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S2.8.1 Criteria and Procedures for Accreditation of Assessments of Giftedness and Talent
Our purpose is to present the process and results of an international project to develop criteria and procedures for evaluating the quality of assessments. Although these criteria and procedures are designed for all types of assessments and for multiple purposes, the emphasis in this symposium will be on the criteria related to assessment of giftedness and talent in diverse populations.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) commissioned the lead author to develop a process and criteria for accrediting a new assessment for identifying strengths and talents of young children in a variety of ability areas. The committees involved decided to design a process to be used with all types of assessments. Following are the steps followed by three different committees:
1. A literature search was conducted including reviews of quality indicators for (a) assessment of gifted children, (b) assessment of young children, (c) performance-based assessments, and (d) criterion-referenced assessments. It included websites, keyword searches in databases such as Academic Search Complete and PsychInfo, hand searches of five journals in the fields listed above, including the International Journal of Testing.
2. Recommended quality indicators and key articles about quality indicators for assessment were compiled. A committee of international experts representing the field of education for the gifted and education of young children reviewed the articles and website materials. Members had experience in test development and administration of tests of young children and children who are potentially gifted. A draft of criteria was developed and revised by the committee.
3. A second committee of international experts included individuals representing the International Test Commission, the Asia Pacific Federation for Gifted Students, and Gulf Coast Countries, all of whom have expertise in test development, adaptation, and administration. After reviewing the document prepared by the first committee along with two documents from the International Test Commission and the European Federation of Psychologist’s Associations (EFAP), the committee prepared a detailed instrument for the test evaluation process, reviewed it, and developed a final form.
4. AFNOR, the French Association for Standardization, a subsidiary of the International Standards Organization (ISO), will issue the accreditation in cooperation with the French International Center for Creativity and Innovation using the assessment created for the UAE as its first test case.
Representatives from the committees will present the quality indicators and describe the test evaluation process.