Nebraska symposium and this volume is the result of the efforts of many individuals. We thank Luella Buros for having faith in us to carryon and extend a tradition that has become so important to the measurement field and to test users. Barbara Plake , as editor of the first volume in the series, made conceptual and editorial contributions that were of critical importance to its success. Finally, we want to thank Larry Erlbaum for his support , encouragement, and commitment to the project and to its timely completion.
The Original Test Development Project 1 An Analysis of a Set of Three Tests EDU 570 Assignment One
Assessment is a crucial aspect of the teaching and learning processes. According to Nunan (1999), “assessment refers to the tools, techniques, and procedures for collecting and interpreting information about what learners can and cannot do”. Based on the previous statement, this paper wants to focus its attention on tests. They are useful tools to evaluate students provided that they are implemented appropriately; that is why, their analysis is a critical factor in the assessment process, given the fact that it informs teachers about their instruction, students’ performance, and the curriculum, amongst others. Bailey (1998), states that “when we talk about a test being “appropriate,” the issue is partly whether the test provides us with the information we need to gain about the students we serve.” It is paramount to identify the desired goals we want our students to reach, the place where they are in relation to them and the tools we need to provide them with, in order to help them getting higher achievements. Tests analysis helps us to identify those aspects and to adjust our teaching practices aiming at students to succeed. In accordance with the preceding information, the effectiveness of three subtests will be analyzed, so their validity, reliability, practicality and positive washback (Bailey, 1998, p. 3) will be determined as well. These subtests are part of an only language test that was administered to eleventh graders at a public school. It mixes three different constructs taking into account that students at this grade need to be prepared to face a standardized test, which evaluates learners similarly and is called Saber Test. It assesses learners’ English skills, such as their pragmatic, lexical, communicative and grammatical knowledge, and their reading comprehension (ICFES, 2014). The test discussed in this report is a progress one, whose stimulus material is based on mythology. This topic was studied in depth during the second term of the academic year, and learners have received complementing knowledge in other classes, such as Social Studies and Spanish. My purpose is to discover whether the test I designed fulfill my students’ needs, expectations and English level or, on the contrary, it needs to be modified in order to get reliable information about my pupils’ learning process. Additionally it will be analyzed how well the test measures the constructs and the way they relate each other, as Brown (2005) advocates, validity “is the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring”.
The purpose of test directions is to familiarize examinees with a test so that they respond to items in the manner intended. However, changes in educational measurement as well as the U.S. student population present new challenges to test directions and increase the impact that differential familiarity could have on the validity of test score interpretations. This article reviews the literature on best practices for the development of test directions as well as documenting differences in test familiarity for culturally and linguistically diverse students that could be addressed with test directions and practice. The literature indicates that choice of practice items and feedback are critical in the design of test directions and that more extensive practice opportunities may be required to reduce group differences in test familiarity. As increasingly complex and rich item formats are introduced in next-generation assessments, test directions become a critical part of test design and validity.
The purpose of test directions is to familiarize examinees with a test so that they respond to items in the manner intended. However, changes in educational measurement as well as the U.S. student population present new challenges to test directions and increase the impact that differential familiarity could have on the validity of test score interpretations. This article reviews the literature on best practices for the development of test directions as well as documenting differences in test familiarity for culturally and linguistically diverse students that could be addressed with test directions and practice. The literature indicates that choice of practice items and feedback are critical in the design of test directions and that more extensive practice opportunities may be required to reduce group differences in test familiarity. As increasingly complex and rich item formats are introduced in next-generation assessments, test directions become a critical part of test design and validity.
The Future of Testing: Complete Work
1986
Tests are constructed and used to facilitate assessment and understanding of human beings in all their multifaceted complexity. Hence, testing by its very nature is both a scientific and a social endeavor. The interplay between testing and society has resulted in both praise and criticism from concerned citizens, psychologists, educators, and numerous other professional and consumer groups. For over 40 years, Oscar K. Buros, as Director of The Institute of Mental Measurements and Editor of the Mental Measurements Yearbooks. contributed immensely to this interplay between testing practices and societal issues. On March 19 , 1978, Oscar Buros died. Luella Buros, his wife and lifelong helpmate, completed the work on The Eighth Mental Measurements Yearbook with the support of the Institute's devoted staff. She also took steps to relocate the Institute to ensure the continuation of the Institute's scholarly work and services for test consumers. The new Buros Institute of Mental Measurements is now at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. An important objective of the new Buros Institute is to conduct an extended outreach effort that will help communicate more effectively with test users about contemporary issues in testing. Thus , it was the combination of recent social issues focusing on testing and our desire to fulfill more vigorously the missiOjl of the Buros Institute that motivated the development of an annual scholarly symposium and this series on measurement and testing. We intend each symposium and volume in this series to present state-of-theart knowledge that will contribute to the improvement of test construction and test usage. Such a schema will incorporate topics across a broad spectrum such as theoretical models of human behavior, test standardization procedures , social and legal factors in testing, administration of testing programs, and test-based decision making. Thus, the series will be focused thematically and yet be flexible enough to integrate current and future measurement and testing issues into its schema. The success of the Buros-Nebraska symposium and this volume is the result of the efforts of many individuals. We thank Luella Buros for having faith in us to carryon and extend a tradition that has become so important to the measurement field and to test users. Barbara Plake, as editor of the first volume in the series, made conceptual and editorial contributions that were of critical importance to the success of the series. Finally, we want to thank Larry Erlbaum for his support, encouragement, and commitment to the project and to its timely completion.
2000
This paper addresses four steps in test construction specification: (1) the purpose of the test; (2) the content of the test; (3) the format of the test; and (4) the pool of items. If followed, such steps not only will assist the test constructor but will also enhance the students' learning. Within the "Content of the Test" section, two examples of tables of specifications are presented. In addition, detailed guidelines are provided for writing different item formats. (Contains 2 tables and 10 references.)
Making, Choosing, and Using Tests: A Practicum on Domain-Referenced Testing
1980
The materials presented were developed for use in a series of Confurences on testing and inttruction sponsored by the National Institute of Education, with the United States Office of Education, the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, and a network of research and development agencies. They are intended for use by school practitioners and others concerned\with the development or \ selection of tests geared toward local curricula and objectives. The development and validation process is described. The volume provides procedures for selecting or developing tests that are instructionally relevant and technically sound. Two procedures for test development Information about CSE and its publications may be obtained by writing to: