This is Volume 18, Issue 1 2005, a Special Issue of Applied Measurement in Education looking at the area of Vertically Moderated Standard Setting. As well as the editor’s introduction this collection includes six articles which cover: background on the need for YMSS, and presents a strong argument for aligning policy aims and psychometric methods to achieve coherent systems of educational assessments in general, and corresponding performance standards; background on YMSS and discusses possible alternatives; the third article, examines YMSS from the perspective of the sponsoring agency or authority responsible for conducting and applying standard-setting procedures; in kindergarten through 12th-grade applications, ; a recounting of the road to a system of vertically moderated standards across Grades 3 through 8 for a state-level science assessment program in South Carolina; describing the situations for which YMSS is a viable alternative to vertical scaling or equating and finally, an example of YMSS applied to the South Carolina student assessments in English language arts and mathematics across Grades 3 through 7.

This book provides a unifying structure for the activities that fall under the process typically called "standard setting" on tests of proficiency. Standard setting refers to the methodology used to identify performance standards on tests of proficiency. The results from standard setting studies are critical for supporting the use of many types of tests. The process is frequently applied to educational, psychological, licensure/certification, and other types of tests and examination systems. The literature on procedures for standard setting is extensive, but the methodology for standard setting has evolved in a haphazard way over many decades without a unifying theory to support the evaluation of the methods and the validation of inferences made from the standards. This text provides a framework for going beyond specific standard setting methods to gain an understanding of the goals for the methods and how to evaluate whether the goals have been achieved. The unifying structure provided in this text considers policy that calls for the existence of performance standards, the relationship of proficiency test design to the policy, and tasks assigned to subject matter experts to help them convert the policy to estimates of locations on the reporting score scale for the test. Guidance is provided for how to connect the psychometric aspects of the standard setting process to the intentions of policy makers as expressed in policy statements. Further, the structure is used support validity arguments for inferences made when using standards. Examples are provided to show how the unifying structure can be used to evaluate and improve standard setting methodology.

Setting standards of performance is a ubiquitous task in education licensure, certification, and credentialling. It is found in elementary schooling, the professions, commercial applications, and governmental and private organizations. It is one of the most complex, controversial, and vexing issues facing specialists and policy makers today. This second edition solidifies Setting Performance Standards as the only book providing a comprehensive profile of both the issues and the "how-to" methods that define this thorny field. Four chapters have been removed; 11 chapters have been added; 2 chapters have major revisions; and all chapters have been updated. Comprehensive – Part I provides a conceptual overview of standard setting and its overarching issues; Part II provides practical (how-to) information on the newest standard setting methods; Part III provides information and advice on persistent and potential challenges in standard setting. Practical – Part II (the heart of the book) reviews 16 of the newest standard setting methods, far more than any other book. Expertise – Most of the well-known authors from the 1st edition return, with authors of equal stature contributing new chapters.

The second edition of the Handbook of Test Development provides graduate students and professionals with an up-to-date, research-oriented guide to the latest developments in the field. Including thirty-two chapters by well-known scholars and practitioners, it is divided into five sections, covering the foundations of test development, content definition, item development, test design and form assembly, and the processes of test administration, documentation, and evaluation. Keenly aware of developments in the field since the publication of the first edition, including changes in technology, the evolution of psychometric theory, and the increased demands for effective tests via educational policy, the editors of this edition include new chapters on assessing noncognitive skills, measuring growth and learning progressions, automated item generation and test assembly, and computerized scoring of constructed responses. The volume also includes expanded coverage of performance testing, validity, fairness, and numerous other topics. Edited by Suzanne Lane, Mark R. Raymond, and Thomas M. Haladyna, The Handbook of Test Development, 2nd edition, is based on the revised Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, and is appropriate for graduate courses and seminars that deal with test development and usage, professional testing services and credentialing agencies, state and local boards of education, and academic libraries serving these groups.

This book summarizes the international evidence on methodological issues in standard setting in education. By critically discussing the standard-setting practices implemented in the Nordic countries and by presenting new methodological approaches, it offers fresh perspectives on the current research. Standard setting targets crucial societal objectives by defining educational benchmarks at different achievement levels, and provides feedback to policy makers, schools and teachers about the strengths and weaknesses of a school system. Given that the consequences of standard setting can be dramatic, the quality of standard setting is a prime concern. If it fails, repercussions can be expected in terms of arbitrary evaluations of educational policy, wrong turns in school or teacher development or misplacement of individual students. Standard setting therefore needs to be accurate, reliable, valid, useful, and defensible. However, specific evidence on the benefits and limits of different approaches to standard setting is rare and scattered, and there is a particular lack with respect to standard setting in the Nordic countries, where the number of national tests is increasing and there are concerns about the time and effort spent on testing at schools without feedback being provided. Addressing this gap, the book offers a discussion on standard setting by respected experts as well as profound and innovative insights into fundamental aspects of standard setting including conclusions for future methodological and policy-related research.

This book introduces and explores major topics in contemporary educational measurement: criterion-referenced testing, item response theory (IRT), computer-based testing, cross-lingual and cross-cultural assessment, and accountability testing. Psychometric experts describe forward-looking measurement practices and provide a contextualized understanding of how and why they were developed, how they can be used, and where they may go in the future. In addition to presenting key concepts and formulas, the volume covers established and emerging applications and discusses recurrent challenges that require additional research. A helpful glossary of abbreviations is included. The book is grounded in the work of Ronald K. Hambleton.

Visual displays play a crucial role in knowledge generation and communication. The purpose of the volume is to provide researchers with a framework that helps them use visual displays to organize and interpret data; and to communicate their findings in a comprehensible way within different research (e.g., quantitative, mixed methods) and testing traditions that improves the presentation and understanding of findings. Further, this book includes contributions from leading scholars in testing and quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research, and results reporting. The volume’s focal question is: What are the best principles and practices for the use of visual displays in the research and testing process, which broadly includes the analysis, organization, interpretation, and communication of data? The volume is organized into four sections. Section I provides a rationale for this volume; namely, that including visual displays in research and testing can enhance comprehension and processing efficiency. Section II includes addresses theoretical frameworks and universal design principles for visual displays. Section III examines the use of visual displays in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. Section IV focuses on using visual displays to report testing and assessment data.