ERIC Number: EJ829194
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Aug
Pages: 9
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-6367
EISSN: N/A
Our Field Needs a Framework to Guide Development of Validity Research Agendas and Identification of Validity Research Questions and Threats to Validity
Ferrara, Steve
Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives, v5 n2-3 p156-164 Aug 2007
In this issue of Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives, Schilling et al. are explicit about the centrality of assessment design and development and psychometric analysis in validation. Schilling and colleagues, Kane (2004, 2006), other contemporary validity theorists and practitioners, and their predecessors typically discuss test score validity and validation detached from the broader assessment process. In this article, the author contends that separating out validation activities does ease the complexities in conceiving and conducting validation research. However, it also risks some missing opportunities. The author suggests that discussions of validity and validation should heed five major steps in the assessment process: (a) define what is to be assessed, who is to be assessed, what is to be inferred, and who will interpret and use the assessment information; (b) design the test and write test and item specifications; (c) develop the test (i.e., write assessment tasks and items, assemble them into test forms or some other delivery system); (d) administer the test, collect data, conduct psychometric analyses, and deliver test scores or other indicators of performance; and (e) interpret test performance, make decisions and take actions, and validate the interpretations and uses. Here, the author proposes this framework because it reflects the general steps in the test development process and because the work at each step is conducted by identifiably different groups of experts. He further discusses that validation programs that overlook any step in the assessment process are incomplete. The assessment field needs a framework for identifying all opportunities to gather validity evidence and identify validity questions and threats to valid interpretations and uses of test scores. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Test Validity, Psychometrics, Test Construction, Evaluation Research, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Evaluation Methods, Measurement Techniques, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Educational Assessment, Teacher Evaluation, Measurement, Evaluation Problems, Testing Problems
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A