Topic 2

1. Topic 2 STRATEGIES IN MEASUREMENT & ASSESSMENT

2. ASSESSMENT Assessment is defined as any systematic procedure for collecting information that can be used to make inferences about the characteristics of people or objects (AERA et.al, 1999). Assessment is an integral component of the teaching process. Assessment can and should provide information that both enhances instruction and promotes learning.

3. ASSESSMENT... • is the ongoing process by which qualified professionals, together with families  look at all areas of child’s development, either through formal or informal assessment methods. • Areas assess includes: • Motor development • Language development • Intellectual development • Socio/emotional development • Self help skills –eg: dressing, toileting etc.

4. ASSESSMENT • The parameters of assessment includes: • Develomental assessment • Family assessment • Multidisciplinary assessment • Play-based assessment

5. ASSESSMENT • Parameters of assessment includes: • Develomental assessment: • - An ongoing process of observing and thinking about a childs current competencies (including knowledge, skills & personality) • Family assessment: • - A systematic process of learning from family members their ideas about a child’s development and their strengths, priorities, and concerns – as they are related to the child’s development.

6. ASSESSMENT • Multidisciplinary assessment: • - A form of developmental assessment in which a group of professionals with different kinds of training and experiences works with a child and family, directly or indirectly. • - This type of assessment can be helpful because professionals with different training/background are skilled in observing and interpreting different aspects of a child’s development and behavior.

7. ASSESSMENT • Play-based assessment: • - A form of developmental assessment that involves observation of how a child plays alone, with peers, or with parents or other familiar caregivers, in free play or in special games. • - This kind of assessment can be helpful because play ios a natural way for children to show what they can do, how they feel, how they learn new things, and how they behave with familiar people.

8. Assessments for Young Children • Thus…. • Assessment is the process of gathering information about a child in order to make decisions about his or her development

9. TEST • A test is a device/procedure in which a sample of an individual’s behavior is obtained, evaluated, scored using standardized procedures (AERA et al. 1999) • A test used to quantify behavior or aid in the understanding and prediction of behavior. • Testing means presenting a person with a set of questions or tasks in order to obtain a measure of performance often represented by a score. • The score is intended to help answer questions and produce information about the person tested. • Measurement - a set of rules for assigning numbers to represent objects, traits, attributes or behavior.

10. APPROACHES Formal assessment – an assessments that usually use a standardized tests, i.e. tests that must be administered according to prescribed time limits, instructional & scoring procedures, & administration guidelines. Scores are usually compared to the scores of a normative (or comparison) group. Informal assessment - an assessments that rely more heavily on observational and work sampling techniques that continually focus on child performance, processes, and products over selected periods of time and in a variety of contexts. Portfolio systems for tracking various elements of assessment are typically utilized.

11. Formal test • Formal tests (psychological assessment) usually fall into the following categories: • Achievement tests • Readiness tests • Developmental screening tests • Intelligence tests • Diagnostic tests

12. Informal Test Observations Biographical information Interviews Observation & interviews in behavior analysis Rating scales Checklists

13. Types of Formal assessment (standardized test) • Norm-referenced tests • Criterion –referenced tests

14. Norm-referenced Tests (NRT) NRT refers to a pattern/average regarded as typical for a specific group. They have standardized, formal procedures for administering, timing and scoring. They have been "normed“/administered to a representative sample of similar age/grade level students so that final test results can be compared to students of similar characteristics. Test results indicate a person's relative performance in the group. These standardized tests must be administered as specified in the manual to ensure valid & reliable results.

15. Criterion –Referenced Tests • CRT is a test that measures a specific level of performance or a specific degree of mastery. It measure what the person is able to do and indicate what skills have been mastered. • CRT compares a person's performance with his or her own past performance. • Eg: Number of spelling words correct. If Molly spells 15 of 20 words correct, that is 75% correct, higher than the past week when her score was 60% correct. • In criterion-referenced measurement, the emphasis is on assessing specific and relevant behaviors that have been mastered rather than indicating the relative standing in the group.

16. Difference Bet Norm-referenced & Criterion-referenced Assessments • Norm-Referenced Assessments • Norm-referenced assessments are used to measure a student's performance by comparing it to the performance of other students taking the same test. • measure a student's performance against that of other students. • Criterion-Referenced Assessments • It measures student's performance against a standard/criteria. • The content and skills in a criterion-referenced assessment are more specific. • The criterion-referenced assessment focuses more on the level of mastery for specific skills like editing and reports on an index, with zero being a low score and 100 being a high score. • Criterion-referenced assessment tests show the degree to which a student has mastered a skill.

17. Difference Bet Norm-referenced & Criterion-referenced Assessments • How a student's performance is measured. • In norm-referenced assessments, the students are compared to other students using a percentile system. • In criterion-referenced assessments, the students level of performance is measured according to a standard that the student has to meet. • For example, • In norm-referenced concept - if a swimmer's speed on the 100 meters lap is compared to other swimmers using the norm-referenced concept, the examiner would report that the swimmer who swam the 100 meters in one minute was in the 70thpercentile. • In criterion assessment the examiner would report that the standard for swimming 100 meters is 50 seconds and the swimmer did it in one minute, 10 seconds short of the criterion.

18. Advantages Of Standardized Testing Standardized tests yield quantifiable information (scores, proficiency levels, and so forth), thus, results can be used in screening programs (e.g., identifying those students in need of further assessment). Standardized test results provide information regarding an examinee's areas of strength and weakness. Standardized test results allow a student to be compared to age- or grade-peers.

19. Advantages Of Standardized Testing Standardized tests can be used to assess students' progress over time (e.g., readministering tests after the application of an intervention or remedial program). The results can be documented and empirically verified. This then allows for the results to be interpreted and ideas about an individual's skills generalized.

20. Disadvantages Of Standardized Testing Although standardized testing is beneficial in some situations, its use has been criticized, specifically because such measures fail to inform instruction adequately. Standardized administrations may not be possible for some students with disabilities. Some disabled students can take some test in the established standardized way with some accommodations. Some accommodations, however, can become modifications to the trait or concept attempting to be measured.

21. Disadvantages Of Standardized Testing Test items frequently are unrelated to those tasks and behaviors required in the classroom setting, Test results reflect behavior/ability that was measured during a single point in time, which may be influenced by non-cognitive factors (fatigue, attention, etc); Test results do not provide the type of information required for making curricular modifications or instructional change, standardized administration procedures often prevent the examiner from obtaining useful informtn regarding the conditions under which the studnt may be able to improve performance.

22. Types of Informal assessment • Natural/context assessment • Play-based assessment is a tool used while a child is playing usually in his/her natural environment. The observer is able to see the interactions between the child and peers as well as noting speech and language, and motor abilities. • Checklists & rating scales are used to make judgments about children's behavior. The two should be used in different settings to determine patterns in behavior (Lerner, Lowenthal, & Egan, 1998). • Parent interviews are judgments based upon the observations of significant people in the child's life.

23. Types of Tests • Individual Tests vs. Group Tests • Individual tests: test administrator gives a test to a single person • e.g. WAIS-III, MMPI-2 • Group tests: single examiner gives a test to a group of people • e.g. IELTS

24. Types of Tests • Ability Tests • Achievement Tests • Measures the extent to which an individuall has acquired certain information or mastered certain skills. It evaluates what an individual has learned • measures prior activity • Aptitude Tests • evaluates what an individual is capable of learning • measures capacity or future potential • Intelligence Tests • Measures a person’s general potential to solve problems, adapt to novel situations and profit from experience

25. Types of Tests • Personality Tests: Objective & Projective • Objective Personality Tests • present specific stimuli and ask for specific responses (e.g. true/false questions) . • Projective Personality Tests • present more ambiguous stimuli and ask for less specific responses (e.g. inkblots, drawings, photographs, Rorschach, TAT)