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- Editorial
by Jacqueline P. Leighton
- Test Development with Performance Standards and Achievement Growth in Mind
by Steve Ferrara
Items on test score scales located at and below the Proficient cut score define the content area knowledge and skills required to achieve proficiency. Alternately, examinees who perform at the Proficient level on a test can be expected to be able to demonstrate that they have mastered most of the knowledge and skills represented by the items at and below the Proficient cut score. It is important that these items define intended knowledge and skills, especially increasing levels of knowledge and skills, on tests that are intended to portray achievement growth across grade levels. Previous studies show that coherent definitions of growth occur often as a result of good fortune rather than by design. In this paper, we use grades 3, 4, and 5 mathematics tests from a state assessment program to examine how well (a) descriptors for Proficient performance define achievement growth across grades, and (b) the knowledge and skill demands of test items that define Proficient performance at each grade level may or may not define achievement growth coherently. Our purpose is to demonstrate (a) the results of one state assessment program's first attempt to train item writers to hit assigned proficiency level targets, and (b) how those efforts support and undermine coherent inferences about what it means to achieve Proficient performance from one grade to the next. Item writers? accuracy in hitting proficiency level targets and resulting inferences about achievement growth are mixed but promising.
- Examining the Role of Advanced Placement® Exam Participation in 4-Year College Enrollment
by Michael Chajewski
The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between Advanced Placement (AP) exam participation and enrollment in a 4-year postsecondary institution. A positive relationship was expected given that the primary purpose of offering AP courses is to allow students to engage in college-level academic work while in high school, and potentially receive college credit by earning qualifying scores on the corresponding AP exam. Therefore, college preparation and planning is an implicit and explicit part of AP participation. Analyzing a national sample of over 1.5 million students, the current study found that AP participation was related to college enrollment, even after controlling for student demographic and ability characteristics and high school level predictors. For example, the odds of attending a 4-year postsecondary institution increased by at least 171% for all three AP participation groups (taking either one AP exam, two or three AP exams, or four or more AP exams) as compared to students who took no AP exams. Given the current political environment and the renewed interest in readying high school students for college, these results may help inform and shape educational initiatives targeted at the school, district, state, or even national level.
- Formative Assessment: A Meta-Analysis and a Call for Research
by Neal Kingston
An effect size of about .70 (or .40?.70) is often claimed for the efficacy of formative assessment, but is not supported by the existing research base. More than 300 studies that appeared to address the efficacy of formative assessment in grades K-12 were reviewed. Many of the studies had severely flawed research designs yielding uninterpretable results. Only 13 of the studies provided sufficient information to calculate relevant effect sizes. A total of 42 independent effect sizes were available. The median observed effect size was .25. Using a random effects model, a weighted mean effect size of .20 was calculated. Moderator analyses suggested that formative assessment might be more effective in English language arts (ELA) than in mathematics or science, with estimated effect sizes of .32, .17, and .09, respectively. Two types of implementation of formative assessment, one based on professional development and the other on the use of computer-based formative systems, appeared to be more effective than other approaches, yielding mean effect size of .30 and .28, respectively. Given the wide use and potential efficacy of good formative assessment practices, the paucity of the current research base is problematic. A call for more high-quality studies is issued.
- NCME 2012 Annual Meeting ? April 12?16, 2012 ? Vancouver, BC, Canada (Current travel documents needed!)
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