Assessing Children

1. Assessing Children Chapter 5 Testing in the Right Place

2. Mastery learning Portfolios Performance IEP Goals IDEA Technical issues Rubric Inter-rater reliability Accountability Authentic assessment Terms to know • Tests • norm-based instruments • Criterion-based instruments • Screening tests • Diagnostic level measures • Inventory • Curriculum-based measures • Performance assessment • Formative assessment

3. Ways in which tests are used • Accountability to stakeholders • Screening for promotion, services • Diagnosis of disabilities (professional levels of access) • IDEA compliance: IEP’s and ABA’s • Educational Planning • Testing students, curriculum, & teachers

4. Assess while reading… • When is a test the best choice of assessments? • List some other forms of assessment. • What can I learn from the diagnostic process that helps to inform and individualize instruction? • What are the information differences between tests and performance-based assessment?

5. Appropriate & inappropriate tests • Each child’s test s part of a larger group of individuals and the learning and social environment. • A standardized test only measures part of any child’s abilities or disabilities • Some unpleasant outcomes of prior use of curricular-outcome and standardized tests: • Readiness screening • Head Start Measures Battery • Kindergarten retention • Tracking based upon texts or standardized scores… • Because….

6. Often standardized test answer the wrong questions • Inappropriate decisions made on standardized tests • They only master educational content • The miss critical thinking, social skills, creativity, self-efficacy, and self-regulation • Negative outcomes of high-stakes testing • Labeling children too early • Engendering cheating • Missing motivational opportunities for learning

7. Reeve’s Questions • How is my kid doing? • Are the schools or early child programs succeeding or failing? • What works best to help children learn? • Do test scores improve the effectiveness of educational programs?

8. Accountability Targets • Congruence • Respect for diversity • Accuracy & specificity of teaching and curriculum • Feedback for continuous improvement • Universality of programs with respect to state and national standards • fairness What data is needed to answer the questions?

9. Using standardized tests • Administration • Scoring • Use • National samples

10. Leniency & environmental errors • Coaching • Changing coding • Avoid error by ensuring that you know the instructions and prepare for unexpected challenges • Monitor environmental space – noise, temperature, light

11. Using test scores • Interpret scores within the context of the child’s life • Sensitivity to diversity • Making life decisions

12. Four purposes of tests VALIDITY • Accountability • State, local, & national • NCLB Links to curriculum, standards, using multiple measures • Barring of diagnostic screening on a large scale to identify special needs • Screening • Brief, specific (justified), provides global index of developmental delay or of normal growth • Diagnosis • Tied to curriculum and individualized instruction • Educational planning • Match philosophy, curricular goals, & developmental levels of the children

13. ACTIVITY Take the LASSIScore the LASSIWrite an IEP for the LASSI

14. Screening • Vision • Speech & Language • Child-Find: Mandated by Fed & State • Reading Comprehension • Developmental?? Developmental Screening Example

15. Diagnostic testing • Qualified professional • IDEA • Use of school psychologist • Permitted use of independent assessment • Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) • Teacher assessment materials • Class work • Observations • Performance checklists • Academic test scores • Grades • Impressions and recommendations

16. Curriculum based measures • Use of diagnostic reading (etc) materials to assess difficulties • Learning styles assessments • Referrals for diagnostic assessment based upon classroom performance

17. Curriculum-based assessment • Standardized methods of measurement • Measuring behaviors • Measuring procedures • Data collected over a long periods of time • Measurable and observable outcomes • Repeated assessment

18. Criterion-referenced measures • Identifying minimum component skills that need to be accomplished by the children • May include mastery learning • State Standards

19. Performance assessment • For young children: • Observation • Individualized assessment • Authentic assessment • Philosophy is constructivist • Formative assessment • Assessment as part of the process, evaluative and corrective in nature. Evaluated program, teaching, & child Reading InventoryExample

20. Systematic information collection • Portfolios • Performance problems • Math minute • Drop everything and write • Role play • Link to curriculum • Link to IEP

21. Details, Details • Technical issues • Being objective • Operational definitions • Rubrics • Inter-rater reliability

22. Authentic assessment • Assessment within the context of learning • Learner outcomes • Outcome indicators • Learning opportunity assessment • Assessment tasks • Performance criteria • Rubrics Rubric & Inter-rater Example

23. Chris’s Numbers 1-20

24. Your criteria for success • child knows the general shape of the digits • child knows the order of numbers 1-19 • child knows that the numbers 11-19 are created by adding a 1 to the left of the numbers 1-9 • child know right from left • child has ____ eye-hand coordination • the drawn lines are smooth • the orientation of the numbers in _____ (correct) • there are ___ reversals in the numbers • the child correctly writes the numbers 20

25. Evaluating a child’s performance • Final Words • Is it developmentally appropriate • It is interesting and meaningful for the child (the teacher’s job it to construct meaning) • Are the opportunities recognizable? • Is the material current • Doe it promote integration of knowledge and skills? • Can it be realistically applied? • Does it reflect exemplary teaching practice?