This edited book brings together fifteen original empirical studies from a variety of international contexts to provide a detailed exploration of language assessment, testing and evaluation. Language assessment has a key role in the development and implementation of language and educational policies at the national level, and this book examines some of the impacts - both positive and negative - of different skills testing and examination approaches on learning outcomes and individual students' language learning. This book will be of interest to scholars working in applied linguistics and language education, teacher training, testing and evaluation, as well as stakeholders such as practitioners, educators, educational agencies, and test developers.

Large-scale assessments (LSAs) play a growing role in education policy decisions, accountability, and education planning worldwide. This book focuses on central issues that are key components of successful planning, development and implementation of LSAs. The book s main distinction is its focus on practice- based, cutting-edge research. This is achieved by having chapters co-authored by world-class researchers in collaboration with measurement practitioners. The result is a how-to book whose language is accessible to practitioners and graduate students as well as academics.

No other book so thoroughly covers current issues in the field of large-scale assessment. An introductory chapter is followed by sixteen chapters that each focus on a specific issue. The content is prescriptive and didactic in nature but based on the most recent scientific research. It includes successful experiences, exemplary practices, training modules, interesting breakthroughs or alternatives, and promising innovations regarding large-scale assessments. Finally, it covers meaningful topics that are currently taking center stage such as motivating students, background questionnaires, comparability of different linguistic versions of assessments, and cognitive modeling of learning and assessment.

Automatic item generation (AIG) represents a relatively new and unique research area where specific cognitive and psychometric theories are applied to test construction practices for the purpose of producing test items using technology. The purpose of this book is to bring researchers and practitioners up-to-date on the growing body of research on AIG by organizing in one volume what is currently known about this research area. Part I begins with an overview of the concepts and topics necessary for understanding AIG by focusing on both its history and current applications. Part II presents two theoretical frameworks and practical applications of these frameworks in the production of item generation. Part III summarizes the psychological and substantive characteristics of generated items . Part IV concludes with a discussion of the statistical models that can be used to estimate the item characteristics of generated items, features one future application of AIG, describes the current technologies used for AIG, and also highlights the unresolved issues that must be addressed as AIG continues to mature as a research area.

Comprehensive The book provides a comprehensive analysis of both the theoretical concepts that define automatic item generation and the practical considerations required to implement these concepts.

Varied Applications Readers are provided with novel applications in diverse content areas (e.g., science and reading comprehension) that range across all educational levels elementary through university.

Automatic item generation (AIG) represents a relatively new and unique research area where specific cognitive and psychometric theories are applied to test construction practices for the purpose of producing test items using technology. The purpose of this book is to bring researchers and practitioners up-to-date on the growing body of research on AIG by organizing in one volume what is currently known about this research area. Part I begins with an overview of the concepts and topics necessary for understanding AIG by focusing on both its history and current applications. Part II presents two theoretical frameworks and practical applications of these frameworks in the production of item generation. Part III summarizes the psychological and substantive characteristics of generated items . Part IV concludes with a discussion of the statistical models that can be used to estimate the item characteristics of generated items, features one future application of AIG, describes the current technologies used for AIG, and also highlights the unresolved issues that must be addressed as AIG continues to mature as a research area.

Comprehensive The book provides a comprehensive analysis of both the theoretical concepts that define automatic item generation and the practical considerations required to implement these concepts.

Varied Applications Readers are provided with novel applications in diverse content areas (e.g., science and reading comprehension) that range across all educational levels elementary through university."

With a unique focus on the relationship between assessment and engagement this book explores what works in terms of keeping students on course to succeed. Against a backdrop of massification and the associated increase in student diversity there is an escalating requirement for personalized, technology driven learning in higher education. In addition, the advent of student fees has promoted a consumer culture resulting in students having an increasingly powerful voice in shaping curricula to their own requirements. How does one engage and retain a group of students of such diverse culture, ethnicity, ambition and experience? Using examples from a variety of institutions worldwide this edited collection provides a well-researched evidence base of current thinking and developments in assessment practices in higher education. The chapters discuss: Staff and student views on assessment Engaging students through assessment feedback Assessment for learning Assessing for employability Interdisciplinary and transnational assessment Technology supported assessment for retention The book draws together a wealth of expertise from a range of contributors including academic staff, academic developers, pedagogical researchers, National Teaching Fellows and Centres for Excellence in Higher Education. Recognising that a pedagogy which is embedded and taken-for-granted in one context might be completely novel in another, the authors share best practice and evaluate evidence of assessment strategies to enable academic colleagues to make informed decisions about adopting new and creative approaches to assessment. This interdisciplinary text will prove an invaluable tool for those working and studying in higher education.

With a unique focus on the relationship between assessment and engagement this book explores what works in terms of keeping students on course to succeed.

Against a backdrop of massification and the associated increase in student diversity there is an escalating requirement for personalized, technology driven learning in higher education. In addition, the advent of student fees has promoted a consumer culture resulting in students having an increasingly powerful voice in shaping curricula to their own requirements. How does one engage and retain a group of students of such diverse culture, ethnicity, ambition and experience?

Using examples from a variety of institutions worldwide this edited collection provides a well-researched evidence base of current thinking and developments in assessment practices in higher education. The chapters discuss:

• Staff and student views on assessment
• Engaging students through assessment feedback
• Assessment for learning
• Assessing for employability
• Interdisciplinary and transnational assessment
• Technology supported assessment for retention

The book draws together a wealth of expertise from a range of contributors including academic staff, academic developers, pedagogical researchers, National Teaching Fellows and Centres for Excellence in Higher Education. Recognising that a pedagogy which is embedded and taken-for-granted in one context might be completely novel in another, the authors share best practice and evaluate evidence of assessment strategies to enable academic colleagues to make informed decisions about adopting new and creative approaches to assessment. This interdisciplinary text will prove an invaluable tool for those working and studying in higher education.

Considering the permeation of various mobile and internet technologies into daily life, their extension into the context of learning and work is unsurprising. With a global push in universities to blend and deepen their learning and delivery methods, effective application of mobile and internet technologies is essential for the promotion of student success. Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment Practices in Higher Education is a comprehensive scholarly book that aims to explore the current impact of mobile technologies and the use of video capture via mobile devices on the learning and assessment of students in higher education, particularly where practical performance examples of their work are required as evidence of attaining competence. Featuring a wide range of topics such as course development, teacher evaluation, and higher education, this book is ideal for deans, educators, academicians, educational administrators, curriculum developers, researchers, students, and higher education professionals.

At the close of the twentieth century the stereotyping and demonization of 'others', whether on religious, nationalist, racist, or political grounds, has become a burning issue. Yet comparatively little attention has been paid to how and why we fabricate images of the 'other' as an enemy or 'demon' to be destroyed. This innovative book fills that gap through an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural approach that brings together a distinguished array of historians, anthropologists, psychologists, literary critics, and feminists. The historical sweep covers Greco-Roman Antiquity, the MIddle Ages, and the MOdern Era. Antisemitism receives special attention because of its longevity and centrality to the Holocaust, but it is analyzed here within the much broader framework of racism and xenophobia. The plurality of viewpoints expressed in this volume provide fascinating insights into what is common and what is unique to the many varieties of prejudice, stereotyping, demonization, and hatred.

This book addresses the challenges faced by arts organizations, schools, and community-based settings when designing program evaluations and measuring artistic engagement and experience. With contributions from leaders in the field, this volume is an exemplary collection of complete program evaluations that assess music, theater, dance, multimedia, and the visual arts in a variety of contexts.

"It is my sincere wish that the teachers of those thousands of children, who increasingly are also teacher educators, read and learn from Assessing Children's Learning. The hope is that they will go on to make a reality of the ?imaginary but not impossible classroom? and make moral judgements and choices in the best interests of children." - Sue Swaffield, Senior Lecturer - Educational Leadership and School Improvement, University of Cambridge, UK

"Not all education books are worth a tired teacher's spare time. This one is." - Times Educational Supplement, from a review of the first edition

Now featuring a brand new foreword by Sue Swaffield, this classic text, Assessing Children's Learning, examines some of the vital questions that teachers and other educators ask themselves as they assess children's learning across the curriculum.

The author sets out to offer an alternative to objective, mechanical approaches to assessment; she defines assessment as a process in which teachers look at children's learning, strive to understand it, and then put their understanding to good use in the classroom where children are given both trust and freedom to learn. Throughout the book, teachers are invited to consider the choices they make in the process of assessment, and to acknowledge their right, their responsibility and their power to act in the interests of children.

Now part of the Routledge Education Classic Edition Series, this influential, inspiring and timely book will introduce the ideas of Mary Jane Drummond to a new generation of teachers, practitioners and other education professionals.

'It is an exceptionally thoughtful assessment of assessment, and I am (along with anyone else who broods about education) much in your debt.' Jerome Bruner, personal communication with the author When this award-winning book was originally published in 1994, a review in the TES said: 'Beyond Testing is a refreshingly honest look at the dilemmas facing those who are trying to make educational assessment more supportive of high-quality learning for all pupils and students ... It contains powerful and practical messages for assessment developers, policy-makers, teachers and pupils. It exposes the very different agendas of those who wish to achieve greater system-wide accountability through educational assessment, and those who wish to use it to promote improvements in the quality of pupil learning.' Originally written to re-conceptualize assessment in education in the 1990s, Beyond Testing has stood the test of time and become a classic text in the field. With its examination of the range of uses of assessment - from teacher assessment and standardized testing to formative assessment and norm-referenced testing - to the purposes of assessment - from accountability to support for teaching and learning - the issues it deals with are as enduring and relevant to education now as they were when it was first published. It offers an unsurpassed framework for educational assessment. Now, re-released as a Routledge Education Classic, and with a new preface from D. Royce Sadler, a new generation of educationalists can be introduced to the developments in educational assessment - arguably one of the most hotly contested areas of education - in order to further their own understanding and practice.

"It is my sincere wish that the teachers of those thousands of children, who increasingly are also teacher educators, read and learn from Assessing Children s Learning. The hope is that they will go on to make a reality of the imaginary but not impossible classroom and make moral judgements and choices in the best interests of children." - Sue Swaffield, Senior Lecturer - Educational Leadership and School Improvement, University of Cambridge, UK

"Not all education books are worth a tired teacher s spare time. This one is." - Times Educational Supplement, from a review of the first edition

Now featuring a brand new foreword by Sue Swaffield, this classic text, Assessing Children s Learning, examines some of the vital questions that teachers and other educators ask themselves as they assess children s learning across the curriculum.

The author sets out to offer an alternative to objective, mechanical approaches to assessment; she defines assessment as a process in which teachers look at children s learning, strive to understand it, and then put their understanding to good use in the classroom where children are given both trust and freedom to learn. Throughout the book, teachers are invited to consider the choices they make in the process of assessment, and to acknowledge their right, their responsibility and their power to act in the interests of children.

Now part of the Routledge Education Classic Edition Series, this influential, inspiring and timely book will introduce the ideas of Mary Jane Drummond to a new generation of teachers, practitioners and other education professionals.

'It is an exceptionally thoughtful assessment of assessment, and I am (along with anyone else who broods about education) much in your debt.' Jerome Bruner, personal communication with the author When this award-winning book was originally published in 1994, a review in the TES said: 'Beyond Testing is a refreshingly honest look at the dilemmas facing those who are trying to make educational assessment more supportive of high-quality learning for all pupils and students ... It contains powerful and practical messages for assessment developers, policy-makers, teachers and pupils. It exposes the very different agendas of those who wish to achieve greater system-wide accountability through educational assessment, and those who wish to use it to promote improvements in the quality of pupil learning.' Originally written to re-conceptualize assessment in education in the 1990s, Beyond Testing has stood the test of time and become a classic text in the field. With its examination of the range of uses of assessment - from teacher assessment and standardized testing to formative assessment and norm-referenced testing - to the purposes of assessment - from accountability to support for teaching and learning - the issues it deals with are as enduring and relevant to education now as they were when it was first published. It offers an unsurpassed framework for educational assessment. Now, re-released as a Routledge Education Classic, and with a new preface from D. Royce Sadler, a new generation of educationalists can be introduced to the developments in educational assessment - arguably one of the most hotly contested areas of education - in order to further their own understanding and practice.

Knowledge grows as ideas are tested against each other. Agreement is not resolved simply by naming concepts but in the dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. There are many echoes of these debates in The Evidence Book. The contributors make claims for both practitioner wisdom and the voice of experience. Against this is posed the authority of experimental science and the randomized controlled trial.

The contributors are concerned, in their own ways, with collecting, ranking, and analyzing evidence and using this to deliver evaluations. As an expert group, they are aware that the concept of evidence has been increasingly important in the last decade. As with other concepts, it too often escapes precise definition. Despite this, the growing importance of evidence has been advocated with enthusiasm by supporters who see it as a way of increasing the effectiveness and quality of decisions and of professional life.

The willingness to engage in evidence-based policy and the means to do so is heavily constrained by economic, political, and cultural climates. This book is a marvelously comprehensive and utterly unique treatise on evidence-based policy. It is a wide-ranging contribution to the field of evaluation.

'This volume addresses a very timely and important topic, and provides both broad and in-depth coverage of a number of large-scale English tests in China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and about the Chinese learner.' - Lyle F. Bachman, From the Foreword

Building on current theoretical and practical frameworks for English language assessment and testing, this book presents a comprehensive, up-to-date, relevant picture of English language assessment for students in China (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and for Chinese learners of English around the world. Written by well-recognized international scholars in language testing, it covers:

• the history of tests and testing systems, issues and challenges, and current research in China
• both test-designers' and test-users' points of view on test development and test validation within a range of political, economical, social, and financial contexts in China
• theoretical/conceptual perspectives on the use of the English language assessment at different levels, including societal, university, and schools
• empirical research related specifically to test development, curricular innovation, and test validation

Given the long history of objective testing and its extensive use in Chinese society, and considering the sheer number of students taking various tests in English in China and elsewhere, an understanding of the impact of English language testing is essential for anyone involved in testing and assessment issues in China and elsewhere in the world. This is a must-read volume for testing and assessment policy makers, curriculum designers, researchers, ESL/EFL materials writers, graduate students, and English language teachers/researchers at all levels.

Although computer-based tests (CBT) have been administered for many years, improvements in the speed and power of computers coupled with reductions in their cost have made large-scale computer delivery of tests increasingly feasible. CBT is now a common form of test delivery for licensure, certification, and admissions tests. Many large-scale, high-stakes testing programs have introduced CBT either as an option or as the sole means of test delivery. Although this movement to CBT has, to a great extent, been successful, it has not been without problems. Advances in psychometrics are required to ensure that those who rely on test results can have at least the same confidence in CBTs as they have in traditional forms of assessment.
This volume stems from an ETS-sponsored colloquium in which more than 200 measurement professionals from eight countries and 29 states convened to assess the current and future status of CBT. The formal agenda for the colloquium was divided into three major segments: Test Models, Test Administration, and Test Analysis and Scoring. Each segment consisted of several presentations followed by comments from noted psychometricians and a break-out session in which presenters and discussants identified important issues and established priorities for a CBT research agenda. This volume contains the papers presented at the colloquium, the discussant remarks based on those papers, and the research agenda that was generated from the break-out sessions.
"Computer-Based Testing: Building the Foundation for Future Assessments" is must reading for professionals, scholars, and advanced students working in the testing field, as well as people in the information technology field who have an interest in testing.

This book describes the design, development, delivery and impact of the mathematics assessment for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). First, the origins of PISA's concept of mathematical literacy are discussed, highlighting the underlying themes of mathematics as preparation for life after school and mathematical modelling of the real world, and clarifying PISA's position within this part of the mathematics education territory. The PISA mathematics framework is introduced as a significant milestone in the development and dissemination of these ideas. The underlying mathematical competencies on which mathematical literacy so strongly depends are described, along with a scheme to use them in item creation and analysis. The development and implementation of the PISA survey and the consequences for the outcomes are thoroughly discussed. Different kinds of items for both paper-based and computer-based PISA surveys are exemplified by many publicly released items along with details of scoring. The novel survey of the opportunity students have had to learn the mathematics promoted through PISA is explained. The book concludes by surveying international impact. It presents viewpoints of mathematics educators on how PISA and its constituent ideas and methods have influenced teaching and learning practices, curriculum arrangements, assessment practices, and the educational debate more generally in fourteen countries.

Assessment innovation tied to technology is greatly needed in a wide variety of assessment applications. This book adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to learn from advances in developing technology enhanced innovative assessments from multiple fields. The book chapters address the development of virtual assessments including game?based assessment, simulation?based assessment, and narrative based assessment as well as how simulation and game based assessments serve both formative and summative purposes. Further, chapters address the critical challenge of integrating assessment directly into the learning process so that teacher effectiveness and student learning can be enhanced. Two chapters specifically address the psychometric challenges related to innovative items. One chapter talks about evaluating the psychometric properties of innovative items while the other chapter presents a new psychometric model for calibrating innovative items embedded in multiple contexts. In addition, validity issues are addressed related to technologyenhanced innovative assessment. It is hoped that the book provides readers with rich and useful information about the development of several types of virtual assessments from multiple perspectives. The authors include experts from industry where innovative items have been used for many years and experts from research institutes and universities who have done pioneering work related to developing innovative items with formative applications to facilitate learning. In addition, expert advice has been provided on validating such work.

This edited volume explores questions about 'what works', how, for whom, when, and why in education, and considers how and to what extent such knowledge can be understood and extended across countries and different educational systems. The book starts by presenting an overview of the history of educational effectiveness research and offers examples of current theories of educational effectiveness. Next, it provides exemplars of effectiveness studies that report on educational systems, policies, and practices from across six continents. These studies vary in their research methods and outcomes, illustrating a field of research that is conscious of its origins, its agenda, and its ambition to understand and improve the functioning of schools, networks, and education systems around the world. The book brings these threads together within the final chapter and uses them to signpost directions for future research. 'International Perspectives in Educational Effectiveness Research is an excellent and timely addition to the educational effectiveness literature. It offers a rigorous and insightful range of international perspectives that will be of interest to researchers, policy makers and students of the field.' - Professor Christopher Chapman, University of Glasgow, UK & President-Elect of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement 'This important new volume brings up to date the contributions of educational effectiveness research to the development of policy and practice in the field over the last 50 years. Drawing together the ideas of many of the major researchers in the field, it provides a comprehensive analysis of these earlier contributions, leading to critical commentaries that point to areas for future attention. The editors make use of expertise from a range of disciplines to strengthen the themes that are addressed. Most importantly, the book emphasises the need to pay greater attention to the challenge of equity - arguably the most significant challenge facing education systems internationally. In this respect, a particular strength of the book is the accounts provided from many different parts of the world. These underline the importance of context, a factor often previously overlooked in this field of research. Given all of this, I have no doubt that International Perspectives in Educational Effectiveness Research will become a major source for practitioners, policy-makers and researchers.' - Professor Mel Ainscow, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Manchester & Professor of Education, University of Glasgow, UK

Much has been written about globalization and the challenge of preparing young people for the new world of work and life in times of complexity and continuous change. However, few works have examined how globalization has and will continue to shape education in the East. This volume discusses education within the context of globalization and examines what is occurring in schools and systems of education in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, and Australia. Closer examination of recent developments and current trends reveal the same turbulence and a range of common issues in areas such as assessment, curriculum, leadership, management of change, pedagogy, policy, professional capacity and technology. This volume demonstrates the commonalities and differences and offers tremendous insight into the way things are done in places where student achievement is high but there is also a sense of urgency in continuing an agenda of change.

What is assessment and how is it a cultural practice? How does failure to account for linguistic and cultural variation among students jeopardize assessment validity? What is required to achieve cultural validity in assessment? This resource for practicing and prospective teachers as well as others concerned with fair and valid assessment provides a thorough grounding in relevant theory, research, and practice. The book lays out criteria for culturally valid assessment and recommends specific strategies that teachers can use to design and implement culturally valid classroom assessments.

Assessment plays a powerful role in the process of education in the US and has a disproportionately negative impact on students who do not come from mainstream, middle-class backgrounds. Given the significance of testing in education today, cultural validity in assessment is an urgent issue facing educators. This book is essential reading for addressing this important, relevant topic.

Research evidence indicates that formative assessment is one of the most effective ways of enhancing student learning. It is, however, difficult to implement successfully, principally because what is tested through summative assessment has such a powerful influence on teacher and student actions. This book scrutinizes the relationship between testing and learning from alternative perspectives to the dominant literature from the major Anglophone countries. It develops the notion of contextually grounded formative assessment practices by analyzing data from schools in the Confucian-heritage setting of Hong Kong. It explores questions such as: * Under what circumstances do tests support or hinder student learning? * How can teachers effectively prepare students for tests and appropriately follow up after tests? * What are the key socio-cultural influences impacting on testing and student learning in the classroom? * How do teachers change in their orientation towards assessment and what support do they require? This text is a valuable resource for education students, professionals and researchers, policy-makers and curriculum developers.

First Published in 1985, Examinations presents a balanced overview and commentary on all the main aspects of public examinations. The key themes are examinations and their context (historical, political, social, and educational); functions of examination (how they work); equity and fairness of the process; and future of public examinations. Recurring issues in the book are the tension between the need for common national standards and the need for diverse individuality and the conflict between competitive functions of examinations as instruments of selection and their descriptive function as reports on standards of performance. The author argues that the main aspects of examinations are not given a prominent place in the training of teachers though public examinations have widespread impact on society. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of education, higher education and also for administrators and policy makers.

After all the hours of studying, reading and preparation, the nights spent revising and the writing and re-writing of assignments, 'success' for university students can often be represented with a single grade or digit, summing up a wide range of activities. The authors of this timely book ask how fair that assessment is. This book is about a long-ignored determinant of student satisfaction, concerning the perception of how fairly students are judged, marked, ranked and rewarded for demonstrating their capabilities at university. In the high stakes competitive field of higher education, students are increasingly positioned as customers whose views on their university experience are considered vitally important. Yet paradoxically, little research has been undertaken to find out more about how students decide whether they have been treated fairly and what they do about it. This book fills a major gap in our understanding of these issues, responding to four key questions: Why is the assessment of students' capabilities the core business of universities? What are the main sources of student frustration with assessment arrangements? What do students do when they think they have been treated unfairly? What can be done to promote fair assessment at university? In doing so, this book goes beyond the superficial consideration of university assessment as a 'necessary requirement' by unravelling the underlying issues that really count - what is considered fair assessment and what is not. Towards Fairer University Assessment will be of interest to higher education academics, administrators and managers, researchers in the areas of education policy and politics, as well as advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.

After all the hours of studying, reading and preparation, the nights spent revising and the writing and re-writing of assignments, 'success' for university students can often be represented with a single grade or digit, summing up a wide range of activities. The authors of this timely book ask how fair that assessment is. This book is about a long-ignored determinant of student satisfaction, concerning the perception of how fairly students are judged, marked, ranked and rewarded for demonstrating their capabilities at university. In the high stakes competitive field of higher education, students are increasingly positioned as customers whose views on their university experience are considered vitally important. Yet paradoxically, little research has been undertaken to find out more about how students decide whether they have been treated fairly and what they do about it. This book fills a major gap in our understanding of these issues, responding to four key questions: Why is the assessment of students' capabilities the core business of universities? What are the main sources of student frustration with assessment arrangements? What do students do when they think they have been treated unfairly? What can be done to promote fair assessment at university? In doing so, this book goes beyond the superficial consideration of university assessment as a 'necessary requirement' by unravelling the underlying issues that really count - what is considered fair assessment and what is not. Towards Fairer University Assessment will be of interest to higher education academics, administrators and managers, researchers in the areas of education policy and politics, as well as advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.