Teacher-Centered Fallacies of Classroom Assessment Validity and Reliability.

The general purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the current assessment practices of teachers in the state of Ohio. Specifically, the aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the methods used to insure the validity and reliability of their classroom assessments. It builds on previous research by incorporating verbal explanations and categorizations of techniques used to insure classroom assessment validity and reliability. Similar to previous research, it was determined that teachers do not spend much time conducting statistical analyses of their assessment data. Teachers seemed to have a better understanding of assessment reliability than validity; although, many of the steps provided by teachers to determine classroom assessment validity and reliability would be considered poor and inadequate, at best. Recommendations include providing additional inservice training to teachers, as well as tailoring measurement courses to fit the needs of future classroom teachers.