Standardized Tests What They Measure How They Measure

Standardized Tests What They Measure How They Measure

Construction: • Constructed by test construction experts • Assisted by curriculum experts, teachers, and school administrators • Administered and scored according to specific and uniform (i. e. standard) procedures

Purpose: • To determine a student’s level of performance relative to the performance of other students in similar age and grade

Type: Criterion-Referenced Test • Comparison is made to meeting a criterion or absolute standard – Helps develop proficiency in or master of some skill or set of skills – Helps determine if student needs more work with a skill. – Does not rank or place – PSSA tests

Type: Norm-Referenced Test Students are compared to a norm or average of performance by other similar students. Helps to determine place or rank

How are tests normed? • Compiled from scores of students who took the tests years earlier when the test was being developed or revised – Current test takers do not affect the norm

The Bell Curve

Comparison with Other Students • Grading on a Curve or Norm Referenced Grade A B C D F % of Students 10 25 40 20 5

Problems with Normed Tests • Group tested can vary greatly from group who normed the test • May not match curriculum • May not match schedule – (traditional vs. block)

Student-Related Issues • • Age, Sex, and Development Motivation Emotional State Disabilities

Test Bias • The presence of some characteristic of an item that results in differential performance for individuals of the same ability but from different ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, or religious groups

Interpreting Scores: Grade Equivalents Biggest Problem: People interpret them as a standard rather than a norm! – They are estimates above or below grade level • 7 th grader has 11. 3 reading grade level • Only students one year below and above were tested – Equal distance in scores do not necessarily reflect equal distance in achievement. • Growth from 2. 6 to 3. 6 is not the same as growth from 7. 6 to 8. 6 (more sophisticated skills)

Age Equivalents • Same issues as grade equivalents • Used often to ascertain normal child development • Have not attracted widespread acceptance in schools

Percentile Rank • Not a percentage! • Best indicator: – Comparison are within grade level – Less likely to be considered as standards for performance – Easiest for all to understand Percentile rank of 62 means the student scored 62 % better than those who took the test.

Stanine 1 -9 levels of markings to show where student falls in the norm referencing. It is same as percentile. “ 5” is average. Every other number is a certain standard deviation above or below the mean (average).