{"title":"Gauging Uncertainty in Test-to-Curriculum Alignment Indices","authors":"A. Traynor, Tingxuan Li, Shuqi Zhou","doi":"10.1080/08957347.2020.1732387","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT During the development of large-scale school achievement tests, panels of independent subject-matter experts use systematic judgmental methods to rate the correspondence between a given test’s items and performance objective statements. The individual experts’ ratings may then be used to compute summary indices to quantify the match between a given test and its target item domain. The magnitude of alignment index variability across experts within a panel, and randomly-sampled panels, is largely unknown, however. Using rater-by-item data from alignment reviews of 14 US states’ achievement tests, we examine observed distributions and estimate standard errors for three alignment indices developed by Webb. Our results suggest that alignment decisions based on the recommended criterion for the balance-of-representation index may often be uncertain, and that the criterion for the depth-of-knowledge consistency index should perhaps be reconsidered. We also examine current recommendations about the number of expert panelists required to compute these alignment indices.","PeriodicalId":51609,"journal":{"name":"Applied Measurement in Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2020-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/08957347.2020.1732387","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Measurement in Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2020.1732387","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
ABSTRACT During the development of large-scale school achievement tests, panels of independent subject-matter experts use systematic judgmental methods to rate the correspondence between a given test’s items and performance objective statements. The individual experts’ ratings may then be used to compute summary indices to quantify the match between a given test and its target item domain. The magnitude of alignment index variability across experts within a panel, and randomly-sampled panels, is largely unknown, however. Using rater-by-item data from alignment reviews of 14 US states’ achievement tests, we examine observed distributions and estimate standard errors for three alignment indices developed by Webb. Our results suggest that alignment decisions based on the recommended criterion for the balance-of-representation index may often be uncertain, and that the criterion for the depth-of-knowledge consistency index should perhaps be reconsidered. We also examine current recommendations about the number of expert panelists required to compute these alignment indices.
期刊介绍:
Because interaction between the domains of research and application is critical to the evaluation and improvement of new educational measurement practices, Applied Measurement in Education" prime objective is to improve communication between academicians and practitioners. To help bridge the gap between theory and practice, articles in this journal describe original research studies, innovative strategies for solving educational measurement problems, and integrative reviews of current approaches to contemporary measurement issues. Peer Review Policy: All review papers in this journal have undergone editorial screening and peer review.