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Journal Policies

Contents

Philosophy of Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation

Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation (PARE) is an on-line journal providing access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, and evaluation. Manuscripts published in PARE are scholarly syntheses of research and ideas about methodological issues and practices, and offer clear and unique contributions to the literature. PARE is intended to help members of the community keep up-to-date with effective methods, trends, and research developments from a variety of settings.

PARE is also committed to promoting fairness and equity in educational and psychological measurement and evaluation. Submissions that foster and support the development of high quality, inclusive assessments and assessment practices are strongly encouraged.

For more information, please see the Aims and Scope / About This Journal page.

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Review Criteria and Processes

The overarching considerations around suitability of a manuscript for publication in PARE are the extent to which the submission and any findings or results reported generalize, and whether the manuscript is likely to impact practice. Thus, PARE does not accept evaluations of local programs or validity studies of test instruments. These decisions are at the discretion of the Co-Editors.

Manuscripts accepted for review are subject to double-blinded peer review by three independent and anonymous expert referees. The reviewers are asked to consider the following in their reviews:

  • Is the submission appropriate for PARE?
  • Are the findings generalizable?
  • Are the findings or information likely to change practice?
  • Does the submission use evidence to support the topic?
  • Does the submission discuss major issues or points within the topic?
  • Is the manuscript balanced in its presentation of an issue or questions, or is it clearly identified as having a particular point of view?
  • Is the language of the submission clear and concise?

In order to maintain our standards of high quality, all proposed articles are subject to a rigorous review and refinement process. The process typically involves screening, blind peer review, and editing.

The Editors first carry out a desk review of all submissions to make a determination as to whether the manuscript is suited to PARE. If it is found to be suitable, the manuscript is sent out to review by three reviewers. The aim is to provide submitting authors with a first decision within two to three months. (Note: During the current pandemic, we have found peer review processes to be slower in general. We aim to be as flexible as possible during these difficult times, for our reviewers, while striving to provide authors with information and decisions in a timely manner.) If the manuscript is accepted for publication, editorial suggestions are provided to authors. Authors must address comments and edits received prior to final acceptance and publication. Once the manuscript is finalized, it will be published in PARE electronically.

All submissions accepted for peer review will be sent to three reviewers. Two of the reviewers will be professionals in the testing and measurement field, drawn from either the PARE Editorial Board or a list of expert ad hoc reviewers, and one reviewer will be a doctoral student in the Research in Educational Measurement and Psychometrics concentration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has successfully completed training in manuscript review and has been certified by the Co-Editors.

Note: As this journal is nested within the College of Education at UMass, the Co-Editors are committed to training the next generation of scholars in educational measurement, assessment, and evaluation. To this end, graduate students who are certified as reviewers by the Editors will be involved in peer review. Final decisions on manuscript acceptance will remain with the Co-Editors.

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Publication Schedule

PARE publishes one volume per year. As manuscripts are accepted for publication, they will be published on the journal website.

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Fees & Permissions

There are no fees to publish in PARE. PARE is an open access journal. All articles are published on the journal website hosted by ScholarWorks@UMassAMherst and may be freely downloaded for individual, non-commercial use with appropriate citation.

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Rights for Authors and ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

As further described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to PARE. This is subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.

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Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium, requires permission of the author with appropriate attribution (e.g., PARE © 2024).

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Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

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General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst website and/or software agree not to misuse the ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst service or software in any way.

The failure of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

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