Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice Summer 2014, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 14–18 A Systematic Review of Assessment Literacy Measures Chad M. Gotch and Brian F. French, Washington State University This work systematically reviews teacher assessment literacy measures within the context of contemporary teacher evaluation policy. In this study, the researchers collected objective tests of assessment knowledge, teacher self-reports, and rubrics to evaluate teachers’ work in assessment literacy studies from 1991 to 2012. Then they evaluated the psychometric work from these measures against a set of claims related to score interpretation and use. Across the 36 measures reviewed, they found support for these claims was weak. This outcome highlights the need for increased work on assessment literacy measures in the educational measurement field. The authors conclude with recommendations and a resource to inform a research agenda focused on assessment literacy measurement to inform policy and practice. Keywords: assessment literacy, educational assessment, student assessment, teacher competence, teacher preparation A ssessment literacy (Stiggins, 1991) has long been viewed as an important characteristic of effective teachers. Re- cent reform efforts centered on teacher evaluation reflect a new context in which we can examine the assessment compe- tencies of today’s teachers. In this article, we review available assessment literacy measures, and evaluate the psychometric evidence to support their adequacy for use in teacher evalu- ation. We conclude the psychometric evidence in support of assessment literacy measures is weak, highlighting the need for a research agenda focused on this topic. Assessment Literacy as a Teacher Characteristic Interest in teacher assessment competencies can be traced back several decades to investigations of educational mea- surement coursework required for state certification in teach- ing, uses and opinions of tests, and student evaluation tech- niques. Schafer and Lissitz (1987) provided a thorough review of this work. By the early 1990s, interest in the topic brought about the Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students (American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, & National Education Association, 1990) and a formal term, assessment literacy (Stiggins, 1991). Broadly, assessment literacy can be defined as “an in- dividual’s understandings of the fundamental assessment concepts and procedures deemed likely to influence educa- tional decisions” (Popham, 2011, p. 267). Specific behaviors reflecting assessment literacy include using multiple high- quality assessments aligned with precisely defined achieve- ment targets, interpreting student performance in light of the particular form of assessment and potential impact of ex- traneous factors, administering and scoring assessments ap- propriately, accurately communicating results to interested Chad M. Gotch and Brian F. French, Learning and Performance Research Center, Cleveland Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2136; cgotch@wsu.edu; frenchb@wsu.edu parties, and carrying out all assessment responsibilities legally and ethically (e.g., American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, & National Education Association, 1990; Brookhart, 2011; Popham, 2009; Stiggins, 1991). In empirical study, assessment literacy acts as a stable but malleable characteristic of teachers that is reflected in measures targeted toward the attribute. Assessment Literacy as a Policy Consideration The federal Race to the Top Fund placed clear emphasis on teacher effectiveness and evaluation systems (U.S. De- partment of Education, 2009). Common teacher evaluation frameworks feature elements related to effective and appro- priate use of student assessment. Danielson’s framework for teaching (2013), for example, expects proficient teachers to demonstrate skill in designing student assessment, using as- sessment in instruction, and identifying high-quality sources of data for monitoring student growth. Marzano’s teacher eval- uation model (2013) examines how teachers use assessment to track student progress and document the effectiveness of a particular lesson. These frameworks are aligned with the general definition of assessment literacy, and signal a need for quality assessment literacy measures to inform policy and practice. A goal of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) is to “influence public policy and prac- tice concerning educational measurement.” Furthermore, educational measurement professionals are bound by respon- sibilities to document the technical adequacy of assessments to support appropriate interpretations and uses of scores (NCME, 1995). Moreover, government agencies and nonprofit research organizations look to NCME to act as an unbiased re- source on assessment and accountability issues (Ackerman, 2009). Therefore, the measurement of teacher assessment literacy in the service of large-scale educational reform efforts is a timely and relevant issue for NCME members to address. 14 C  2014 by the National Council on Measurement in Education