Validating a K–12 Teacher Professional Learning Evaluation Measure: A Study Using Modern Psychometric Methods

• In Event: Measurement, Implementation, and Evaluation Across the K–12 Educator Pipeline

Abstract

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is committed to providing support for teachers’ Professional Learning (PL) in order to enhance learning experiences of military-connected students. Given the critical implication of such PL, it is important to evaluate if teachers acquired the intended knowledge and skills, which should be administered with rigorous tools. Demands towards accountability put an increasing emphasis to use reliable, valid measures of evaluation. Results from IRT and Factor Analysis confirm that DoDEA’s PL evaluation measure has strong psychometric qualities, evidenced by item statistics, dimensionality, reliability, and validity. Test Information analysis informs that reducing the evaluation measure into a short format will not lead to loss of substantive information.

Authors

• Sira Park, U.S. Department of Defense

• Shanea Ruh, Department of Defense Education Activity