Educational measurement

Educational measurement uses tests and quantitative methods to assess learning, ability, and educational outcomes. It connects observed performance to claims about what students know or can do.

Classical test theory: A model that treats an observed test score as a true score plus measurement error. It explains how observed scores combine estimated ability with random error.
Psychometrics: The science of measuring psychological traits and abilities through models, tests, and statistical analysis. Educational measurement draws on its models for measuring latent abilities.
Formative assessment: Assessment used during instruction to provide evidence that can improve teaching and learning. Frequent evidence can guide immediate instructional adjustments.
Criterion-referenced test: A test interpreted against defined standards or learning criteria rather than other test-takers. It judges mastery against a target instead of ranking students.
Goodhart's law: The principle that a measure can lose usefulness when it becomes a target for optimization. Schools may improve measured outcomes while neglecting the underlying learning.
Item response theory: A family of statistical models relating test-item responses to latent traits such as ability. It models how item difficulty and discrimination shape response probabilities.
Assessment: The systematic gathering and interpretation of information about learning, performance, or development. Measurement is one quantitative component of the broader assessment process.
Summative assessment: Assessment used to evaluate learning after an instructional period or course. It contrasts with measurement intended chiefly to guide ongoing instruction.
Ipsative assessment: Assessment that compares a person's performance with that person's own earlier or alternative performance. Its within-person comparisons differ from comparisons across students.
Teaching to the test: Instruction focused on content and skills likely to appear on an assessment. The format and stakes of tests can narrow classroom priorities.

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