Supporting the Interpretive Validity of Student-Level Claims in Science Assessment With Tiered Claim Structures

• In Event: Validity Evidence in Writing and Science Assessments

Abstract

We address two persistent validation challenges in large-scale assessments: a) how to construct an interpretive validity argument in a practical setting, and b) how to structure claims for assessments of large and/or complex domains. We illustrate the challenges, procedures, and solutions using the case of a state assessment of the Next Generation Science Standards. These standards pose the challenge of specifying claims about students that evidence from summative assessments can support, with current claims lacking empirical support. As a solution, we propose tiered claims, which explicitly distinguish between claims for which tests provide direct evidence and those that rely on generalization or extrapolation from observed performance. This claim structure has many positive implications for test construction and validation.

Authors

• Sanford Reid Student, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Brian Gong, Center for Assessment