Informing in the Information Age: How to Communicate Measurement Concepts to Education Policy Makers

Current educational policies rely on educational assessments. However, the technical aspects of assessments are often unknown to policy makers, which is dangerous because sound assessment policy requires knowledge of the strengths and limitations of educational tests. In this article, we discuss the importance of informing policy makers of important psychometric issues that should be considered whenever tests are proposed for specific purposes. We discuss the types of information that are important to communicate to policy makers, how to best convey this information in a manner in which it can be understood, and how to be seen as a valuable source of information to education policy makers. We end with some specific steps organizations such as NCME can take to inform policy makers and advocate for valid educational assessment policies.     

Validity Issues in Test Speededness

Speededness refers to the situation where the time limits on a standardized test do not allow substantial numbers of examinees to fully consider all test items. When tests are not intended to measure speed of responding, speededness introduces a severe threat to the validity of interpretations based on test scores. In this article, we describe test speededness, its potential threats to validity, and traditional and modern methods that can be used to assess the presence of speededness. We argue that more attention must be paid to this issue and that more research must be done to set appropriate time limits on power tests so that speed of responding does not interfere with the construct measured.     

Validity of High‐Stakes Assessment: Are Students Engaged in Complex Thinking?

The validity of high-stakes assessments and accountability systems is discussed in relation to the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The extent to which content standards and assessments are cognitively rich, the challenges in setting performance standards, and the impact of high-stakes assessments on instruction and student learning are addressed. The article argues for quality content standards, cognitively rich assessments, and a cohesive, balanced assessment system.     

选择性注意与运动绩效的关系

就选择性注意的概念、选择性注意与运动绩效的关系等心理学方面的问题进行了分析和探讨。     

知识产权公益诉讼制度探析

随着自主创新的深入发展,知识产权公益诉讼案件在我国日益增多,我国没有相关法律制度给予充分救济。要适应知识产权保护全球化发展的要求,以及维护创新主体的合法权益,应当在充分研究国外相关理论与制度基础上,根据我国实际及司法改革动向,构建适格原告制度,科学分配证明责任,确立诉讼激励机制,实行行政处理前置,培养复合型审判队伍,以概括式受案范围提供充分司法救济,形成符合我国实际的知识产权公益诉讼体制。     

Stories in networks and networks in stories: a tri-modal model for mixed-methods social network research on teachers

Social network research on teachers and schools has risen exponentially in recent years as an innovative method to reveal the role of social networks in education. However, scholars are still exploring ways to incorporate traditional quantitative methods of Social Network Analysis (SNA) with qualitative approaches to social network research. This article provides a mixed-methods model for researching teachers' social networks and an empirical example of the model in practice. The model incorporates a tri-modal coding approach that promotes data validity while uncovering network data that some SNA methods may overlook.     

Evaluations on TEM-4 Oral Test

TEM-4 Oral Test is designed for second-year English majors in China to measure their English speaking skill.In this article,the author first gave an introduction to the purpose,format and content,and scoring criteria and procedures of the TEM-4 Oral Test.Then she evaluated the test on the aspects of validity,reliability and backwash.Though the test is feasible at present,it still has some problems in implementation.In the second section,the author also gave some advice on the improvement of the test.     

Influence of sex and specialty on the prediction of middle-distance running performances using the Mercier et al.’s nomogram

The aim was to test the influence of sex and specialty (3000, 5000 and 10000 m) on the validity of middle-distance running performance predictions obtained from the Mercier et al.’s nomogram. Consequently, we examined all official French track running rankings for the 3000-, 5000- and 10000-m events (men and women) from 2006 to 2012. A scoring table was used to determine the runners’ specialties. Only runners who performed in the three distance events within the same year were included (75 women and 400 men). The Mercier et al.’s nomogram was used to predict one running performance from the other two. The results showed no significant difference between actual and predicted running performances (P = 0.77). Female runners had significantly lower performances than male runners (P < 0.001). Specialty did not influence performances (P = 0.11). Very high correlations were found between actual and predicted performances (0.91 < r < 0.99), with the exception of women (r = 0.85) in 5000 m. Moreover, low limits of agreement were obtained for male and female runners, whatever the specialty. These results support the validity of the nomogram to predict running performance in the 3000-, 5000- and 10000-m events for male and female runners, whatever the specialty. The predicted running performances may be used in training programmes (e.g., to prescribe tempo runs) and competitions (e.g., to establish split times).     

高校教师运动友谊质量量表研究

采用文献资料法、问卷调查法、访谈法和数理统计等方法,以高校教师为调查对象,采用主成分分析对《运动友谊质量量表》进行修订.结果表明,高校教师运动友谊质量特征与儿童青少年的运动友谊质量特征略有不同,高校教师运动友谊质量共26个条目,分为5个纬度,包括运动愉悦与问题解决、支持与帮助、共同理念、忠诚与亲密、自尊.     

民办高校思想政治教育信任机制研究

本文从当前民办高校思想政治教育有效性的现实困境入手,探讨民办高校思想政治教育信任机制存在的问题以及信任机制在民办高校思想政治教育的功能,并以此构建民办高校思想政治教育场域内的信任机制。实践中只有不断优化思想政治教育信任机制的环境,才能最终增强民办高校思想政治教育的有效性。