Teachers' Conceptions of the Target Examinee in Angoff Standard Setting

In cut score setting processes, subject matter experts are asked to make judgments about the likely performance of examinees at a targeted skill level. When cut scores are used in K-12 settings to separate students who have and have not mastered certain skills, the target examinee may be characterized as the barely proficient or barely master student. This study examines how teachers who participate in cut score setting workshops conceptualize these target examinees. This article found that teachers' descriptions of target examinees were similar across subject matter and grade level, and also reflected the definitions provided by workshop facilitators. Findings have implications for interpreting cut scores.