Linking Assessments: Effects of Linking Method on Vertical Scale Projections and Resulting Interpretations

• In Event: Approaches to Scaling, Equating, and Linking

Abstract

College- and career-readiness is one of the Blueprint for Reform’s major goals for education reform. Also required is information that will enable teachers to improve learning, administrators to improve schools, and students to make sound decisions and plan for the future accordingly. In line with these efforts, this paper examines different methods of linking a large-scale achievement test and a college entrance exam. Given the major goals of the current reforms, it is imperative that interpretability, measurement error, and adequacy of assumptions be considered when selecting the linking method. In addition, this study posits a novel methodology of using a testing battery’s vertical scale during linking, which may prove to be a useful technique for other endeavors in educational measurement.

Authors

• Anthony D. Fina, University of Iowa

• Katherine Furgol Castellano, University of California - Berkeley

• Stephen B. Dunbar, University of Iowa