A Rasch model analysis of the standards for teacher competence in educational assessment of students using the Classroom Assessment Practices Inventory

Classroom assessment practices and the lack of appropriate assessment training have been discussed in the literature for more than fifty years. It continues to be a focal point in the current data-driven educational climate. This study examined elementary teachers' assessment practices through the psychometric development of the Classroom Assessment Practices Inventory (CAPI). The CAPI was based upon the Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students and the current literature regarding classroom assessment.;The Rasch rating scale measurement model was applied to the responses of elementary teachers (N = 117) from 7 school districts in Illinois. Analysis of the data revealed that the CAPI is a valid and reliable instrument to measure elementary classroom teachers' assessment practices. Teachers more readily endorsed items regarding administering, scoring, and interpreting test results as well as items that addressed their use of assessment results when making decisions. Conversely, they had difficulty endorsing items addressing their choice of appropriate assessments, as well as items addressing their practices in developing grading procedures. The psychometric analysis of differences among subgroups in the sample found that the CAPI did not discriminate between the assessment practices of teachers with 1 to 4 years of experience and teachers with more than 4 years of experience. Further, there was no difference in the assessment practices reported by teachers with and without additional assessment training. However, there was a statistically significant difference between teachers who have and have not had a formal course in classroom assessment, in that those who had taken a course in classroom assessment outperformed those who had not.