This article presents the author's rejoinder to thinking about linking from issue 8(1). Particularly within the more embracing linking frameworks, e.g., Holland & Dorans (2006) and Holland (2007), there appears to be a major disjunction between (1) classification discourse: the supposed basis for classification, that is, the underlying theory of…

This article presents the author's comments on Randy Elliot Bennett's article "Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning" (CBAL), which appeared in issue 8(2-3). The article presents an integrated approach to assessment in which a theory of action for the intended consequences (i.e., benefits) drives both assessments and instructional…

Paul Newton (2010), with his characteristic concern about theory, has set out two different ways of thinking about the basis upon which equivalences of one sort or another are established between test score scales. His reason for doing this is a desire to establish "the defensibility of linkages lower on the continuum than concordance." His…

In their article "Innovations in Setting Performance Standards for K-12 Test-Based Accountability," Kristen Huff and Barbara S. Plake (2010) lay out three preconditions for continued investment in standard-setting methodology and practice, all focused on the sound development and use of achievement level descriptors (ALDs). Among these…

Several researchers (e.g., Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey, & Stecher, 2000; Koretz & Barron, 1998; Linn, 2000) have asserted that test-based accountability, a crucial component of U.S. education policy, has resulted in score inflation. This inference has relied on comparisons with performance on other tests such as the National Assessment of…

In "Updating the Duplex Design for Test-Based Accountability in the Twenty-First Century," Bejar and Graf (2010) propose extensions to the duplex design for large-scale assessment presented in Bock and Mislevy (1988). Examining the range of people who use assessment results--from students, teachers, administrators, curriculum designers,…

"Linking" is a term given to a general class of procedures by which one represents scores X on one test or measure in terms of scores Y on another test or measure. A recent taxonomy by Holland and Dorans (2006; Holland, 2007) organizes the various types of links into three broad categories: prediction, scale aligning, and equating. In his article…

The use of large-scale assessments for making high stakes inferences about students and the schools in which they are situated is premised on the assumption that tests are sensitive to good instruction. An increase in the quality of classroom instruction should cause, on the average, an increase in test scores. In work with a number of colleagues…

The article "Thinking About Linking" by Newton (2010) presents a novel philosophical perspective on the way that educational assessments should be linked. Newton starts by describing the linking framework as it was characterized in various publications and identifies a cross-cultural dimension in the definitions and uses of test linkings, in…

Newton's article (2010) makes three main contributions to the literature. First, it is transatlantic, bringing together literatures that have been dealing with similar problems, using sometimes different methods and certainly with distinctive educational, cultural perspectives. He points out that neither of these literatures has all of the…

Kane, Mroch, Suh, and Ripkey (2009) describe what they call five linear equating methods for the nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. The authors embed these methods within a two-dimensional framework. The first dimension contrasts what the authors call a parameter substitution (PS) approach what they call a chained linear…

This excellent set of papers is comprehensive and very well written. The Kane et al. paper lays out the theory for linear equating with the NEAT design using a clever but simple framework. The Suh et al. paper is an excellent empirical study of the various methods. The Mroch et al. paper provides an insightful evaluation of the methods as…

This article presents the authors' rejoinder to commentaries on linear equating and the NEAT design. The authors appreciate the insightful work of the commentary writers. Each has made a number of interesting points, many of which the authors had not considered at all. Before responding to some of those points, the authors reiterate what they see…

The traditional way of equating the scores on a new test form X to those on an old form Y is equipercentile equating for a population of examinees. Because the population is likely to change between the two administrations, a popular approach is to equate for a "synthetic population." The authors of the articles in this issue of the journal try…

Mroch, Suh, Kane, & Ripkey (2009); Suh, Mroch, Kane, & Ripkey (2009); and Kane, Mroch, Suh, & Ripkey (2009) provided elucidating discussions on critical properties of linear equating methods under the nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. In this popular equating design, two test forms are administered to different groups of…