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Approaches to Evaluating Item Quality

Sat, April 13, 3:05 to 4:35pm, Convention Center, Floor: First, 121B

Session Type: Coordinated Paper Session

Abstract

The old aphorism, “If you want to know what a test measures, look at the items,” rings true because it is impossible to have a high-quality test without high-quality items. This session presents the results of three efforts to examine item quality. The first presentation discusses a project designed to assess item quality outside the standard content and bias reviews typically conducted by vendors. The evaluation criteria, which are publicly available, can be applied to a broad array of assessment types and designs including state summative, interim, and curriculum-embedded assessments. The second presentation describes a tool and process designed to support an independent evaluation of commercial interim assessments. The process includes the review of operational test items by teams of educators against a detailed set of item quality expectations. Finally, we discuss a protocol developed to help districts make informed assessment procurement decisions. In this case, item quality is evaluated through the review of vendor documentation supporting claims of item quality and appropriateness. In sharing these efforts, we hope to motivate more extensive discussions about the quality of items we offer to students to support inferences about student learning.

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