Placement assessment

used to place students according to prior achievement or personal characteristics,

at the most appropriate point in an instructional sequence, in a unique
instructional strategy, or with a suitable teacher. Unit pre-test
formative assessment
used to provide the student and teacher with feedback on the student's progress
toward mastery of relatively small units of learning to provide information that
will direct subsequent teaching or study. End of lesson quiz
diagnostic evaluation
for the identification of students whose learning or classroom behavior is being
adversely affected by factors not directly related to instructional practice. Test
of math computational skills necessary for learning math
summative evaluation
used principally to certify, assign a grade, or to attest to the student's
successful completion of a relatively large unit of instruction. End-of-year state
test
Which type of assessment is most suitable for evaluating a student's level of
knowledge?
paper-and-pencil test
Assessments used to monitor student progress during instruction are called
formative assessments
Summative assessments are concerned with
certification of mastery
Formative testing is used primarily for
monitoring student progress
The extent to which achievement tests contribute to improved learning and
instruction is determined largely by the principles underlying their
development and use
A summative test evaluates terminal achievement of students.
T
A formative test is designed to cover a wide range of content in a unit.
T
_ An achievement test used to measure entry performance is called a diagnostic
test.
F
Formative testing is used primarily for grading students.
F
visible criteria
A fundamental tenet of performance based assessment is the sharing of standards and
making the criteria for evaluation visible to students.
self-assessment
performance based assessment which is essential for teaching students how to manage
their study habits, use learning strategies, and reflect on progress towards
learning goals.
guidelines on developing assessments for English language learners.
Translation of directions into native language
Signing directions to students
Explanation of directions in English and/or native language
Repeating directions
Use directions that have been marked by teacher in the Student Response Bookle
Selected Response Tests
we can obtain a comprehensive coverage of a content domain, and can administer,
score, and interpret it easily, but we sacrifice realism and some types of
complexity
Supply Response Test
are higher in realism and the complexity of tasks they can measure (e.g., ability
to originate, integrate, and express ideas) than selected-response tests, but they
are more time consuming to use and more difficult to score.
Objective-Referenced Interpretation
Assessment results are interpreted in terms of each specific objective that a set
of test items represents. This is frequently called criterion-referenced
interpretation, but the more limited designation is preferable where interpretation
is limited to each separate objective.
objective test
( for example driving) used to measure knowledge of how to drive and follow the
rules of the road, and driving over a prescribed course (performance assessment) is
used to determine skill in driving the automobile. The test on rules of the road
covers a much larger sample of driving rules than are likely to be encountered in
the driving performance, but skill in driving can only be determined by sitting
behind the wheel and driving. Both are important. The knowledge test tells how well
the student knows what to do and the performance assessment tells how skillfully
the student can do it.
Domain-Referenced Interpretation
Assessment results are interpreted in terms of a relevant and clearly defined set
of related tasks (called a domain). Meaning is similar to criterion-referenced
interpretation but the term is less used, even though it is a more descriptive
term.
Content-Referenced Interpretation
Essentially the same meaning as domain-referenced interpretation when the content
domain is broadly defined to include tasks representing both content and process
(i.e., reactions to the content). This term is declining in use and being replaced
by criterion-referenced interpretation.
Performance Assessment
we can obtain a high degree of realism and increase the complexity of the tasks we
can assess, but the time needed for assessment is frequently excessive and the
evaluation of the performance is highly judgmental
Bloom's taxonomy
1. Remembering- recalling relevant knowledge from long term memory.
2. Understanding- making sense of what you have learned.
3. Applying- Use knowledge gained in new ways.
4. Analysis- Breaking the concept into parts and understanding how each part is
related to one another.
5. Evaluating- Making judgments based on a set of guidelines.
6. Creating- Putting information together in an innovative way.
7 General Responsibilities of Ethical Practices
1. protect the health and safety of all participants
2. Be knowledgeable about and behave in compliance with state and federal laws
relevant to the conduct of professional activities
3. maintain and improve their professional competence in educational assessment
4. Provide assessment services only in areas of their competence and experience,
affording full disclosure of their professional qualifications
5. promote the understanding of sound assessment practices in educations
6. adhere to the highest standards of conduct and promote professionally
responsible conduct with educational institutions and agencies that provide
educational services
7. perform all professional responsibilities with honesty, integrity, due care, and
fairness.
Name 3 Professional Practices to act in accordance with the Code of Fair Testing
Practices In Education
1. be informed about and acting in accordance to the Code of Fair Testing Practices
in Education,
2. the standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ,
3. all state and federal laws that may govern the development, administration, and
use of assessments.
NO Child LEFT BEHIND (NCLB) 2001
ALL children up to grade level with their peers.
set unrealistic goals and penalized schools that did not make Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP).
"highly qualified".
increased accountability. Failure could mean a decrease in funding or dissolution
of a school/district.
What did NCLB do for Assessment in Education?
NCLB tied achievement to annual standardized tests. These tests are administered to
grades 3-8 and at least one year between 9-12th grades.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1994 (ESEA). reauthorized
Challenging standards were set for student achievement and to develop and
administered to "all" students and required that all schools make "Adequate Yearly
Practice". It also included "special needs students" in the definition of all
students.
Instruction is most effective when
1. clearly defined set of intended learning outcomes.
2. congruent with the outcomes to be achieved.
3.designed to fit the characteristics and needs of the students.
4. meaningful, dependable, and relevant.
5. Feedback
6. Weakness addressed
7. Instructional effectiveness is periodically reviewed and the intended learning
outcomes and instruction modified as needed.
Assessment is most effective when
1. Designed to assess a clearly defined set of intended learning outcomes.
2. The nature and function of the assessments are congruent with the outcomes to be
assessed.
3. The assessments are designed to fit the relevant student characteristics and are
fair to everyone.
4. Assessments provide information that is meaningful, dependable, and relevant.
5. Provision is made for giving the students early feedback of assessment results.
6. Specific learning weaknesses are revealed by the assessment results.
7. Assessment results provide information useful for evaluating the appropriateness
of the objectives, the methods, and the materials of instruction.
Performance Assessments
demonstrate understandings and skills by actually performing a task
Authentic Assessments
A title for performance assessments that stresses the importance of focusing on the
application of understandings and skills to real problems in real-world; contextual
settings.
achievement assessment
achievement assessment is a broad category that includes all of the various methods
for determining the extent to which students are achieving the intended learning
outcomes of instruction
Alternative Assessments
A title for performance assessments that emphasizes that these assessment methods
provide an alternative to traditional paper-and-pencil testing.
the decisions teachers need to make
(1) during the planning of instruction, (2) at the beginning of instruction, (3)
during instruction, and (4) at the end of instruction.
What are 2 things Teachers need to answer when planning instruction
1. What are the intended learning outcomes of instruction?
2. How will we know whether students have achieved the learning outcomes?
Content standards
describe what students should know and be able to do at the end of a specified
period of learning (e.g., a grade or series of grades). They provide a framework
for curriculum development, instruction, and the assessment of student achievement.
Various professional organizations have also developed sets of content standards in
their particular subject areas. It is hoped that the use of such standards will
raise achievement expectations, increase the quality of public education, provide a
better informed citizenship, and make the country more competitive with other
countries.
readiness pretests
These are tests given at the beginning of a course or unit of instruction that
cover those prerequisite skills necessary for success in the
planned instruction. For example, a test of computational skill might be given at
the beginning of an algebra course, or a test of English grammar might be given at
the beginning of a German course. Students lacking in prerequisite skills could be
given remedial work, or they could be placed in a special section that had lower
prerequisites.
placement pretest
covering the intended learning outcomes of the planned instruction. This might very
well be the same test that is given at the end of the instruction; preferably it
should be another form of it. Here we are interested in determining whether
students have already mastered some of the material we plan to include in our
instruction. If they have, we might need to modify our teaching plans, encourage
some students to skip particular units, and place other students at a more advanced
level of instruction.
performance-based tasks
may also be useful for determining entry skills. In the area of writing, for
example, obtaining writing samples at the beginning of instruction can establish a
base for later assessments of progress. This type of preassessment would be
especially valuable if portfolios of student work were to be maintained during the
instruction.
formative tests
Formative tests are typically designed to measure the extent to which students have
mastered the learning outcomes of a rather limited segment of instruction, such as
a unit or a textbook chapter. These tests are similar to the quizzes and unit tests
that teachers have traditionally used, but they place greater emphasis on (1)
measuring all of the intended outcomes of the unit of instruction and (2) using the
results to improve learning (rather than to assign grades). The purpose is to
identify the students' learning successes and failures so that adjustments in
instruction and learning can be made. When the majority of students fail a test
item, or set of items, the material is typically retaught in a group setting. When
a minority of students experience learning failures, alternate methods of study are
usually prescribed for each student (e.g., reading assignments in a second book,
computer instruction, and visual aids). These corrective prescriptions are
frequently keyed to each item or to each set of items designed to measure a
separate learning task, so that students can begin immediately after testing to
correct their individual learning errors.
diagnostic assessment
When a student's learning problems are so persistent that they cannot be resolved
by the corrective prescriptions of formative assessment, a more intensive study of
the student's learning difficulties is called for. Diagnostic assessment attempts
to answer such questions as the following: Are the students having difficulty in
addition because they don't know certain number combinations or because they don't
know how to carry? Are the students' difficulties in reading German due to their
inadequate knowledge of vocabulary or to their poor grasp of certain elements of
grammar? Are the students unable to apply scientific principles to new situations
because they don't understand the principles, because their knowledge of particular
concepts is weak, or because the new situations are too unfamiliar to them? Thus,
diagnostic assessment focuses on the common sources of error encountered by
students, so that the learning difficulties can be pinpointed and remedied.
diagnostic tests
can frequently be aid Diagnostic assessment. These tests typically include a
relatively large number of test items in each specific area with slight variations
from one set of items to the next so that the cause of specific learning errors can
be identified. In detecting errors in the addition of whole numbers, for example,
we might construct a test that includes a set of items requiring no carrying, a set
that requires simple carrying, and one that requires repeated carrying to determine
whether carrying is the source of the difficulty. Unfortunately, diagnostic tests
are difficult to construct in most areas of instruction. Therefore, we must depend
more heavily on observation and judgment.
summative assessment
This assessment is typically comprehensive in coverage and includes both tests and
performance assessments. Although the results are used primarily for grading, there
should be some feedback to students and the results should be used for evaluating
the effectiveness of the instruction
Horace Mann
began using student test scores to evaluate schools in Massachusetts. This was the
first instance in which the wide-scale testing of students for evaluation purposes
was made mandatory, and it set in motion the reliance of assessment in education
nationwide. However, it wasn't until the early 1900s that educational testing
flourished, due in large part to the contributions of E.L. Thorndike.
E.L. Thorndike.
Considered widely as the "father of the measurement movement," E.L. Thorndike
championed the use of standardized, norm-referenced testing in the military,
private industries, and schools. By the 1940s, roughly half of the schools in the
United States were using standardized tests as a means to assess academic
achievement. Developing standardized tests became a big industry.
7 TEACHERS' STANDARDS FOR STUDENT ASSESSMENT
1. choosing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions.
appropriate, useful, administratively convenient, technically adequate, and fair
assessment methods are prerequisite to good use of information to support
instructional decisions.
2. developing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions.
published or other external assessment tools ok, the bulk of the assessment
information comes from approaches they create and implement.
3. administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of both externally produced
and teacher-produced assessment methods.
It is not enough that teachers are able to select and develop good assessment
methods; they must also be able to apply them properly.
4. using assessment results when making decisions about individual students,
planning teaching, developing curriculum, and school improvement.
Assessment results are used to make educational decisions at several levels: in the
classroom about students, in the community about a school and a school district,
and in society, generally, about the purposes and outcomes of the educational
enterprise. Teachers play a vital role when participating in decision making at
each of these levels and must be able to use assessment results effectively.
5. developing valid pupil grading procedures that use pupil assessments. Grading
students is an important part of professional practice for teachers. Grading is
defined as indicating both a student's level of performance and a teacher's valuing
of that performance. The principles for using assessments to obtain valid grades
are known and teachers should employ them.
6. communicating assessment results to students, parents, other lay audiences, and
other educators. Teachers must routinely report assessment results to students and
to parents or guardians. In addition, they are frequently asked to report or to
discuss assessment results with other educators and with diverse lay audiences. If
the results are not communicated effectively, they may be misused or not used. To
communicate effectively with others on matters of student assessment, teachers must
be able to use assessment terminology appropriately and must be able to articulate
the meaning, limitations, and implications of assessment results.
7. recognizing unethical, illegal, and otherwise inappropriate assessment methods
and uses of assessment information. Fairness, the rights of all concerned, and
professional ethical behavior must undergird all student assessment activities,
from the initial planning for and gathering of information to the interpretation,
use, and communication of the results.
Which type of assessment is most suitable for evaluating a student's level of
knowledge?
(a) process checklist
(b) product review
(c) questionnaire
(d) paper-and-pencil test
(d) paper-and-pencil test
Assessments used to monitor student progress during instruction are called

(a) placement assessments

(b) criterion assessments
(c) formative assessments
(d) summative assessments
(c) formative assessments
Summative assessments are concerned with

(a) certification of mastery

(b) diagnosis of errors
(c) entry learning skills
(d) progress during learning
(a) certification of mastery
Formative testing is used primarily for
(a) grading students
(b) monitoring student progress
(c) forming students groups
(d) placing students in groups
(b) monitoring student progress
The extent to which achievement tests contribute to improved learning and
instruction is determined largely by the principles underlying their

(a) development and evaluation

(b) development and use
(c) research and development
(d) use and evaluation
(a) development and evaluation
T/F ? A summative test evaluates terminal achievement of students.
TRUE
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE STUDENT ASSESSMENT
Effective assessment requires that :
1. a clear conception of all intended learning outcomes.
2.a variety of assessment procedures be used.
3. the instructional relevance of the procedures be considered.
4. an adequate sample of student performance.
5. the procedures be fair to everyone
6. the specifications of criteria for judging successful performance.
7. feedback to students that emphasizes strengths of performance and weaknesses to
be corrected.
8. be supported by a comprehensive grading and reporting system
Norm-Referenced Testing
Principal Use-Survey testing.
Major Emphasis-Measures individual differences in achievement.
Interpretation of Results-Compares performance to that of other individuals.
Content Coverage-Typically covers a broad area of achievement.
Nature of Test Plan-Table of specifications is commonly used.
Item Selection Procedures-Items are selected that provide maximum discrimination
among individuals (to obtain a reliable ranking). Easy items are typically
eliminated from the test.
Performance Standards-Level of performance is determined by relative position in
some known group (e.g., ranks fifth in a group of 20).
Criterion-Referenced Testing
Principal Use-Mastery testing.
Major Emphasis-Describes tasks students can perform.
Interpretation of Results-Compares performance to a clearly specified achievement
domain.
Content Coverage-Typically focuses on a limited set of learning tasks.
Nature of Test Plan-Detailed domain specifications are favored.
Item Selection Procedures-Includes all items needed to adequately describe
performance. No attempt is made to alter item difficulty or to eliminate easy items
to increase the spread of scores.
Performance Standards-Level of performance is commonly determined by absolute
standards (e.g., demonstrates mastery by defining 90 percent of the technical
terms).
Which of the following is a TRUE statement?
(a) Paper-and-pencil tests are low in realism of task BUT high in assessment time
needed
(b) Performance assessments are low in complexity of task BUT high in assessment
time needed
(c) Paper-and-pencil tests are high in realism of task AND high in judgment in
scoring
(d) Performance assessments are high in complexity of task AND high in assessment
time needed
D
Criterion-referenced assessments provide an indication of a student's

(a) relative ranking with other students

(b) ability to perform a task at a specified standard
(c) attitude toward the training program
(d) level of knowledge in the subject matter compared with other students
B
Which assessment method is highest in realism?
(a) Extended performance
(b) Supply response
(c) Selected response
(d) Restricted performance
A
If you have the fourth highest score in the class, which interpretation of your
score has been made?

(a) Criterion-referenced
(b) Norm-referenced
(c) Domain-referenced
(d) Performance-referenced
B
T/F

Rating scales or scoring rubrics are used when judging performance on a task.
TRUE
T/F

Stating that a student completed 8 out 10 steps in a task correctly would be

considered a norm-referenced interpretation.
FALSE
T/F
Both a norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretation may be used with the
same assessment.
TRUE
T/F
Selected-response items are highest in task complexity.
FALSE
T/F
Scores from standardized tests typically are assessed using a criterion-referenced
approach.
FALSE
Standard
a broad statement that describes what students should learn. Standards provide the
framework for curriculum development.
Benchmark
Statements that follow a standard and clarify in broad terms what the standard
means.
Instructional Objectives:
Specific statements that describe how students will demonstrate achievement.
Instructional objectives describe intended learning outcomes. Instructional
objectives clarify what standards and benchmarks mean.
Learning Outcomes:
Terms included in instructional objectives that describe the expected results of
instruction.
authentic assessment
incorporates real-life application tasks and enables the teacher to directly assess
meaningful and complex educational performances
alternative assessment
A type of evaluation other than a conventional test. It is sometimes used with
students who cannot take a conventional test for some reason or for whom a
conventional test is not an accurate assessment of their knowledge or ability.
performance assessment
An informal measure used by teachers to assess a studnt's ablility to coplete a
task specific to a topic of subject area, such as a mathematic equation or an oral
report
achievment assessment
...
content standards
describe what students should know and be able to do at the end of a specified
period of learning (e.g., a grade or series of grades). They provide a framework
for curriculum development, instruction, and the assessment of student achievement.
Horace Mann
Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education; "Father of the public school
system"; a prominent proponent of public school reform, & set the standard for
public schools throughout the nation; lengthened academic year; pro training &
higher salaries to teachers

Norm-Referenced Measure
Child's performance is compared to that of same-age children from a large,
representative normative sample
Large
At least 100 children from each age level
Representative
A random selection of children similar in age and background to the child being
tested
Raw Score
Score is NOT informative
The total number of items scored as correct, after applying any basal and ceiling
scoring rules
Equivalent Score
Score is NOT informative
The age or grade where children have similar raw scores to the child's raw score
*Seem better, but you really have no clue if it is a problem to score outside of
your age/grade range
Z-Score/Standard Deviation Score
Score IS informative
The child's score in standard deviation units from the mean (average) score of the
normal distribution of all scores form the normative sample of children this age
Z-Score Formula
Z-Score = Child's Standard Score - Mean Standard Score/Standard Deviation
Typical Z-Score Descriptors
Borderline/Mild Deficit -1.25 SD 11%ile
Moderate Deficit -1.50 SD 7%ile
Severe Deficit -2.00 SD 2%ile
Standard Error of Measurement
Possible range of scores around the score we actually observed
Reliability and size/representativeness of the sample effect Standard Error
We prefer a small Standard Error
Confidence Interval
The child's score would fall somewhere within this range X% of the times if the
test were administered 100 times
95% CI = +/- 2 SE's around the obtained score
68% CI = +/- 1 SE around the obtained score
Confidence Interval Formula (95%)
CI = Standard Score +/- (2 x Standard Error)
Profiling
Comparing scores from different tests or areas of language on the same scale (Z-
Scores)
Significantly Different
2 scores whose 95% Confidence Interval did not overlap
To interpret a Standard Score you must know the...
criterion-referenced tests
good for establishing types of issues, determining treatment plan; doesn't create a
standardized score, lets you know where you are for your age
norm-referenced tests
good for raw diagnosis; disorder/not a disorder; lets you know where you are in a
percentile
standardized tests
All norm-referenced tests are standardized; not all standardized tests are norm-
referenced
assessment
______ of children's language disorders consists of clinical activities that
precede treatment and result in accurate, thorough DESCRIPTION of 1) child's
existing and nonexisting communicative behaviors 2) comm demands of child's
environment 3) associated factors that may affect language skills 4) the
communication patterns of child's family 5) the strengths and limitations of the
child & family
measurement
gathering quantitative data; quantifies observed objects, events, and their
mathematical properties
operational definition
describes a behavior in observable and measurable terms
strengths of standardized tests
socially accepted means of justifying clinical or special educational services to
children; help make clinical and educational decisions within their limitations;
bypass need of developing individual assessment tools
provided objective and quantitative datea
limitations of standardized tests
norm-referenced standardized tests: assumptions of statistical normality;
inadequate sampling of language behaviors; linguistic and ethnocultural biases;
standardization based on the representational sample as against the "normal" sample
strengths of criterion-referenced tests
main goal is to assess a child in relation to performance standards that should be
met, therefore avoiding issue of evaluating a child against performance of a large
sample of children; more similar to child-specific assessment; fewer restrictions
may allow for child to produce language skills, thus allowing clinician to observe
individual child's language skills more in-depth
limitations of criterion-referenced tests
sometimes necessitates referring to developmental model to determine if a behavior
is appropriate;
diagnosis
the determination that there is or is not a (speech and language) disorder based on
the results of valid and reliable measurement of relevant skills. Beyond that, the
______
may describe the nature and extent of the disorder, rather than its causes