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Although the concept of dynamic testing is generally well supported, some concerns have been raised about the general and more widespread practical application and use of these procedures. The main problem areas that have been noted are the amount of time needed to administer dynamic assessment measures (compared with standard tests), the lack of s...
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... results for samples at different educational levels provide empirical support for the construct and predictive validity of the LPCAT (De Beer, 2003, 2005. A summary of these results are provided in Table 2. The results indicate acceptable construct validity with the LPCAT shown to measure a similar general reasoning construct as measured by standard cognitive tests -although it focuses on fluid ability and does not use content that relies on language proficiency or formal previous education. ...
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... Possible remedies to the extant paradigm include increased focus on systems change, organizational analysis, wholeschool development, and the adoption of constructivist perspectives that link emotional development, teaching, learning, and assessment. Reliance on contemporary developments in psychology are needed in South African schools to facilitate, among others, an understanding of students' life stories, dynamic assessment that helps to identify and nurture students' strong points (De Beer, 2006;Maree, 2010aMaree, , 2010c, and emotional intelligence assessment that facilitates students' identification and management of their emotions. This reorientation implies a movement away from a narrow focus on student needs and deficits and toward the belief that all students possess strengths and assets that should form the basis of effective intervention (Eloff et al., 2006). ...
Test development and use constitute the flagship activities of applied psychology. They are context dependent and occur uniquely within various cultural contexts. Thus, an understanding of test development and use with children and youths requires an understanding of the cultural contexts within which tests are created and used. This chapter begins with a discussion of some conditions that influence test development and use with children generally, including the size and nature of a coun-try's population together with population trends, the degree of racial-ethnic and social diversity, whether standardized tests normed on children and youths are available, and the existence of national and international guidelines for test development and use. The chapter then examines the status of test development and use in three disparate countries: South Africa, Brazil, and the United States. These countries were selected to provide a range of comparative information on how educators and psychologists in these countries with large multicultural populations are providing assessment services to children and youths through test development and use. Testing practices in the three countries differ. Yet professionals in these countries are striving to design and offer assessment services consistent with national and international standards and guidelines.
... Calero (2004) mentioned that the objective of dynamic testing is not to measure the performance of children, but their possibility of learning, not as an academic prognosis, understood in the traditional way, but as the estimation of the possibility of taking advantage of different cognitive training programs. Therefore, this type of assessment is directed to the population susceptible to improve, in development, or in decline (De Beer, 2006;Robles, 2007). ...
The aim of this study was to determine if the Learning Potential Assessment-2 (EPA-2) can be an adequate instrument for assessing the learning potential in Yaqui Native American children living in Sonora, Mexico. The participants were 89 students from three second grade primary schools divided into an experimental and control groups matched on IQ and age. Both groups were assessed by tests of intelligence. The experimental group was trained with a dynamic testing methodology. The results show a significant difference between the means of the posttest gain scores in the experimental and control groups with a high effect size. There was a temporary stability of the gained scores, because no significant difference between the posttest and the retest were found in a period of three months in the experimental group. In conclusion, the EPA-2 may be useful as dynamic testing for learning potential for this ethnic group and educational level.
... Another problem of DA is the time consuming administration procedures (Haywood & Lidz, 2007;Poehner, 2005). De Beer (2006) notes the time problem regarding DA application in real educational settings, and Poehner (2008) adds that when teachers may have classes of up to 100 learners, the feasibility of DA can be considered quite a challenge. Van Lier (2004) points out that an area of research that is currently much in need of research is the role of technology in SLA, and that ZPD can shape the theoretical framework of research projects undertaken in Computer-assisted Language Learning. ...
Dynamic Assessment (DA) is the integration of assessment and instruction into a unified activity which derives from Vygotsky's (1978) theory of the ZPD. An important strand of research that will solidify a central place for DA in the L2 domain is computerized DA (C-DA) that can be used to assess a large number of students simultaneously while observing the psychometric properties of testing. The present study aimed at designing and validating a test battery of C-DA of grammar for EFL learners named Computerized Dynamic Grammar Test (abbreviated as CDGT). The software
... ). Construct and predictive validity results at various educational levels have been reported (De Beer, 2000b; 2006; Van der Merwe & De Beer, 2006). Beer ...
Although dynamic assessment (DA) has been hailed as a positive move towards fair assessment, It has generally not been used In educational or industry settings to the same extent that standard (static) tests have been. The present article attempts to elucidate how the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computerised Adaptive Testing (CAT) can address some of the problems typically associated with dynamic assessment. An example of a DA tool that makes use of IRT and CAT, shows acceptable psychometric properties and is comparable to standard tests In terms of ease of administration illustrates the possibility of wider application of DA In both educational and Industry settings.
... Improvement in the socioeconomic and educational opportunities of the disadvantaged group typically result in increases in the mean group score which exceed the normal population increases over time (Van de Vijver, 1997;Vincent, 1991). South African researchers have contributed both in the development of instruments for the measurement of learning potential (De Beer, 2000a, 2000bTaylor, 1994) and also in research contributing to the available information on the validity of dynamic assessment measures (Boeyens, 1989;De Beer, 2006;Lopes, Roodt & Mauer, 2001;Shochet, 1992Shochet, , 1994Taylor, 1994;Van Eeden, De Beer, & Coetzee, 2001). Murphy (2002Murphy ( , 2007 provided an extensive overview of South African research on dynamic assessment. ...
... Construct validity was evaluated by comparing the LPCAT results with a variety of other standard cognitive tests for groups at different educational levels. Correlations typically ranged between 0.4 and 0.7 (De Beer, 2000b, 2006. Concurrent and predictive validity was evaluated primarily by the use of academic performance as a criterion. ...
The assessment of learning potential—referred to as dynamic testing and generally using a test-train-retest approach—has gained some ground in the field of cognitive assessment. Despite general support for this concept and approach, both measurement and practical concerns have hampered the acceptance of these measures in general assessment contexts. Item response theory (IRT) and computerized adaptive testing (CAT) provide answers to a number of the main concerns in this field, such as long administration time, lack of standardization of administration procedures, and problems concerning measurement accuracy. The Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), is a dynamic learning potential test that has addressed a number of the general concerns regarding dynamic testing through use of IRT and CAT. The development of the LPCAT is discussed. Empirical research results for construct and predictive validity are provided in support of its psychometric properties. Examples are provided of the qualitative interpretations of performance levels from the pre-test and the post-test that are available from the LPCAT.
... The measurement of learning potential comprises two distinct approaches, namely the enrichment approach adhered to by Feuerstein, Rand, Jensen, Kaniel and Tzuriel (1987), in which testing is used to diagnose and change the thinking processes of the individual, and the psychometric approach, which is geared to measurement rather than enrichment (De Beer 2006). In the psychometric approach, learning potential tests are standardised to ensure measurement accuracy to allow for comparison between individuals. ...
... A pretest provides the actual developmental level, whereas the difference between a post-test and the pretest is taken as the ZPD measure (De Beer 2000a). Learning potential is a combination of the two (De Beer 2006). The psychometric approach has been used effectively for the development of learning potential measuring instruments in South Africa (De Beer 2000a;Murphy 2002;Taylor 1997). ...
... A recent innovation in the field of cognitive assessment has been the development of adaptive testing (De Beer 2006Ittenbach, Esters & Wainer 1997). The availability of computer technology and item response theory (IRT) has made computerised adaptive testing possible. ...
The first objective of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between a test of learning potential, the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), and language proficiency as measured by the Proficiency Test English Second Language. The second objective was to establish whether learning potential and English language proficiency were predictors of the number of job-related training tests that respondents passed after job-related training. The sample consisted of 52 production employees at a polymers company. Strong relationships between learning potential and English language proficiency were confirmed by means of correlations representing medium to large effect sizes. No support was found for the hypotheses relating to the predictive validity of the LPCAT and the Proficiency Test English Second Language when the criteria were training results as defined in the present study.
... The IQ score is subject to numerous variables and, as a result, continuously changes. These variables include educational opportunity, language proficiency, general socioeconomic level as well as cultural grouping (De Beer, 2006). ...
... This will be further explored in the following two sections. Learning potential or learning ability is that which the individual currently has or their ability that is available on demand (De Beer, 2006). Learning potential is related to that which the individual could be capable of and is very much determined by the possibility of change. ...
... Learning potential refers to the individuals overall cognitive capacity and is composed of both present and future 13 projected performance. Learning potential, in effect, refers to intelligence, but intelligence that changes (De Beer, 2006). ...
This study presents the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach to investigate the Iranian English language non-gainers of a computerized dynamic reading comprehension test (CDRT) by utilizing a learning style survey. Using an interventionist approach, the researchers used the CDRT software to explore English learners’ perceptual learning-style preferences of non-gainers in CDRT. The study participants were selected from among 24 advanced English language learners attending a reading course at a language institute in Iran. The results of Learning Potential Score (LPS) formula categorized six of the participants as non-gainers of CDRT. They were asked to fill out a learning style survey individually and participate in an interview to express their attitudes toward using the software. The findings revealed some common tendencies regarding field-independency, impulsivity/reflectivity, and metaphoric/literal style preferences supported in learners’ interviews. In this study, learners’ style preferences potentially played an important role in reporting learners’ performance; therefore, it is suggested to consider students’ learning styles in making decisions about their abilities and disabilities in CDRT.
Dynamic Assessment (DA) is theoretically derived from Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This study seeks to investigate the effect of Computerized Dynamic Assessment (C-DA) on assisting learners to realize their latent potential in learning reading comprehension. A group of 32 adult EFL students studying English as their BA major in a University in Iran participated in the study. In order to measure the students' potential for learning, Kozulin and Garb's (2002) formula which is called the Learning Potential Score (LPS) was used. The LPSs represented how much mediation was likely required for an individual or a group of individuals to develop or move forward. The results showed that learners with the same pretest scores might turn out to have different or even drastically different DA posttest scores and hence different LPSs. On account of the LPS obtained through the C-DA principles at-risk students are provided with opportunities that might result in overcoming some of the challenges they faced in traditional testing.
