Test Development and Validation
- Gary Skaggs - Virginia Tech, USA
Test Development and Validation by Gary Skaggs summarizes the latest test theories, frameworks for test development and validation, and guidance for developing tests in straightforward language in one core text. Students looking for clear, concise explanations of measurement, validity, and test development within a real-world context and with numerous examples will find this book to be an excellent learning resource. Author Gary Skaggs takes years of experience teaching test development to graduate students across social and behavioral sciences and consulting on a wide variety of government and institutional research projects to offer students a thorough, jargon-free, and highly applied book to help propel their own research and careers.
Part I of the book, The Big Picture, sets the stage for test development, placing it within the larger context and history of measurement, emphasizing measurement concepts and their evolution over time. Part II, Test Development, covers the technical details of instrument and test development in logical order. Validation, Part III, links the conceptual bases provided in Part I with the technical process provided in Part II to conclude the book. For those students wanting to go further, software suggestions are referenced in the technical chapters, while Further Reading sections offer the original sources for more details. Exercises and Activities at the end of each chapter provide students a variety of ways to apply their knowledge, from conceptual questions to brief project ideas to data analysis problems.
Supplements
Instructor resources include a Microsoft Word® test bank, PowerPoint® Slides, and Appendices A and B in PDF format.
I love the progression of the discussion through various graphs. This helps walk readers/students through the rationale behind Rasch, whereas so many other texts just present the various curves and estimates/equations as independent concepts to learn.
Students can really develop a critical insight of all the phases of the test development procedures. The book provides clear information for students to understand what they need to consider when developing an instrument as well as what to look for when choosing an instrument to integrate in practice.
Nicely written and includes many tacit aspects of assessment that will be helpful to students. It is clear from the writing that the author has extensive experience in the field.
Because I hold some additional roles outside instructional duties, I requested this text to gain stronger insight on the "fairness" of the standardized exam process, generally for reporting, following additional research, to the appropriate administrators and admissions department. However, as I reviewed, I discovered little that I did not know or of which I possessed at least basic knowledge. Found it lacked sufficient probative value. It will not be cited in my report, and it will not be one of the few sources not only cited but purchased for several administrators as a source for consultation.
Because I hold some additional roles outside instructional duties, I requested this text to gain stronger insight on the "fairness" of the standardized exam process, generally for reporting, following additional research, to the appropriate administrators and admissions department. However, as I reviewed, I discovered little that I did not know or of which I possessed at least basic knowledge. Found it lacked sufficient probative value. It will not be cited in my report, and it will not be one of the few sources not only cited but purchased for several administrators as a source for consultation.
Sample Materials & Chapters
CH001 - Measurement in the Social Sciences
CH002 - The Evolution of Validity
