Factors Affecting Linkage of the Voluntary National Test and the Proposed Voluntary National Tests.

Issues involved in linking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to the proposed Voluntary National Tests (VNTs) are discussed. Linkage is used to refer to procedures intended to permit scores from two different tests that are designed to measure the same variable to be expressed on the same scale. There are substantial differences between NAEP and the VNT that present serious challenges to linking the VNT to NAEP. The single greatest consideration in evaluating the potential for score scales to be linked is that of construct equivalence. Allied with the notion of construct equivalence are questions of the purposes of the assessments, administration conditions, and the stakes, visibility, and motivation. The greatest impact on overall construct equivalence is the extent to which content covered on the proposed VNTs can be viewed as consistent with that covered by the respective NAEP tests. Achievement levels, reporting methods, interpretations, and audiences must also be considered. The technical problems are serious enough, and the weight of policy considerations and uncertainty about how a VNT will affect NAEP are also worth contemplating. There are policy issues that should be addressed before considering linking methods. (Contains 1 table and 11 references.) (SLD)