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Educational Assessment (educational + assessment)
Selected AbstractsHigh Stakes Testing and the Structure of the Mind: A Reply to Randall CurrenJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006ANDREW DAVIS ,High stakes testing' is to be understood as testing with serious consequences for students, their teachers and their educational institutions. It plays a central role in holding teachers and educational institutions to account. In a recent article Randall Curren seeks to refute a number of philosophical arguments developed in my The Limits of Educational Assessment against the legitimacy of high stakes testing. In this reply I contend that some of the arguments he identifies are not mine, and that others survive his critique. [source] Defining and Evaluating Models of Cognition Used in Educational Measurement to Make Inferences About Examinees' Thinking ProcessesEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2007Jacqueline P. Leighton The purpose of this paper is to define and evaluate the categories of cognitive models underlying at least three types of educational tests. We argue that while all educational tests may be based,explicitly or implicitly,on a cognitive model, the categories of cognitive models underlying tests often range in their development and in the psychological evidence gathered to support their value. For researchers and practitioners, awareness of different cognitive models may facilitate the evaluation of educational measures for the purpose of generating diagnostic inferences, especially about examinees' thinking processes, including misconceptions, strengths, and/or abilities. We think a discussion of the types of cognitive models underlying educational measures is useful not only for taxonomic ends, but also for becoming increasingly aware of evidentiary claims in educational assessment and for promoting the explicit identification of cognitive models in test development. We begin our discussion by defining the term cognitive model in educational measurement. Next, we review and evaluate three categories of cognitive models that have been identified for educational testing purposes using examples from the literature. Finally, we highlight the practical implications of "blending" models for the purpose of improving educational measures. [source] Alternative Interpretations of Alternative Assessments: Some Validity Issues in Educational Performance AssessmentsEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2002Lyle F. Bachman The use of alternative assessments has led many researchers to reexamine traditional views of test qualities, especially validity. Because alternative assessments generally aim at measuring complex constructs and employ rich assessment tasks, it becomes more difficult to demonstrate (a) the validity of the inferences we make and (b) that these inferences extrapolate to target domains beyond the assessment itself. An approach to addressing these issues from the perspective of language testing is described. It is then argued that in both language testing and educational assessment we must consider the roles of both language and content knowledge, and that our approach to the design and development of performance assessments must be both construct-based and task-based.1 [source] Integrating positive psychology into schools: Implications for practicePSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 1 2004Mark D. Terjesen Traditional approaches for working with children and families in the schools focus on problems and disturbance. The concept of positive psychology as a way to change this focus is offered through exploration of its integration within school psychology. Specifically, the application of positive psychology can form the basis of preventive practices within the school setting. Examples of this application are provided within common roles of the school psychologist (consultation, direct work, educational assessment and planning). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 163,172, 2004. [source] Implications of Evidence-Centered Design for Educational TestingEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2006Robert J. Mislevy Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) provides language, concepts, and knowledge representations for designing and delivering educational assessments, all organized around the evidentiary argument an assessment is meant to embody. This article describes ECD in terms of layers for analyzing domains, laying out arguments, creating schemas for operational elements such as tasks and measurement models, implementing the assessment, and carrying out the operational processes. We argue that this framework helps designers take advantage of developments from measurement, technology, cognitive psychology, and learning in the domains. Examples of ECD tools and applications are drawn from the Principled Assessment Design for Inquiry (PADI) project. Attention is given to implications for large-scale tests such as state accountability measures, with a special eye for computer-based simulation tasks. [source] Avoiding Misconception, Misuse, and Missed Opportunities: The Collection of Verbal Reports in Educational Achievement TestingEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2004Jacqueline P. Leighton The collection of verbal reports is one way in which cognitive and developmental psychologists gather data to formulate and corroborate models of problem solving. The current use of verbal reports to design and validate educational assessments reflects the growing trend to fuse cognitive psychological research and educational measurement. However, doubts about the trustworthiness or accuracy of verbal reports may suggest a potential reversal of this trend. Misconceptions about the trustworthiness of verbal reports could signal misuse of verbal reports and, consequently, waning interest and missed opportunities in the description of cognitive models of test performance. In this article, misconceptions of verbal reports are addressed by (a) discussing the value of cognitive models for educational achievement testing; (b) addressing pertinent issues in the collection of verbal reports from students; and (c) concluding with avenues for a more productive union between cognitive psychological research and educational measurement. [source] | ||||||||||