Evaluating Content Alignment in the Context of Computer-Adaptive Testing: Guidance for State Education Agencies
Evidence that a test and the content domain it is intended to measure are aligned is critical for supporting claims about the validity of inferences drawn from results and defending test use for a given purpose. Findings from an alignment evaluation provide the test developer and the test user with valuable information about the degree to which a test measures what it was intended to measure. The importance of conducting independent, third-party alignment studies has long been recognized, but with the increased use of computer-adaptive tests (CATs), we must reconsider how to go about evaluating alignment in this unique context.