Linking and Aligning Scores and Scales

ISBN-13: 9781441923875 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 396 str.

Neil J. Dorans; Mary Pommerich; Paul W. Holland

Opis

In their preface to the second edition of Test Equating, Scaling, and Linking, Mike Kolen and Bob Brennan (2004) made the following observation: "Prior to 1980, the subject of equating was ignored by most people in the measurement community except for psychometricians, who had responsibility for equating" (p. vii). The authors went on to say that considerably more attention is now paid to equating, indeed to all forms of linkages between tests, and that this increased attention can be attributed to several factors: 1. An increase in the number and variety of testing programs that use multiple forms and the recognition among professionals that these multiple forms need to be linked. 2. Test developers and publishers, in response to critics, often refer to the role of linking in reporting scores. 3. The accountability movement and fairness issues related to assessment have become much more visible. Those of us who work in this field know that ensuring comparability of scores is not an easy thing to do. Nonetheless, our customers--the te- takers and score users--either assume that scores on different forms of an assessment can be used interchangeably or, like the critics above, ask us to justify our comparability assumptions. And they are right to do this. After all, the test scores that we provide have an impact on decisions that affect people's choices and their future plans. From an ethical point of view, we are obligated to get it right.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"Linking and Aligning Scores and Scales is about-making scores from revised tests, different tests, and evolving tests as similar as possible. ... Overall, this is an impressive and important volume. ... It is essential for those who work in the area of educational testing and should be read by those who produce and publish psychological tests. It would be wonderful if members of the media and state superintendents of schools would read it." (Jay C. Thomas, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 52 (52), 2007)

"This edited volume gathers some of the finest thinking on the complex topic of score linking. The contributing authors are among the best in the field of psychometrics, and the papers are well written and easy to read. ... Therefore, it offers a great deal of knowledge, insight, and wisdom to researchers and practitioners ... . this is an excellent book and well worth the read for advanced graduate students, researchers, and practitioners with an interest in the field of test score linking and equating." (Lisa A. Keller, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 103 (484), December, 2008)

"The authors discuss different kinds of linking scenarios in a systematic way. Each topic is addressed by practitioners who have had years of experience in dealing with the practical issues presented in the book. ... This book would serve as a nice textbook for students interested in psychometrics and is a handy reference book for practitioners. I highly recommend anybody who is interested in linking to read the book and keep it as a reference." (Qing Yi, Psychometrika, Vol. 74 (1), March, 2009)

Dorans, N.J., Pommerich, M., & Holland, P.W. (2007). Linking and Aligning Scores and Scales.

" ...I recommend the book to anyone who is involved, even remotely, in test development and design. ...I had the good fortune of attending most of the conference on which this book is based. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air, and rightly so since some of the most prominent psychometricians were in attendance, summarizing and exchanging views about what was one of the shining accomplishments of psychometrics in the 20th century, namely the development of equating methodology. At the same time, there was a discussion about the immediate challenges raised by current educational tests of the 21st century. The editors and the authors deserve credit for transferring that sense of excitement to the book, a rare accomplishment for edited technical books. The book is a must-read for practicing and academic psychometricians." (Journal of Educational Measurement , Summer 2010, Vol. 47, No 2, pp. 255-260)

Spis treści

Overview.- Overview.- Foundations.- A Framework and History for Score Linking.- Data Collection Designs and Linking Procedures.- Equating.- Equating: Best Practices and Challenges to Best Practices.- Practical Problems in Equating Test Scores: A Practitioner’s Perspective.- Potential Solutions to Practical Equating Issues.- Tests in Transition.- Score Linking Issues Related to Test Content Changes.- Linking Scores Derived Under Different Modes of Test Administration.- Tests in Transition: Discussion and Synthesis.- Concordance.- Sizing Up Linkages.- Concordance: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.- Some Further Thoughts on Concordance.- Vertical Scaling.- Practical Issues in Vertical Scaling.- Methods and Models for Vertical Scaling.- Vertical Scaling and No Child Left Behind.- Assessments Linking Group Assessments to Individual.- Linking Assessments Based on Aggregate Reporting: Background and Issues.- An Enhanced Method for Mapping State Standards onto the NAEP Scale.- Using Aggregate-Level Linkages for Estimation and Validation: Comments on Thissen and Braun & Qian.- Postscript.

O autorze

The comparability of measurements made in differing circumstances by different methods and investigators is a fundamental pre-condition for all of science. Successful applications of technology require comparable measurements. While the applications here focus on educational tests, score linking issues are directly applicable to medicine and many branches of behavioral science. In this book, experts in statistics and psychometrics describe classes of linkages, the history of score linkings, data collection designs, and methods used to achieve sound score linkages. They describe and critically discuss applications to a variety of domains. They define what linking is, to distinguish among the varieties of linking and to describe different procedure for linking. Furthermore, they convey the complexity and diversity of linking by covering different areas of linking and providing diverse perspectives.

Blurb

The comparability of measurements made in differing circumstances by different methods and investigators is a fundamental pre-condition for all of science. Successful applications of technology require comparable measurements. While the applications herefocus on educational tests, score linking issues are directly applicable to medicine and many branches of behavioral science.

Since the 1980s, the fields of educational and psychological measurement have enhanced and widely applied techniques for producing linked scores that are comparable. The interpretation attached to a linkage depends on how the conditions of the linkage differ from the ideal. In this book, experts in statistics and psychometrics describe classes of linkages, the history of score linkings, data collection designs, and methods used to achieve sound score linkages. They describe and critically discuss applications to a variety of domains including equating of achievement exams, linkages between computer-delivered exams and paper-and-pencil exams, concordances between the current version of the SAT® and its predecessor, concordances between the ACT® and the SAT®, vertical linkages of exams that span grade levels, and linkages of scales from high-stakes state assessments to the scales of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Dr. Neil J. Dorans is a Distinguished Presidential Appointee at Educational Testing Service. During his 27 years at ETS, he has had primary responsibility for the statistical work associated with the AP®, PSAT/NMSQT®, and SAT® exams. He was the architect for the recentered SAT scales. He has guest edited special issues on score linking for Applied Measurement in Education, Applied Psychological Measurement, and the Journal of Educational Measurement.

Dr. Mary Pommerich is a psychometrician in the Personnel Testing Division of the Defense Manpower Data Center, where she works with the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) testing program. She guest edited a special issue on concordance for Applied Psychological Measurement. Her research is typically generated by practical testing problems and has focused on a wide variety of issues, including linking and concordance.

Dr. Paul W. Holland is the Frederic M. Lord Chair in Measurement and Statistics at Educational Testing Service and before that professor in the School of Education and the department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include Discrete Multivariate Analysis, Differential Item Functioning, Perspectives on Social Network Research , and two books on test score equating. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute for Mathematical Statistics, was designated a National Associate of the National Academies, was awarded for his career contributions by the National Council on Measurement in Education, and was elected to the National Academy of Education.