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Evaluation of the Voluntary National Tests Phase 1 (1999) / Chapter Skim
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1 The Proposed Voluntary National Tests and Their Evaluation
Pages 5-11

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From page 5...
... . A new study from the National Research Council (1999c)
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From page 6...
... A new National Research Council report (1999b:Ch.12) concludes: "The VNT should not be used for decisions about the tracking, promotion, or graduation of individual students." The VNT plan also does not preclude the possibility
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From page 7...
... whether the test development process anc3 test items adequately assess student reacling anc3
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From page 8...
... have faced a Jaunting anc3 compressed schedule for test design anc3 development, anc3 we have been able to observe only a part of the item development process (anc3 not its final proclucts)
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From page 9...
... The workshop enabled us and the NRC staff to review and assess the previously developed test specifications in relation to the NAEP mathematics and reading frameworks. The workshop also reviewed issues in test equating and linkage that would be relevant to the evaluation of linkages of the VNT in reading and mathematics with corresponding NAEP instruments, as well as to the mission of the Committee on Equivalency and Linkage of Educational Tests (see National Research Council, 1999c)
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From page 10...
... REPORT OVERVIEW AND THEMES ideally, if the test development process were fully informed by the ciesirec3 properties of the tests anc3 of test results anc3 if there were no other time or resource constraints, one would expect a process whose steps were geared precisely to stanciarcis for the targeted outcomes. For example, VNT results are to be reported primarily in terms of NAEP achievement levels, so those levels should inform the specification anc3 development of the item pool.
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From page 11...
... When the goals anc3 products of the program are more clearly ciefinec3 anc3 the several partners of the development consortium gain experience in working together, the test development process will probably become better aligned to the program's planned outcomes. Since item development for the VNT is still at an early stage, part of our review focused on plans for future activities, including: (~)
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Key Terms

  • test items
  • item development
  • test specifications
  • test forms
  • pilot test

  • field test
  • achievement levels
  • item pool
  • developed test
  • national assessment

  • individual students
  • field testing
  • compressed schedule
  • test plans
  • student performance

  • vnt development
  • pilot testing
  • draft test
  • item review
  • gender bias

  • educational progress
  • final products
  • empirical data
  • work plan
  • naep achievement

  • common scale
  • prime contractor
  • english proficiency
  • test administration
  • development work


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