Validity of Educational Assessments in Chile and Latin America

This edited volume presents a systematic analysis of conceptual, methodological and applied aspects related to the validation of educational tests used in Latin American countries. Inspired by international standards on educational measurement and evaluation, this book illustrates efforts that have been made in several countries to validate different types of educational assessments, including student learning assessments, measurements of non-cognitive aspects in students, teacher evaluations, and tests for certification and selection. It gathers the experience of validity studies from the main international assessments in Latin America (PISA, TIMSS, ERCE, and ICCS). Additionally, it shows the challenges that must be taken into account when evaluations are used to compare countries, groups or trends of achievement over time. The book builds on the premise that measurements in the educational field should not be used if there are no studies that support the validity of the interpretation of their scores, or the use made of such tests. It shows that, despite the recognition given to validity, relatively few educational measurement assessments have accumulated enough evidence to support their interpretation and use. In doing so, this volume increases awareness about the relevance of validity, especially when assessments are key component of educational policies.

Jorge Manzi, Doctor of Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, United States and a psychologist at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is currently a full time professor at the School of Psychology of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he also directs the UC MIDE Measurement Center (one of the leading institutions in the field of educational measurement in Latin America). His areas of specialization are educational measurement, social psychology and political psychology.

María Rosa García, Master of Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Psychologist of the same university. She is currently working at the MIDE UC Measurement Center. She has done consulting and teaching mainly on topics related to the construction and validation of measuring instruments, and the evaluation of learning.

Sandy Taut, Doctor in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, United States, and Psychologist from the University of Cologne, Germany. Currently she is Deputy Head at Educational Quality Agency, Ministry of Education, State of Bavaria, Germany. She has worked and researched internationally on issues related to educational evaluation, teaching, instructional and school quality, and validation of measurement and evaluation systems.