In this valuable resource, well-known scholars present a detailed understanding of contemporary theories and practices in the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation, with guidance on how to apply these ideas for the benefit of students and institutions. Bringing together terminology, analytical perspectives, and methodological advances, this second edition facilitates informed decision-making while connecting the latest thinking in these methodological areas with actual practice in higher education. This research handbook provides higher education administrators, student affairs personnel, institutional researchers, and faculty with an integrated volume of theory, method, and application.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Foreword

Edward J. Yaw

Preface: Improving Institutional Decision-Making through Educational Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation

Charles Secolsky and D. Brian Denison

Acknowledgements

Part I Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education: Past, Present, and Future

Introduction to Part I

1. The Failure of Higher Education to Follow the Standards It has Established in Methodology and Evaluation

Michael Scriven

2. On Measurement in Educational Assessment

Robert J. Mislevy

Part II Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education

Introduction to Part II

3. Assessing the Quality of a University, Particularly Its Teaching

Robert E. Stake, Gloria Contreras, and Isabel Arbesú

4. Validity Issues in Measuring Student Success

Dwight L. Smith III

5. Course-Embedded Assessment: Aligning Pedagogical Practices to Enhance Student Learning

Kathryne Drezek McConnell and Peter E. Doolittle

6. Implementing Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes Assessment at the Program and Institutional Levels

Thomas Judd and Bruce Keith

7. The Perennial Challenges of Accountability

James C. Palmer

8. Talking About Data: The Faculty Discourse on Practice, Student Learning, and Evaluative Processes

William H. Rickards

9. Benchmarking in Community Colleges

Lou A. Guthrie and Jeffrey A. Seybert

10. Mixed-Methods Specialists in Action: Linking Mixed-Methods Research to Learning and Classroom Assessment

Delwyn L. Harnisch, John W. Creswell, and Timothy C. Guetterman

Part III Theoretical Foundations of Educational Measurement

Introduction to Part III

11. The Validation of Tests in Higher Education

Kurt F. Geisinger, Leslie R. Hawley, and Carina McCormick

12. Reliability

Bruce Thompson and Tammi Vacha-Haase

13. Using Classical Test Theory in Higher Education

David A. G. Berg, Elizabeth Schaughency, Jacques van der Meer, and Jeffrey K. Smith

14. Item Response Theory in Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation for Higher Education

Steven J. Osterlind and Ze Wang

15. Generalizability Theory in Assessment Contexts

Noreen M. Webb, Richard J. Shavelson, and Jeffrey T. Steedle

Part IV Testing and Assessment: Implications for Decision-Making

Introduction to Part IV

16. Scaling, Norming, and Equating

Michael J. Kolen and Amy B. Hendrickson

17. Setting and Validating Cut Scores for Tests

Mary J. Pitoniak and Deanna L. Morgan

18. College Placement Testing of Entering Students

Deanna L. Morgan

19. Admissions Testing in College and Graduate Education

Rebecca Zwick

20. Closing the Accommodation Gap: New Thinking on Accessibility and Accommodations for Secondary and Postsecondary Students with Disabilities

Manju Banerjee and Martha L. Thurlow

Part V Test Construction and Development

Introduction to Part V

21. Evidence-Centered Design and Postsecondary Assessment

Geneva D. Haertel and Reina Fujii

22. Building Content and Statistical Test Specifications

Tawnya Knupp and Deborah J. Harris

23. Item Analysis for Classroom Assessments in Higher Education

Jerome C. Clauser and Ronald K. Hambleton

24. Computer-Based Testing in Higher Education

Robert P. Dolan and Kelly S. Burling

Part VI Statistical Approaches in Higher Education Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation

Introduction to Part VI

25. Issues in the Analysis of Change

D. Betsy McCoach and Karen Rambo-Hernandez

26. Multilevel Linear Modeling in Higher Education Contexts

Ying Lu, Sharon L. Weinberg, and Marc A. Scott

27. Statistical Modeling in Educational Research

Ze Wang and Steven J. Osterlind

28. An Introduction to Bayesian Statistics with Applications for Higher Education Assessment

Guili Zhang

Part VII Approaches to Evaluation in Higher Education

Introduction to Part VII

Thomas E. Grayson

29. Program Evaluation, Performance Measures, and Evaluability Assessment in Higher Education

Thomas E. Grayson

30. Naturalistic Evaluation

David A. Erlandson

31. Responsive Evaluation

Kelly E. Godfrey and Doreen B. Finkelstein

32. Case Studies

Edith J. Cisneros-Cohernour

33. Survey Use in Academic Contexts: Considerations and Guidelines

Daphna Harel and Ellen Wentland

34. Empowerment Evaluation: Linking Theories, Principles, and Concepts to Practical Steps

David M. Fetterman

Part VIII Approaches to Assessment in Higher Education

Introduction to Part VIII

35. Rubric Development

Linda Suskie

36. New Learning About Learning: An Introduction to ePortfolio Assessment

Susan Kahn

37. The Role of Faculty Grading Processes in Program and General-Education Assessment

Barbara E. Walvoord

38. Postsecondary Writing Assessment

Peggy O’Neill and Sandra Murphy

39. Testing and Evaluation of English-Language Learners in Higher Education

Young Yee Kim, James Hart, Jamal Abedi, and Alan Vanneman

40. Evaluation and Assessment in an Online Setting: The Case of Asynchronous Online Discussion

Amir Hedayati Mehdiabadi and Wenhao David Huang

Part IX Issues in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education

Introduction to Part IX

41. Cognitive Flexibility Theory and the Assessment of 21st-Century Skills

Rand J. Spiro, Hannah A. Klautke, Cui Cheng, and Aric Gaunt

42. Reporting Assessment Results in Higher Education

April L. Zenisky and Jerold S. Laguilles

43. Presenting Learning Outcomes Assessment Results to Foster Use

Staci J. Provezis and Natasha A. Jankowski

44. Revisiting Reliability and Validity in Higher Education Research and Program Evaluation

Margaret D. LeCompte and Dorothy E. Aguilera-Black Bear

45. Assessment of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education: International Comparisons and Perspectives

Olga Zlatkin‐Troitschanskaia, Richard J. Shavelson, and Hans Anand Pant

46. Ethical Assessment and Institutional Advancement: Connecting Good Practice with the Need to Move Campuses Forward

Ashley Finley

About the Contributors