AUTHOR=Fechter Tia , Dai Ting , Cromley Jennifer G. , Nelson Frank E. , Van Boekel Martin , Du Yang 

TITLE=Developing a Validity Argument for an Inference-Making and Reasoning Measure for Use in Higher Education

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.727539

DOI=10.3389/feduc.2021.727539

ISSN=2504-284X

ABSTRACT=<p>The Inference-Making and Reasoning in Biology (IMRB) measure is an assessment tool intended to 1) aid university personnel in advising students on course enrollment, 2) identify students in need of interventions to increase their reasoning skills and likelihood of completing STEM majors, 3) support instructors in determining growth in students’ reasoning skills, and 4) provide a measuring tool to gauge success of higher-education interventions intended to increase reasoning skills. Validity arguments for these four uses of the IMRB are provided by implementing a validity argument approach. This work exemplifies the advantages of framing validation studies within a validity argument framework.</p>