Setting standards of performance is a ubiquitous task in education licensure, certification, and credentialling. It is found in elementary schooling, the professions, commercial applications, and governmental and private organizations. It is one of the most complex, controversial, and vexing issues facing specialists and policy makers today. This second edition solidifies Setting Performance Standards as the only book providing a comprehensive profile of both the issues and the "how-to" methods that define this thorny field. Four chapters have been removed; 11 chapters have been added; 2 chapters have major revisions; and all chapters have been updated. Comprehensive - Part I provides a conceptual overview of standard setting and its overarching issues; Part II provides practical (how-to) information on the newest standard setting methods; Part III provides information and advice on persistent and potential challenges in standard setting. Practical - Part II (the heart of the book) reviews 16 of the newest standard setting methods, far more than any other book. Expertise - Most of the well-known authors from the 1st edition return, with authors of equal stature contributing new chapters.

In an era of high-stakes testing and accountability, improving exam results is at the top of most teachers' to-do lists. Test anxiety is prompted by situations in which people feel they are being personally evaluated, resulting in cognitive and physical responses. Cizek and Burg use their considerable experience as assessment experts and former classroom teachers to help teachers both understand what test anxiety is and how they can help their students overcome it. The use of high-stakes testing has increased throughout the country, and testing results are often linked to consequences for the school, the teacher, and the student. With the growing prevalence in high-stakes tests, the level of test anxiety in both students and teachers has increased as well. If educators do not address test anxiety, it can have devastating effects on their students' test scores, confidence, and motivation to learn. In addition, test anxiety affects test results and the validity of tests. As a result, instructional decisions, promotion or graduation decisions, may be faulty because of test anxiety. This practical guidebook contains: - A glossary of assessment and measurement terms - Suggestions for teachers, administrators, school systems, parents, and students on how to control test anxiety - Situations where test anxiety can be helpful - Current research findings on how widespread test anxiety is and which students it is most likely to affect The authors include practical interventions that address students' behavioural and cognitive needs. They also include practical strategies such as study skills and test-staking skills that can help reduce the effects of test anxiety.

"Standard Setting: A Guide to Establishing and Evaluating Performance Standards on Tests is a well-timed text, given the legislated requirement of performance standards in our K-12 educational system, as well as the continued need in the process of credentialing professionals. This book would be useful to individuals retained to produce or coordinate standard-setting activites." -PSYCCRITIQUES In Standard Setting: A Guide to Establishing and Evaluating Performance Standards on Tests, authors Gregory J. Cizek and Michael B. Bunch provide the only "go-to" reference on how to set standards on tests in education, licensure, and certification. This book is comprehensive in scope, practical in nature, and definitive in terms of cataloguing the essential conceptual and procedural fundamentals of setting performance standards. Key Features: Offers a detailed description of procedures: In a practical, straightforward, and virtually jargon-free style, this book begins with important foundational and conceptual information about standard setting followed by step-by-step procedures for all currently used methods, including Angoff, Item Mapping, Analystic Judgment, etc. In addition, a full chapter is devoted to future issues and research in standard setting. Enables readers to design, implement, and evaluate a standard setting study: Using this book, readers will be able to: select an appropriate standard setting method; schedule and plan implementation; identify and train qualified standard-setting participants; conduct the standard setting meeting; calculate one or more cut scores; and evaluate the success of the procedure they have implemented. Allows readers to adapt written materials to their situation: Examples are provided in widely available formats such as Excel, SPSS, .pdf and Word files so readers do not have to purchase specialized software or learn to use unfamiliar packages. The book includes downloadable forms, sample correspondence, checklists, data sets, and analytical software for performing calculations required for various standard setting procedures. Intended Audience: This is an excellent supplementary textbook for graduate courses such as Applied Measurement in Education; Psychometric Theory; Advanced Educational Measurement; Special Topics in Measurement and Evaluation; Seminar in Educational and Psychological Measurement in the departments of Educational Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation, Psychology, and others.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at the problem of cheating on assessments (tests) across all levels of the American educational system. It is organized around seven major objectives that identify this problem by:
1. introducing and defining the problem of cheating and documenting the extent of its occurrence;
2. cataloging and presenting information on the methods used to cheat on tests;
3. providing information on methods useful for preventing cheating;
4. describing methods used to detect cheating once it has occurred;
5. synthesizing what is known about predispositions, correlates, and cultural differences in cheating;
6. summarizing legal issues related to cheating; and
7. illustrating ways in which individuals and institutions respond to cheating.
"Cheating on Tests" is informally written using a minimum of professional jargon and numerous anecdotes and cases. Technical information is largely confined to end-of-book appendices. It will appeal to all serious stakeholders in our educational system from parents and school board members to professionals directly connected to our schools and the testing industry.

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at the problem of cheating on assessments (tests) across all levels of the American educational system. It is organized around seven major objectives that identify this problem by:
1. introducing and defining the problem of cheating and documenting the extent of its occurrence;
2. cataloging and presenting information on the methods used to cheat on tests;
3. providing information on methods useful for preventing cheating;
4. describing methods used to detect cheating once it has occurred;
5. synthesizing what is known about predispositions, correlates, and cultural differences in cheating;
6. summarizing legal issues related to cheating; and
7. illustrating ways in which individuals and institutions respond to cheating.
"Cheating on Tests" is informally written using a minimum of professional jargon and numerous anecdotes and cases. Technical information is largely confined to end-of-book appendices. It will appeal to all serious stakeholders in our educational system from parents and school board members to professionals directly connected to our schools and the testing industry.

The rising reliance on testing in American education and for licensure and certification has been accompanied by an escalation in cheating on tests at all levels. Edited by two of the foremost experts on the subject, the Handbook of Quantitative Methods for Detecting Cheating on Tests offers a comprehensive compendium of increasingly sophisticated data forensics used to investigate whether or not cheating has occurred. Written for practitioners, testing professionals, and scholars in testing, measurement, and assessment, this volume builds on the claim that statistical evidence often requires less of an inferential leap to conclude that cheating has taken place than do other, more common sources of evidence. This handbook is organized into sections that roughly correspond to the kinds of threats to fair testing represented by different forms of cheating. In Section I, the editors outline the fundamentals and significance of cheating, and they introduce the common datasets to which chapter authors' cheating detection methods were applied. Contributors describe, in Section II, methods for identifying cheating in terms of improbable similarity in test responses, preknowledge and compromised test content, and test tampering. Chapters in Section III concentrate on policy and practical implications of using quantitative detection methods. Synthesis across methodological chapters as well as an overall summary, conclusions, and next steps for the field are the key aspects of the final section.

Formative assessment has recently become a focus of renewed research as state and federal policy-makers realize that summative assessments have reached a point of diminishing returns as a tool for increasing student achievement. Consequently, supporters of large-scale testing programs are now beginning to consider the potential of formative assessments to improve student achievement. The mission of this handbook is to comprehensively profile this burgeoning field of study. Written by leading international scholars and practitioners, each chapter includes a discussion of key issues that dominate formative assessment policy and practice today, as well as those that are likely to affect research and practice in the coming years.

Key features include:

• Comprehensive nineteen chapters cover all aspects of formative assessment including classroom assessment, large-scale applications, technological applications, applications for special needs students, K-12 and post-secondary applications, psychometric considerations, case studies, and discussion of alternative assessment formats such as portfolios and performance assessments.

• Integrative thoughtful attention is given to the integration of large-scale and classroom assessments.

• Practical provides practical guidance on how to conduct formative assessments that generate credible information to guide instruction.

• Global provides perspectives from leading international scholars and practitioners whose expertise spans diverse settings, student populations, and educational systems.

• Accessible Style although grounded in the latest research, the book 's style and tone has been carefully crafted to make it accessible to both the textbook and professional markets. It will also be a critical reference book for researchers in teacher preparation, educational administration, and educational policy studies.

Validity is a clear, substantive introduction to the two most fundamental aspects of defensible testing practice: understanding test score meaning and justifying test score use. Driven by evidence-based and consensus-grounded measurement theory, principles, and terminology, this book addresses the most common questions of applied validation, the quality of test information, and the usefulness of test results. Concise yet comprehensive, this volume's integrated framework is ideal for graduate courses on assessment, testing, psychometrics, and research methods as well as for credentialing organizations, licensure and certification entities, education agencies, and test publishers.

Setting standards of performance is a ubiquitous task in education licensure, certification, and credentialling. It is found in elementary schooling, the professions, commercial applications, and governmental and private organizations. It is one of the most complex, controversial, and vexing issues facing specialists and policy makers today. This second edition solidifies Setting Performance Standards as the only book providing a comprehensive profile of both the issues and the "how-to" methods that define this thorny field. Four chapters have been removed; 11 chapters have been added; 2 chapters have major revisions; and all chapters have been updated.

Comprehensive Part I provides a conceptual overview of standard setting and its overarching issues; Part II provides practical (how-to) information on the newest standard setting methods; Part III provides information and advice on persistent and potential challenges in standard setting.

Practical Part II (the heart of the book) reviews 16 of the newest standard setting methods, far more than any other book.

Expertise Most of the well-known authors from the 1st edition return, with authors of equal stature contributing new chapters.

The Handbook of Formative Assessment in the Disciplines meaningfully addresses current developments in the field, offering a unique and timely focus on domain dependency. Building from an updated definition of formative assessment, the book covers the integration of measurement principles into practice; the operationalization of formative assessment within specific domains, beyond generic strategies; evolving research directions including student involvement and self-regulation; and new approaches to the challenges of incorporating formative assessment training into pre-service and in-service educator training. As supporters of large-scale testing programs increasingly consider the potential of formative assessments to improve teaching and learning, this handbook advances the subject through novel frameworks, intersections of theory, research, and practice, and attention to discernible disciplines. Written for instructors, graduate students, researchers, and policymakers, each chapter provides expert perspectives on the procedures and evaluations that enable teachers to adapt teaching and learning in-process toward student achievement.

The rising reliance on testing in American education and for licensure and certification has been accompanied by an escalation in cheating on tests at all levels. Edited by two of the foremost experts on the subject, the Handbook of Quantitative Methods for Detecting Cheating on Tests offers a comprehensive compendium of increasingly sophisticated data forensics used to investigate whether or not cheating has occurred. Written for practitioners, testing professionals, and scholars in testing, measurement, and assessment, this volume builds on the claim that statistical evidence often requires less of an inferential leap to conclude that cheating has taken place than do other, more common sources of evidence. This handbook is organized into sections that roughly correspond to the kinds of threats to fair testing represented by different forms of cheating. In Section I, the editors outline the fundamentals and significance of cheating, and they introduce the common datasets to which chapter authors' cheating detection methods were applied. Contributors describe, in Section II, methods for identifying cheating in terms of improbable similarity in test responses, preknowledge and compromised test content, and test tampering. Chapters in Section III concentrate on policy and practical implications of using quantitative detection methods. Synthesis across methodological chapters as well as an overall summary, conclusions, and next steps for the field are the key aspects of the final section.

"Standard Setting: A Guide to Establishing and Evaluating Performance Standards on Tests is a well-timed text, given the legislated requirement of performance standards in our K-12 educational system, as well as the continued need in the process of credentialing professionals. This book would be useful to individuals retained to produce or coordinate standard-setting activites." -PSYCCRITIQUES In Standard Setting: A Guide to Establishing and Evaluating Performance Standards on Tests, authors Gregory J. Cizek and Michael B. Bunch provide the only "go-to" reference on how to set standards on tests in education, licensure, and certification. This book is comprehensive in scope, practical in nature, and definitive in terms of cataloguing the essential conceptual and procedural fundamentals of setting performance standards. Key Features: Offers a detailed description of procedures: In a practical, straightforward, and virtually jargon-free style, this book begins with important foundational and conceptual information about standard setting followed by step-by-step procedures for all currently used methods, including Angoff, Item Mapping, Analystic Judgment, etc. In addition, a full chapter is devoted to future issues and research in standard setting. Enables readers to design, implement, and evaluate a standard setting study: Using this book, readers will be able to: select an appropriate standard setting method; schedule and plan implementation; identify and train qualified standard-setting participants; conduct the standard setting meeting; calculate one or more cut scores; and evaluate the success of the procedure they have implemented. Allows readers to adapt written materials to their situation: Examples are provided in widely available formats such as Excel, SPSS, .pdf and Word files so readers do not have to purchase specialized software or learn to use unfamiliar packages. The book includes downloadable forms, sample correspondence, checklists, data sets, and analytical software for performing calculations required for various standard setting procedures. Intended Audience: This is an excellent supplementary textbook for graduate courses such as Applied Measurement in Education; Psychometric Theory; Advanced Educational Measurement; Special Topics in Measurement and Evaluation; Seminar in Educational and Psychological Measurement in the departments of Educational Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation, Psychology, and others.

In an era of high-stakes testing and accountability, improving exam results is at the top of most teachers' to-do lists. Test anxiety is prompted by situations in which people feel they are being personally evaluated, resulting in cognitive and physical responses. Cizek and Burg use their considerable experience as assessment experts and former classroom teachers to help teachers both understand what test anxiety is and how they can help their students overcome it. The use of high-stakes testing has increased throughout the country, and testing results are often linked to consequences for the school, the teacher, and the student. With the growing prevalence in high-stakes tests, the level of test anxiety in both students and teachers has increased as well. If educators do not address test anxiety, it can have devastating effects on their students' test scores, confidence, and motivation to learn. In addition, test anxiety affects test results and the validity of tests. As a result, instructional decisions, promotion or graduation decisions, may be faulty because of test anxiety. This practical guidebook contains: - A glossary of assessment and measurement terms - Suggestions for teachers, administrators, school systems, parents, and students on how to control test anxiety - Situations where test anxiety can be helpful - Current research findings on how widespread test anxiety is and which students it is most likely to affect The authors include practical interventions that address students' behavioural and cognitive needs. They also include practical strategies such as study skills and test-staking skills that can help reduce the effects of test anxiety.

No-nonsense, practical advice for identifying and deterring cheating!

Who cheats and why? How do they cheat? What are the consequences? What are the ways of stopping it before it starts? These critical questions and more are comprehensively answered by esteemed researcher Gregory J. Cizek in this user-friendly, authoritative guide. By offering invaluable insight and straightforward strategies on how to deal with, detect, and discourage cheating, this practical resource will help you achieve more accurate assessments, which are so important in the current accountability-driven educational climate.

Detecting and Preventing Classroom Cheating is a one-stop resource for everything educators need to know about this ever-present detriment to learning and assessment?from what constitutes cheating, to future steps on how it can be eradicated.

Highlights of the book include:

• High-tech sources that aid students in cheating and plagiarizing, or aid educators in combating the problem
• Sample forms, school policies, and honor codes
• Characteristics of students and classrooms associated with cheating
• Simple classroom changes that can prevent cheating
• Specific techniques for responding to cheating
• Questions for Further Discussion in each chapter

K-12 teachers, principals, school board members, and policy makers alike will benefit from the practical suggestions and no-nonsense approach offered in this definitive source on cheating.

Formative assessment has recently become a focus of renewed research as state and federal policy-makers realize that summative assessments have reached a point of diminishing returns as a tool for increasing student achievement. Consequently, supporters of large-scale testing programs are now beginning to consider the potential of formative assessments to improve student achievement. The mission of this handbook is to comprehensively profile this burgeoning field of study. Written by leading international scholars and practitioners, each chapter includes a discussion of key issues that dominate formative assessment policy and practice today, as well as those that are likely to affect research and practice in the coming years.

Key features include:

• Comprehensive ? nineteen chapters cover all aspects of formative assessment including classroom assessment, large-scale applications, technological applications, applications for special needs students, K-12 and post-secondary applications, psychometric considerations, case studies, and discussion of alternative assessment formats such as portfolios and performance assessments.

• Integrative ? thoughtful attention is given to the integration of large-scale and classroom assessments.

• Practical ? provides practical guidance on how to conduct formative assessments that generate credible information to guide instruction.

• Global ? provides perspectives from leading international scholars and practitioners whose expertise spans diverse settings, student populations, and educational systems.

• Accessible Style ? although grounded in the latest research, the book's style and tone has been carefully crafted to make it accessible to both the textbook and professional markets. It will also be a critical reference book for researchers in teacher preparation, educational administration, and educational policy studies.