Choosing An Assessment For Your school

1. Choosing An Assessment For Your school Chris Jellis and Peter Olsen

2. What Makes a Good Assessment? • Provides useful information to both teachers and managers • Fits into the current assessment structure • Manageable (in terms of time and cost) • Trusted • Reliable • Valid

3. Managing Assessment Data • Provides useful information to both teachers and managers • In a format that is readily understandable • Fits into the current assessment structure • Fits with other assessment data • School tracking system • Manageable (in terms of time and cost) • Trusted

4. Reliability • What does it mean when we say that a test is “reliable”? • A reliable test, if applied repeatedly to the same subject, will yield the same result each time • Test-retest—same person takes test at two different times (and gets a similar result) • Interrater—two people score the same test with similar scores

5. Validity • What does it mean when we say that a test is “valid”? • Is your test measuring what you say you are measuring? • Face validity—common agreement • Content validity—degree to which it covers the range of meanings • Criterion-related validity—extent to which it matches outcomes of a similar, but different measure

6. The Dartboard Analogy Valid (but not reliable) Reliable (but not valid) Valid and reliable

7. Just In Case You Ask… • Validity • ASPECTS (September) to ASPECTS (June) = 0.68 • ASPECTS (September) to PIPS (September) = 0.72 • (GCSE to A-Level = approx. 0.7) • Reliability • PIPS Test/retest reliability for reading and maths = 0.98

8. So Why Use CEM Assessments? • Based on sound educational research • Technical data available • Used by CEM for wider research projects • Ability to discuss assessments with specialists who really understand what makes a good assessment

9. Things To Consider • What do I want to know? • Pupil ability, Progress • What format do I need the results to be in? • Age scores, standardised scores • When do I want to test? • Fixed periods, anytime • Do I want to test every year? • How much will it cost me?

10. PIPS Standardised scores are more difficult to understand, but good for comparing children and groups InCAS Age scores are clearer, but with no standard deviation, it is difficult to tell what the range is Comparing InCAS and PIPS

11. InCAS can be diagnostic

12. 75 Adam Ishmael 70 Bethany Charlie Xavier Veronique 65 Yolanda Usworth 60 Kalvinder Mike Ned Gilbert 55 Quentin Wendy Oliver Zen Terry 50 Patricia Stephen Richard End of Yer Standardised Reading Score Jeremy 45 David Lucy 40 35 30 25 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 PIPS is good for value added

13. InCAS can show progress

14. PIPS has IDEAS+ software

15. InCAS Administer at any time of year CD (installed on school network) Group assessment Feedback Within 24 hours PIPS Fixed assessment periods Pencil and paper or CD (installed on school network) Group assessment Feedback Approx 6 weeks for pencil and paper Quicker for CD Administration

16. So, which do you choose? • To establish a baseline (particularly in the early years) and show progress - PIPS • If the group is not average – InCAS • If you need diagnostic information – InCAS • Some schools do both

17. Thank You For Your Time Any Questions?