This article reports the results of an academic program evaluation in which standardized admission test scores are compared to intermediate and final program outcomes. We used two intermediate program measures of progress-first semester nursing grades and performance on a standardized exit exam prior to graduation. Program final outcomes compared…

Standard setting is the process of identifying the point(s) on a scale that serve to differentiate between individuals of distinct proficiency levels. While standard setting is ultimately a policy decision, most of the process is carried out by subject matter experts who are tasked with reconciling item-level or examinee-level information (e.g.…

One common modification to the Angoff standard-setting method is to have panelists round their ratings to the nearest 0.05 or 0.10 instead of 0.01. Several reasons have been offered as to why it may make sense to have panelists round their ratings to the nearest 0.05 or 0.10. In this article, we examine one reason that has been suggested, which is…

College and university admissions officers are the gatekeepers who decide which individuals may join the "country club" of higher education. As such, the decisions they make have a significant impact on the lives of individuals, especially those who are willing to travel across the globe and risk living in an unfamiliar country in order…

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs like regression discontinuity (RD) designs, instrumental variable (IV) designs, and matching and propensity score (PS) designs are frequently used for inferring causal effects. It is well known that the features of these designs facilitate the identification of a causal estimand…

Many education policies require estimating whether students in different grades are on track for achieving certain educational standards. One approach for constructing these cut scores is to estimate the values on tests that predict reaching targets on subsequent tests. Whether a student is deemed on target can affect the student's course…

The 'Sawtooth Effect' is where cohort performance on high-stakes assessments drops after assessment reform, and then improves over time as test familiarity increases. Despite its importance, limited research has been conducted to date. In this study, we took a novel approach of using changes in grade boundaries (cut scores) over time as a proxy…

The practice of teacher education is inextricably linked to the policy environment in which it occurs. Calls by policymakers and politicians for accountability measures, standardization and performance assessments are efforts to influence the direction of the preparation of educators. In this self-study, I examine my participation in a state-level…

There are several widely used Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation fidelity measures, including the Schoolwide Evaluation Tool (SET), but there is limited empirical investigation substantiating the association between specific fidelity cut point scores and student outcomes. This article examined different SET cut…

It is becoming increasingly important for individuals for whom English is a second language to demonstrate their linguistic credentials for academic, work and employment purposes. One option is to undertake International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which involves attempting to meet the linguistic entrance criteria set by a gatekeeping…

Since 2015, the City University of New York (CUNY), serving over 250,000 students through 25 two- and four-year colleges, and high schools in the New York Standards Performance Consortium (the Consortium), which use performance-based assessments to assess student progress, have collaborated to add authentic evidence of student learning to the…

Community colleges across the United States are adopting multiple measures policies that place students into college-level or developmental coursework based on more than one indicator of student ability. Historically, community colleges relied on high-stakes tests for student placement but recent studies have exposed these as unreliable indicators…

Placing non-native speakers of English into appropriate classes involves mapping placement test scores onto proficiency levels based on predetermined cut scores. However, studies on how to set boundaries for different levels of proficiency have been lacking in the language testing literature. A top-down approach to standard setting in which a…

The study investigated the alignment process of the International English Language Competency Assessment (IELCA) suite examinations' four levels, B1, B2, C1 and C2, onto the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) by explaining and discussing the five linking stages (Council of Europe (CoE 2009). Unlike previous studies, this study used the…

Developmental education assessment and placement policies guide how students may demonstrate college readiness and are placed into college-level courses. States and postsecondary systems use a variety of measures to determine a student's college readiness. Often, policies require that students submit scores from a national, standardized test. Some…