Sivakumar Alagumalai

Classical Test Theory

Measurement involves the processes of description and quantification. Questionnaires and test instruments are designed and developed to measure conceived variables and constructs accurately. Validity and reliability are two important characteristics of measurement instruments. Validity consists of a complex set of criteria used to judge the extent to which inferences, based on scores derived from the application of an instrument, are warranted. Reliability captures the consistency of scores obtained from applications of the instrument. Traditional or classical procedures for measurement were based on a variety of scaling methods. Most commonly, a total score is obtained by adding the scores for individual items, although more complex procedures in which items are differentially weighted are used occasionally. In classical analyses, criteria for the final selection of items are based on internal consistency checks. At the core of these classical approaches is an idea derived from measurement in the physical sciences: that an observed score is the sum of a true score and a measurement error term. This idea and a set of procedures that implement it are the essence of Classical Test Theory (CTT). This chapter examines underlying principles of CTT and how test developers use it to achieve measurement, as they have defined this term. In this chapter, we outline briefly the foundations of CTT and then discuss some of its limitations in order to lay a foundation for the examples of objective measurement that constitute much of the book.

Examining the utility of Assessment Literacy Inventory and its portability to education systems in the Asia Pacific region

Teachers use assessment to ascertain and enhance student learning, thus the importance of assessment literacy. One of the instruments that has been used to examine teachers’ assessment literacy is the Assessment Literacy Inventory developed by Mertler and Campbell. The Assessment Literacy Inventory has been validated using pre-service teachers and employing traditional statistical techniques. This study reports on the evaluation of the Assessment Literacy Inventory utility using 582 in-service teachers through employing the Rasch model and confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicate that the Assessment Literacy Inventory works well at the item level. However, the Assessment Literacy Inventory seven-factor structure, based on the Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students, poses challenges against newer psychometric techniques. Hence, recommendations are presented. This article concludes with relevant implications for instrument development, educational assessment research, policy and practice, and teachers’ professional development.

Promoting Science Education for all

A number of major national and international reports highlight the decrease in enrolments in science courses at the upper levels of formal schooling. A number of factors have been identified, including the ‘complexities’ of scientific knowledge. This paper explores the elements of science education and scientific thinking, and how they permeate every day life and impacts on broader education.

Implications for Teacher Education and Educators

Teacher Education and the Scholarship of Teaching continue to be challenged and reshaped by multiple forces. Teaching, as used in pedagogical discourse, has been contested as not precise enough for everyone to agree on their application (Smith, 1987, p.14). Traditional teacher education programs that premised on philosophy, psychology and sociology have been questioned. The first direct challenge surfaced when OECD (2002, p.9) advanced “the theory of learning is pre-scientific – in the sense it lacks as yet either predictive or explanatory power.

Computer Simulations and Implications for Education* and Society

Computer technologies allow advanced simulation models to be realised in virtual environments commonly referred to as computer simulations. Computer simulations may be used to mimic real-life scenarios and thereby provide a better understanding of the components and processes involved in interactions.

Emerging Information and Communications Technology

Information literacy includes the ability to search, locate, evaluate, manage, use, present and communicate information and to engage in problem solving, self-directed learning, autonomous-targeted learning, and research skills and all are fundamental to education. Information and communications technology (ICT) is a means of searching, storing, archiving, processing and presenting information electronically through a number of media and technologies. The convergence of information systems and global communication infrastructures, for example the internet and wireless systems, have initiated this fusion of information and communication technologies. ICT is the use of computers in instruction and communication for the purposes of learning and teaching that takes place mainly through information networks with the help of communication technology.