chapter 14 understanding and using standardized tests viewing recommendations for windows: use the...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 14
Understanding and Using Standardized Tests
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Overview
• Standardized tests
• Using standardized tests for accountability purposes: High-stakes testing
• Standardized testing and technology
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Characteristics of standardized tests
• Designed by people with specialized knowledge and training in test construction
• Every person who takes the test responds to the same items under the same conditions
• The answers are evaluated according to the same scoring standards
• The scores are interpreted through comparison to the scores obtained from a group that took the same test under the same conditions or through comparison to a predetermined standard
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Criteria for evaluating standardized tests
• Reliability– Stability in test performance
• Validity– Test accuracy– Content validity, predictive validity, construct validity
• Normed excellence– Norm group representation compared to the general
population
• Examinee appropriateness– Appropriateness for a particular group of students
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Validity
• Content validity evidence– How well a test’s items reflect a particular body of
knowledge and skill
• Predictive validity evidence– How well a test predicts a student’s future
behavior
• Construct validity evidence– How well a test measures some internal attribute
of a person
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Types of standardized tests
• Achievement tests– Reveal how much of a subject or skill has
been learned
• Aptitude tests– Reveal how much knowledge and skill a
student could acquire with effective instruction
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Types of achievement tests
Assesses one’s competence in selected basic skill areas; often taken to graduate.
Competency test
Single-subject test designed to identify specific strengths and weaknesses.
Diagnostic test
Assesses how much one has learned in multiple school subjects.
Achievement battery
Assesses how much one has learned in a particular school subject.
Single-subject achievement test
DescriptionType of Test
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Norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests
• Norm-referenced test– Test where one’s performance is evaluated
with reference to a norming group
• Criterion-referenced test– Test where one’s performance is evaluated
with reference to some standard or criterion
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Interpreting standardized test scores
• Grade equivalent scores– Interprets test performance in terms of grade level
• Percentile ranks– Score that indicates the percentage of students who are
at or below a given student’s score
• Standard scores– Score that is expressed in terms of standard deviations
• Stanine score– Type of standard score that divides a population
into nine groups
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The normal probability curve
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Relationship among z scores, T scores, and percentile ranks
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Percentage of cases in each Stanine
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What is high-stakes testing?
High stakes testing is…
using standardized test scores, either by themselves or in conjunction with other data, to determine whether students get promoted to the next grade or graduate from high school, whether teachers and administrators receive financial rewards or demotions, and whether school districts receive additional state funds or lose their accreditation.
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Current status of high-stakes testing
• Type of test used (Education Week on the Web, 2001)– 40 states use criterion-referenced tests
in English– 34 states use criterion-referenced tests
in math– Remaining states use norm-referenced
tests in these subjects
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Current status of high-stakes testing
• Use of test scores (Education Week on the Web, 2001)– 11 states hold schools accountable for student learning solely
on the basis of students’ test scores– 20 states provide financial rewards to schools whose students
perform at an acceptable level– 14 states can close, restaff, or overhaul schools with low test
scores– 18 states require students to pass a state-mandated test in
order to graduate– 3 states require students in certain grades to pass a state-
mandated test to be promoted
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Problems with high-stakes testing programs
• The place of tests in educational reform• Characteristics of standardized tests• Relationship of tests to state standards• Breadth of assessment• Use of test results to support remediation• Use of test results to support improvements in
instruction• Impact on curriculum and instructional methods• Effects on students
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Standardized testing and technology
• Using technology to prepare students for assessments
• Using technology to assess mastery of standards– e.g., American College Testing (ACT); Project
Essay Grade (PEG)
• Computer adaptive testing (CAT)– computers determine sequence and difficulty level
of test items
End ofChapter 14
Understanding and Using Standardized Tests