Policy and Validity Prospects for Performance-Based Assessment

High interest in performance-based assessment of educational achievement is indicated by recent conferences, special journal issues, and national television coverage. The president's and governors' educational goals reflect the central role of assessment in reform. A prominent view is that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American psychologist 1993-12, Vol.48 (12), p.1210-1218
Main Authors: Baker, Eva L, O'Neil, Harold F, Linn, Robert L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Children
Education
Education policy
Education reform
Educational evaluation
Educational Measures
Evaluation
Human
Performance measurement
Policy Making
Validity
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Summary:High interest in performance-based assessment of educational achievement is indicated by recent conferences, special journal issues, and national television coverage. The president's and governors' educational goals reflect the central role of assessment in reform. A prominent view is that changes in assessment, using more complex, meaningful, and integrative performance tasks, will improve education. New assessments present challenges to the curriculum, teaching practices, and presentation of student achievement information to policymakers and to the public. Sufficient high-quality assessments must be available before their impact on educational reform can be assessed. Although interest in performance-based assessment is high, our knowledge about its quality is low. Moreover, few psychometric templates exist to guide the technical practices of assessment developers.
ISSN:0003-066X
1935-990X
DOI:10.1037/0003-066X.48.12.1210