Comprehensive Educational Assessment for the States: The Duplex Design

Abstract

A design for educational assessment is proposed that serves multiple purposes within a state school system but requires no more class time than a conventional achievement test. For individual students, it provides scaled proficiency measures suitable for guidance and certification at varied levels of attainment. For classrooms, schools, or larger units, it can supply from the same data detailed group-level measures for monitoring progress in curricular objectives, for evaluating instructional methods or materials, and for secondary research studies. Graphic displays for reporting both the individual-level and group-level results are illustrated. The design can be linked to performance tests to establish external validity or to scales of national measures, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, to allow between-state comparisons.