Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment For Education

Description:
With the current push toward educational reform, there is great potential for innovation and change, particularly in large scale testing. One area where change is possible is in cognitive diagnostic assessment. Researchers in educational measurement and cognitive psychology are finally in a position to design tests targeted specifically for providing valuable information about students' cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This self-contained volume organizes what is known about cognitive diagnostic assessment in education, including its conceptual and philosophical basis, methods, and applications. The complete list of topics includes educational demand, philosophical rationale, construct validity, cognitive methods, test construction, statistical models, and unresolved issues (e.g., how to best translate diagnostic information into teaching practices). Leighton and Gierl present a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of cognitive diagnostic assessment in education.

Review:
'Today, more effort is being expended on educational assessment than at any time in the past. But often this assessment is done without full, or sometimes, any serious regard to the many advancements in psychological and educational research that could enhance the quality of this assessment. This book will be invaluable to those who wish to learn about these advances and how to apply them in assessment, including high-stakes testing.' -Robert J. Sternberg, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University 'Leighton and Gierl make a solid contribution by outlining how protocol analysis and verbal reports can be used to gather systematic information on how examinees think about and solve the tasks that appear on tests...This book is an excellent example of the work under way in educational measurement and psychometrics to address the challenges of educational improvement...The collective work presented in this book inspires hope and gives us every reason to take heart that the diagnostic challenge in education is very much on!' Howard t. Everson, PsycCritiques

Table of Contents:
Preface; Part I. The Basis of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment: 1. Defining cognitive diagnostic assessment in education Jacqueline P. Leighton and Mark J. Gierl; 2. The demand for diagnostic testing Kristen Huff; 3. Philosophical rationale for cognitive models Stephen Norris; 4. Cognitive psychology as it applies to diagnostic assessment Robert J. Mislevy; 5. Construct validity and diagnostic testing Susan Umbretson; Part II. Methods and Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment: 6. Cognitive models and diagnostic assessment Jacqueline P. Leighton; 7. Test construction Joanna Gorin; 8. The attribute hierarchy method Mark J. Gierl, Jacqueline P. Leighton, and Steve Hunka; 9. The fusion model as implemented with ARPEGGIO William Stout; 10. Score reporting; Part III. The Future of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment: 11. Unresolved issues in cognitive diagnostic assessment; 12. Summary and conclusion Mark J. Gierl and Jacqueline P. Leighton.

Author Biography:
Dr Leighton is a registered psychologist by the College of Alberta Psychologists and is a member of the American Educational Research Association. She sits on the National Council on Measurement in Education and the Canadian Society for the Study of Education. Her research is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. Dr Gierl is currently the Canada Research Chair in Educational Measurement. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the International Test Commission. Dr Gierl's research is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the College Board.