Using Mixed Rasch Models, several studies identified two distinct classes present in personality test data collected under lowstakes (i.e. the test person has nothing to gain or lose based on the test results) and anonymous conditions. Based on threshold diagrams the classes were interpreted as two response styles – extreme response style and midpoint responding. Within psychological research c...

Background/Context: The prevailing theory of action underlying No Child Left Behind’s high-stakes testing and accountability ratings is that schools and students held accountable to these measures will automatically increase educational output as educators try harder, schools will adopt more effective methods, and students will learn more. In Texas, the centerpiece of high school accountability...

Under test-based accountability, side-effects —including practices to inflate test results, often seen as cheating—are usually associated so-called high-stakes policies. However, the influence of different types stakes in generation this type has been overlooked education research. Based on a survey experiment, our results indicate that and level accountability systems (e.g., high- vs. low-stak...

Washback refers to the effect of testing on teaching and learning. The university entrance exam for Iranian MA candidates of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (hereinafter TEFL MA UEE) is a nationwide high-stakes test administered every year, and significant decisions will be made based on the examinees’ performance on this exam; therefore, it is prone to bring about degrees of washback at...

Examining the effect of high-stakes tests on learners’ perceptions has been one of the strands of washback-related research. The present study purported to investigate the washback effect of the English section of the Iranian National University Entrance Exam (henceforth INUEE) on the pre-university students’ perceptions about the high-stakes test. The participants of the study were 218 female ...

A common approach to increase test security in higher educational high-stakes testing is the use of different forms with identical items but item orders. The effects such varied orders are relatively well studied, findings have generally been mixed. When multiple used, we argue that moderating role speededness on order cannot be neglected as missing responses commonly scored incorrect testing. ...