This paper covers six interrelated issues in formative assessment (aka, ‘assessment for learning’). The issues concern the definition of formative assessment, the claims commonly made for its effectiveness, the limited attention given to domain considerations in its conceptualisation, the under-representation of measurement principles in that conceptualisation, the teacher-support demands formative assessment entails, and the impact of the larger educational system. The paper concludes that the term, ‘formative assessment’, does not yet represent a well-defined set of artefacts or practices. Although research suggests that the general practices associated with formative assessment can facilitate learning, existing definitions admit such a wide variety of implementations that effects should be expected to vary widely from one implementation and student population to the next. In addition, the magnitude of commonly made quantitative claims for effectiveness is suspect, deriving from untraceable, flawed, dated, or unpublished sources. To realise maximum benefit from formative assessment, new development should focus on conceptualising well-specified approaches built around process and methodology rooted within specific content domains. Those conceptualisations should incorporate fundamental measurement principles that encourage teachers and students to recognise the inferential nature of assessment. The conceptualisations should also allow for the substantial time and professional support needed if the vast majority of teachers are to become proficient users of formative assessment. Finally, for greatest benefit, formative approaches should be conceptualised as part of a comprehensive system in which all components work together to facilitate learning.

/pdf/formative-assessment-a-critical-review-151p3awrye.pdf

Formative assessment: a critical review

A critical, but often neglected, component of any large-scale assessment program is the reporting of test results. In the past decade, a body of evidence has been compiled that raises concerns over the ways in which these results are reported to and understood by their intended audiences. In this study, current approaches for reporting student-level results on large-scale assessments were investigated. Recent student test score reports and interpretive guides from 11 states, three U.S. commercial testing companies, and two Canadian provinces were reviewed. On the basis of past score-reporting research, testing standards, and the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a number of promising and potentially problematic features of these reports and guides are identified, and recommendations are offered to help enhance future score-reporting designs and to inform future research in this important area.

/pdf/student-test-score-reports-and-interpretive-guides-review-of-26tkrvcuox.pdf

Student test score reports and interpretive guides: Review of current practices and suggestions for future research

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to subscores. First, examples of subscores from an operational test are provided. Then, a review of methods that can be used to examine if subscores have adequate psychometric quality is provided. It is demonstrated, using results from operational and simulated data, that subscores have to be based on a sufficient number of items and have to be sufficiently distinct from each other to have adequate psychometric quality. It is also demonstrated that several operationally reported subscores do not have adequate psychometric quality. Recommendations are made for those interested in reporting subscores for educational tests.

An NCME Instructional Module on Subscores

This paper presents a framework to provide a structured approach for developing score reports for cognitive diagnostic assessments (CDAs). Guidelines for reporting and presenting diagnostic scores are based on a review of current educational test score reporting practices and literature from the area of information design. A sample diagnostic report is presented to illustrate application of the reporting framework in the context of one CDA procedure called the Attribute Hierarchy Method. Integration and application of interdisciplinary techniques from education, information design, and technology are required for effective score reporting. While the AHM is used in this paper, this framework is applicable to any attribute-based diagnostic testing method.

/pdf/developing-score-reports-for-cognitive-diagnostic-477omlvx6i.pdf

Developing Score Reports for Cognitive Diagnostic Assessments

Standards-based score reports interpret test performance with reference to cut scores defining categories like "below basic," "proficient," or "master." This article first develops a conceptual framework for validity arguments supporting such interpretations, then presents three applications. Two of these serve to introduce new standard-setting methods. The conceptual framework lays out the logic of validity arguments in support of standards-based score interpretations, focusing on requirements that the performance standard (i.e., the characterization of examinees who surpass the cut score) be defensible both as a description and as a normative judgment, and that the cut score accurately operationalize that performance standard. The three applications illustrate performance standards that differ in the breadth of the claims they set forth. The first, a "criterion-referenced testing" application, features a narrow performance standard that corresponds closely to performance on the test itself. The second, ...

/pdf/validating-standards-based-test-score-interpretations-4feyywyii9.pdf

Validating Standards-Based Test Score Interpretations.

What is item mapping and how does it aid test score interpretation? Which item mapping technique produces the most consistent results and most closely matches expert opinion?

An Investigation of Alternative Methods for Item Mapping in the National Assessment of Educational Progress

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An Investigation of Alternative Methods for Item Mapping in the National Assessment of Educational Progress