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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:.
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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
Comparison with Other Students • Grading on a Curve or Norm Referenced Grade % of Students A 10 B 25 C 40 D 20 F 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 • 7th 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).