Expanding Views of Interpretation/Use Arguments

摘要

I am deeply gratified by the commentators' thoughtful responses and find almost nothing to disagree with in any of them. Each offers additional insights prompting further reflection. In drawing out just a few common themes, this brief rejoinder omits many important ideas from the individual contributions. As stated in my title, I sought to explore how testing is supposed to improve schooling. I approached test validation from a measurement perspective, beginning with intended uses and interpretations set forth a priori in the interpretive argument relating testing applications to specific outcomes. After reviewing the comments, I am better attuned to some of the many ways this framing is incomplete. As Engelhard and Wind suggest, testing could be viewed more abstractly as an instance of purposive social action, which might be analyzed using categories like Merton's (1936) ignorance, error, immediacy, values, and public predictions.