Commentary on Reardon,Kalogrides,and Ho’s “Validation Methods for Aggregate-Level Test Scale Linking: A Case Study Mapping School District Test Score Distributions to a Common Scale”

Abstract

The studies presented by Reardon, Kalogrides, and Ho provide preliminary support for a National Assessment of Educational Progress–based aggregate linking of state assessments when used for research purposes. In this commentary, I suggest future efforts to explore possible sources of district-level bias, evaluation of predictive accuracy at the state level, and a better understanding of the performance of the linking when applied to the inevitable nonrepresentative district samples that will be encountered in research studies.