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High-Stakes Testing In The Warm Heart Of Africa: The Challenges And Successes Of The Malawi National Examinations Board, Elias Chakwera, Dafter Khembo, Steve G. Sireci

Stephen G. Sireci

In the United States, tests are held to high standards of quality. In developing countries such as Malawi, psychometricians must deal with these same high standards as well as several additional pressures such as widespread cheating, test administration difficulties due to challenging landscapes and poor resources, difficulties in reliably scoring performance assessments, and extreme scrutiny from political parties and the popular press. The purposes of this paper are to (a) familiarize the measurement community in the US about Malawi’s assessment programs, (b) discuss some of the unique challenges inherent in such a program, (c) compare testing conditions and test administration …