Validity of Educational Assessments in Chile and Latin America


Book Description

This edited volume presents a systematic analysis of conceptual, methodological and applied aspects related to the validation of educational tests used in Latin American countries. Inspired by international standards on educational measurement and evaluation, this book illustrates efforts that have been made in several countries to validate different types of educational assessments, including student learning assessments, measurements of non-cognitive aspects in students, teacher evaluations, and tests for certification and selection. It gathers the experience of validity studies from the main international assessments in Latin America (PISA, TIMSS, ERCE, and ICCS). Additionally, it shows the challenges that must be taken into account when evaluations are used to compare countries, groups or trends of achievement over time. The book builds on the premise that measurements in the educational field should not be used if there are no studies that support the validity of the interpretation of their scores, or the use made of such tests. It shows that, despite the recognition given to validity, relatively few educational measurement assessments have accumulated enough evidence to support their interpretation and use. In doing so, this volume increases awareness about the relevance of validity, especially when assessments are key component of educational policies.




Educational Assessment in Latin America


Book Description

This collection presents educational assessment research from Latin America, adding to a relatively small but growing body of research considering educational assessment and evaluation issues in this large region. The predominance of Chile reflects its early highly centralized education system, and the fact that it adopted national testing before other Latin American countries. It was also an early participant in international assessment programmes. Other countries have followed the trend of implementing national testing, and to a lesser extent participating in international surveys. The complementary development of technical expertise in quantitative research methods has enabled extensive analysis of the large data sets generated by these testing and assessment programmes. Taken together, the evidence reported provides a means not only of reviewing educational quality issues in Latin America, but also of facilitating comparisons that allow the context specificity of equivalent research conducted in western developed countries to be considered. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice.




The Power of Assessment in the Classroom


Book Description

This textbook addresses the main assessment issues that teachers and educational institutions face in their daily work, while providing practical tools to support actions and decisions in this area. The critical issues observed in the assessment practices are made visible and specific guidelines and examples are given on how to carry out an effective and realistic classroom assessment within the school context. The book reveals evaluation elements that future and practicing teachers need to know about and can benefit from, such as the alignment between curriculum, teaching and assessment, flexibility in the construction of instruments according to their purpose, effective feedback, rubrics to evaluate performance and the use of specification tables to make pedagogical decisions (beyond the construction of the instruments itself). Translation from the Spanish language edition: El Poder de la Evaluación en el Aula. Mejores Decisiones para Promover Aprendizajes by Carla E. Förster Marín, © Ediciones UC 2018. Published by Ediciones UC. All Rights Reserved.




Writing


Book Description

This book captures the diversity and richness of writing as it relates to different forms of abilities, skills, competencies, and expertise. Psychologists, educators, researchers, and practitioners in neighboring areas are interested in exploring how writing develops and in what manner this development can be fostered, but they lack a handy, unified, and comprehensive source of information to satisfy their interest. The goal of this book is to fill this void by reflecting on the phenomenon of writing from a developmental perspective. It contains an integrated set of chapters devoted to issues of writing: how writing develops, how it is and should be taught and how writing paths of development differ across writing genres. Specifically, the book addresses typologies of writing; pathways of the development of writing skills; stages of the development of writing; individual differences in the acquisition of writing skills; writing ability and disability; teaching writing; and the development and demonstration of expertise in writing.




The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Studies in Education


Book Description

Educational practices have rapidly changed in the last few decades, especially in how exchanges of information and learning are delivered and processed. Yet, while the field of international comparative studies has grown, there has not been an extensive study on the relationship between educational practices, students, and how practitioners are prepared and trained. This handbook explores international educational practices and behaviours through new research and a review of existing research, with chapters spread across six parts: Part I: Introduction to Research Practices in Comparative Studies of Education Part II: Research Methods Part III: Policy Transfer Research through International Comparisons Part IV: Use of Student time in Formal and Informal Settings Part V: School Practices from Early Childhood through Secondary School Part VI: Conclusion - Lessons from Large Scale Studies




International Guide to Student Achievement


Book Description

The International Guide to Student Achievement brings together and critically examines the major influences shaping student achievement today. There are many, often competing, claims about how to enhance student achievement, raising the questions of "What works?" and "What works best?" World-renowned bestselling authors, John Hattie and Eric M. Anderman have invited an international group of scholars to write brief, empirically-supported articles that examine predictors of academic achievement across a variety of topics and domains. Rather than telling people what to do in their schools and classrooms, this guide simply provides the first-ever compendium of research that summarizes what is known about the major influences shaping students’ academic achievement around the world. Readers can apply this knowledge base to their own school and classroom settings. The 150+ entries serve as intellectual building blocks to creatively mix into new or existing educational arrangements and aim for quick, easy reference. Chapter authors follow a common format that allows readers to more seamlessly compare and contrast information across entries, guiding readers to apply this knowledge to their own classrooms, their curriculums and teaching strategies, and their teacher training programs.




Meeting the Challenges of Secondary Education in Latin America and East Asia


Book Description

In a context of increased primary school enrollment rates, secondary education is appearing as the next big challenge for Latin American and East Asian countries. This report seeks to undertake a detailed diagnostic of secondary education in these two regions, understand some of the main constraints to the expansion and improvement of secondary education, and suggest policy options to address these constraints, with focus on policies that improve the mobilization and use of resources.




Myth, Reality, and Reform


Book Description

"Myth, Reality, and Reform bridges these critiques by balancing the importance of the four key functions of higher education: academic leadership, professional development, technological training and development, and general higher education. The book suggests how to consolidate the strengths of higher education systems while fundamentally reforming their weaker features.




Making Classroom Assessments Reliable and Valid


Book Description

Making Classroom Assessments Reliable and Valid by Robert J. Marzano will convince you that classroom assessments should become the primary method for formally measuring student learning over other types of assessment in education. Read about the key advantages of classroom assessments over interim, end-of-course, and state assessments in how to assess student learning and measure growth over time. Marzano also addresses the validity and reliability of classroom assessments and how to improve those metrics before bringing them to their rightful place in K-12 assessments. This book outlines how to revamp validity and reliability to match technical advances made in classroom assessment, instead of matching large-scale assessment's traditional standards. Using this book, teachers, schools, and districts can design classroom assessments that are equally if not more reliable and valid than traditional large-scale assessments. How this book will convince you to use classroom assessments: Consider the history of large-scale assessments in US education and the purpose of standardized testing. Inspect the importance of and future role of classroom assessment. Explore the three mathematical models of reliability, as well as the three major types of validity. Understand the principles of assessment for learning and the importance of measuring students' individual and comparative growth. Use the provided formulas to create classroom assessments that match traditional interim or end-of-year assessments in reliability and validity. Contents: Introduction: The Role of Classroom Assessment Chapter 1: Discussing the Classroom Assessment Paradigm for Validity Chapter 2: Designing and Scoring Parallel Assessments Chapter 3: Discussing the Classroom Assessment Paradigm for Reliability Chapter 4: Measuring Growth for Groups of Students Chapter 5: Transforming the System Using the New Classroom Assessment Paradigms Appendix




Catholic Education in Latin America


Book Description

This book aims to be a reference for understanding an educational system throughout Latin America aligned with the Catholic Church. In both public and private sectors, whether it’s in the secular or the religious sector, considering Catholic Education brings up a question regarding the relevance of religion in the public sector, where education is presented as another alternative of education. This volume allows the reader to take a closer look into the recent challenges of Catholic Education in Latin America, such as quality and excellence, its anthropological dimension, as well as the ongoing dialogue between faith and culture. These essential elements are reflected upon, developing an educational process that responds to the current needs. Deep reflection is made in a contemporary and regional context throughout the eleven chapters of this book, all written by Latin American authors. Translation from the Spanish language edition: EDUCACIÓN CATÓLICA EN LATINOAMÉRICA. Un proyecto en marcha by Patricia Imbarack and Cristóbal Madero © Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile, 2019. Original Publication ISBN 978-956-14-2459-3. All rights reserved