Validity – Embrace the Absurd

Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

Whenever I come across the story Whose Job Is It, Anyway?, I cannot help but think of validity and K-12 large-scale assessment. Who among us has not sat through countless TAC meetings where the mere mention of the lack of validity evidence in the technical report results in blank stares and handwringing; or in recent years, listenedContinue reading “Whose Job Is It, Anyway?”

The Butterfly Effect

This is the second in what unexpectedly became a series of posts on validity, validation, state tests, and state assessment programs. In these first two posts, I am focusing on the primary purpose of state tests and interpretation of student test scores as a measure of student performance on the state’s content standards; that is,Continue reading “The Butterfly Effect”

Even Validity Has Unintended Consequences

While the educational measurement community has devoted an uncomfortable amount of energy to debating the proper role of consequences in validity, I would argue that we have paid far too little attention to the unintended negative consequences of the Validity Standards on the validation of K-12 large-scale state assessments and state assessment programs. We seemContinue reading “Even Validity Has Unintended Consequences”

He Makes a Valid Point

Charlie DePascale I first met Greg Cizek in May 2007 at the Contemporary Issues in High Stakes Testing Conference – a gathering in Lincoln, Nebraska to honor the career of Barbara Plake. From the audience, Greg engaged another participant (who will not be named) in a vigorous, thoughtful, and thought-provoking debate on theContinue reading “He Makes a Valid Point”

Bring back valid tests

Charlie DePascale Those of us of a certain age can recall when it was acceptable to talk about valid tests. One could make the claim that a test was valid; or more often as a precocious graduate student, question whether a test was valid. Some version of the phrase a test is valid to theContinue reading “Bring back valid tests”

Faith and Validity

Pondering validity on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States From Kane back to Ebel , there are religious overtones, sometimes thinly veiled, to discussions of validity as the alpha and the omega of educational measurement. Without validity, there is no measurement. Validity was in the beginning, is now, and ever shallContinue reading “Faith and Validity”