Adapting Educational Measurement to the Demands of Test-Based Accountability

Abstract

Accountability has become a primary function of large-scale testing in the United States. The pressure on educators to raise scores is vastly greater than it was several decades ago. Research has shown that high-stakes testing can generate behavioral responses that inflate scores, often severely. I argue that because of these responses, using tests for accountability necessitates major changes in the practices of educational measurement. The needed changes span the entire testing endeavor. This article addresses implications for design, linking, and validation. It offers suggestions about possible new approaches and calls for research evaluating them.

Keywords:

• assessment
• accountability
• validity
• linking
• design

Notes

¹ During the years in question, New York State released all of its test items after a single use. They can be retrieved from http://www.nysedregents.org/intermediate.html

² One reviewer asked for specific examples. I choose not to identify particular jurisdictions or individuals. However, I have personally experienced this in at least 3 states, in all cases being told explicitly that the reason was the risk of unwanted findings; the same happened to one of my students in a fourth state just last year.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305AII0420, to the president and fellows of Harvard College. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent views of the institute, the U.S. Department of Education, or their staffs.