THE BURDEN OF PROOF - VALIDITY AS IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

This article examines the validity of three recent efforts to improve instructional assessment in mathematics for special education students . In our view, to claim that an assessment is valid for informing inst ruction, researchers must present evidence indicating that the assessm ent information is in fact used by teachers as intended and that it re sults in improved student learning. We use examples from the three res earch efforts to illustrate these points and suggest fruitful areas fo r further research. This discussion highlights crucial relationships a mong constructs underlying effective practice and assessment in the co ntext of the mathematics reform movement.