Developing Measurement Theory for Classroom Assessment Purposes and Uses

In many fields of inquiry, the need for new theoretical developments is often best seen in areas of strain, and strain is apparent in several areas in which the conventions of measurement theory do not quite "fit" classroom assessment. Three areas of strain are analyzed in order to suggest how theoretical development might focus directly on information quality in the classroom assessment context. This article describes the context dependence of classroom assessment, its inextricable relationship with instruction, and its simultaneous formative and summative functions. Thus a case is made for new theoretical developments in the area of measurement in the classroom.