Distinguish among the three types of validity evidence mentioned in the text. Why is it so important to determine whether a test is valid?
What will be an ideal response?
The textbook includes a discussion of three types of evidence for validity.
Content validity: how well test items cover a particular trait, body of knowledge, or skill.
Predictive validity: how well a test score predicts later performance.
Construct validity: how well a test measures a particular attribute.
It is very important to determine validity because, when testing, we are measuring qualities of people that are not directly observable. We cannot directly observe a person's math ability, so we design tests to indirectly observe that trait through the use of tasks, or items, for the examinee to complete. We make inferences regarding
the person's level of that trait based upon the quality of the performance we observe, which is indicated by a score. In order to be accurate in our score-based inference making, we must collect evidence to support the assumption that the test is measuring what we intend it to measure.
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Reed et al. provided short worked-out examples and elaborated worked-out examples to help students learn how to solve algebra word problems. Which type of worked-out example was most helpful in promoting performance on a subsequent problem-solving test?
a. short version with unrelated example b. short version with equivalent example c. elaborated version with unrelated example d. elaborated version with equivalent example
Nominal group technique may not include which of the following techniques:
a. Round-robin organization b. Small group interaction c. Individual participation d. Ranking
If you have not used a library to conduct much research in the past, you should start with
a. the Internet. b. the card catalog. c. the librarian. d. microfilm.
The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato believed
a. play was a necessary and appropriate way for young children to learn. b. humans were essentially bad with good developed by education. c. training in grammar was important for children under 7. d. there was no need to begin education in early childhood.