scholarly journals On the Speed Sensitivity Parameter in the Lognormal Model for Response Times and Implications for High-Stakes Measurement Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 014662162110085
Author(s):  
Benjamin Becker ◽  
Dries Debeer ◽  
Sebastian Weirich ◽  
Frank Goldhammer
Keyword(s):  
Response Times ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Extended Model ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Test Form ◽  
Lognormal Model ◽  
Ability Estimates ◽  
Sensitivity Parameter ◽  
The Impact

In high-stakes testing, often multiple test forms are used and a common time limit is enforced. Test fairness requires that ability estimates must not depend on the administration of a specific test form. Such a requirement may be violated if speededness differs between test forms. The impact of not taking speed sensitivity into account on the comparability of test forms regarding speededness and ability estimation was investigated. The lognormal measurement model for response times by van der Linden was compared with its extension by Klein Entink, van der Linden, and Fox, which includes a speed sensitivity parameter. An empirical data example was used to show that the extended model can fit the data better than the model without speed sensitivity parameters. A simulation was conducted, which showed that test forms with different average speed sensitivity yielded substantial different ability estimates for slow test takers, especially for test takers with high ability. Therefore, the use of the extended lognormal model for response times is recommended for the calibration of item pools in high-stakes testing situations. Limitations to the proposed approach and further research questions are discussed.

scholarly journals The Impact of Performance Goals on Cheating Depends on How Performance is Evaluated

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Stefan Janke
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Performance Goals ◽  
Performance Tests ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Academic Cheating ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
Evaluation Standard ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

We investigated how evaluation standards employed in performance tests affect the impact of performance goals (here: focused on appearance) on academic cheating. Thereby, we assumed that appearance goals would only lead to increased cheating if students’ performance was presumably evaluated based on results rather than on strategies applied to solve the questions. 169 university students (68.6% female) participated in an experimental design with 2 (induced appearance goals versus no goal induction) x 2 (process-based versus result-based evaluation standards) between-subject conditions. We assessed cheating using a confederate student observing participants’ behaviors and by measuring whether participants reported that they solved unsolvable questions. Confirming our hypotheses, we found that students were only more likely to cheat when appearance goals were induced and the evaluation standard focused on the results. This new knowledge helps to explain mixed findings regarding how performance goals affect cheating and provides opportunities to reduce cheating in high-stakes testing situations.

scholarly journals How neoliberal globalization is shaping early childhood education policies in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amita Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Impact

In rapidly globalizing systems of schooling around the world, economic considerations have led to a push to impose neoliberal reforms in the field of education. Under this influence early childhood education and teacher education in Asia have increasingly become positioned as regulated markets governed by neoliberal policies, leading to peak activities in privatization, consumerism, standardization and high-stakes testing. This article, based on a series of qualitative inquiries, presents a review of recent early childhood policies in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The impact of the policies on pedagogy is discussed within the frameworks of neoliberal globalization and postcolonial theory, emphasizing the growing need to recognize the third space of pedagogical hybridity in classrooms that are becoming increasingly multicultural and global.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Rethinking the Connection Between High-Stakes Testing Policy and Classroom Instruction

2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
The Road ◽  
Collegial Interactions ◽  
Instructional Content ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Testing Policies

In this article, the author examines the link between high-stakes testing policies and classroom instruction. Using data from classroom observations and interviews with teachers, he argues that these policies influence instruction but are mediated by teachers and filtered through their collegial interactions. He shows that teachers link the influence of high-stakes testing policies to instructional content (the knowledge and skills that they emphasize) more often than pedagogy (how they engage students around instructional content). As a result, didactic instruction dominates, especially in predominantly low-income and African American schools, in a policy environment that encourages addressing racial and class achievement gaps by increasing the use of interactive forms of instruction. The author concludes that researchers should be cautious not to overstate the impact of these policies on pedagogy and educational equity.

The Impact of the MCAS: Teachers Talk about High-Stakes Testing

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Luna ◽  
Cara Livingstone Turner
Keyword(s):  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The impact of language and high-stakes testing policies on elementary school English language learners in Arizona.

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E. Wright ◽  
Daniel Choi
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Ell Students ◽  
Sheltered English Immersion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sheltered English

This article reports the results of a survey of third-grade teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona regarding school language and accountability policies—Proposition 203, which restricts bilingual education and mandates sheltered English Immersion; the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB); and Arizona LEARNS, the state’s high-stakes testing and accountability program. The instrument, consisting of 126 survey questions plus open-ended interview question, was designed to obtain teacher’s views, to ascertain the impact of these polices, and to explore their effectiveness in improving the education of ELL students. The survey was administered via telephone to 40 teacher participants from different urban, rural and reservation schools across the state. Each participant represents the elementary school in their respective school district which has the largest population of ELL students. Analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data reveal that these policies have mostly resulted in confusion in schools throughout the state over what is and is not allowed, and what constitutes quality instruction for ELLs, that there is little evidence that such policies have led to improvements in the education of ELL students, and that these policies may be causing more harm than good. Specifically, teachers report they have been given little to no guidance over what constitutes sheltered English immersion, and provide evidence that most ELL students in their schools are receiving mainstream sink-or-swim instruction. In terms of accountability, while the overwhelming majority of teachers support the general principle, they believe that high-stakes tests are inappropriate for ELLs and participants provided evidence that the focus on testing is leading to instruction practices for ELLs which fail to meet their unique linguistic and academic needs. The article concludes with suggestions for needed changes to improve the quality of education for ELLs in Arizona.

High-Stakes Testing, Standardization, and Inequality in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Au
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Racial Achievement

High-stakes standardized tests standardize which knowledge is assessed, and because consequences are tied to their results, they have the impact of standardizing classroom content, teaching, and learning. The result is that students whose cultural identities do not fit the standardized norms created by test-based must either adapt or are left out of the curriculum and the classroom. This happens in a few key ways. First, as schools face increased pressure to raise test scores, curriculum content that embraces the diversity of student history, culture, and experience gets pushed out. In turn, this standardization of content limits the diversity of teacher and student identities expressed in classroom pedagogical experiences. Finally, given the disparate racial achievement on high-stakes tests, students of color face more intense pressure to perform, while at the same time their educational experiences become increasingly restricted and less rich than those of affluent, whiter students. Additionally, even though educational research has consistently shown that high-stakes testing correlates most strongly with the socioeconomic backgrounds of students and their communities, policymakers and many educators presume that these tests are offer objective measurements of individual merit. This mistaken belief ulitmately serves to hide and justify existing inequalities in the United States under the notion of individual achievement. The overall result being that high-stakes, standardized tests reproduce educational inequalities associated with race and class in the United States.

scholarly journals The Impact of Performance Goals on Cheating Depends on How Performance Is Evaluated

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841989427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daumiller ◽  
Stefan Janke
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Performance Goals ◽  
Performance Tests ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Academic Cheating ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
Evaluation Standard ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

We investigated how evaluation standards employed in performance tests affect the impact of performance goals (here focused on appearance) on academic cheating. Thereby, we assumed that appearance goals would lead to increased cheating only if students’ performance was presumably evaluated based on results rather than on the strategies they applied to solve questions. A total of 169 university students (68.6% female) participated in an experimental design with 2 (induced appearance goals vs. no goal induction) × 2 (process-based vs. result-based evaluation standards) between-subject conditions. We assessed cheating using a confederate student observing the participants’ behaviors and by measuring whether participants reported that they solved unsolvable questions. Confirming our hypotheses, we found that students were more likely to cheat only when appearance goals were induced and the evaluation standard focused on the results. This new knowledge helps explain the mixed findings regarding how performance goals affect cheating and provides opportunities to reduce cheating in high-stakes testing situations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document