Chapter 14

Understanding
and Using
Standardized
Tests

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Overview
Standardized tests
Using standardized tests
for accountability purposes:
High-stakes testing
Standardized testing and technology

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Characteristics of standardized tests

Designed by people with specialized knowledge and
training in test construction
Every person who takes the test responds to the same
items under the same conditions
The answers are evaluated according to the same
scoring standards
The scores are interpreted through comparison to the
scores obtained from a group that took the same test
under the same conditions or through comparison to a
predetermined standard
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Criteria for evaluating standardized tests

Reliability
Stability in test performance

Validity
Test accuracy
Content validity, predictive validity, construct validity

Normed excellence
Norm group representation compared to the general
population

Examinee appropriateness
Appropriateness for a particular group of students
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Validity
Content validity evidence
How well a tests items reflect a particular body of
knowledge and skill

Predictive validity evidence

How well a test predicts a students future
behavior

Construct validity evidence

How well a test measures some internal attribute
of a person
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Types of standardized tests

Achievement tests
Reveal how much of a subject or skill has
been learned

Aptitude tests
Reveal how much knowledge and skill a
student could acquire with effective
instruction

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Types of achievement tests

Type of Test

Description

Single-subject
achievement test

Assesses how much one has learned in a

particular school subject.

Achievement battery

Assesses how much one has learned in

multiple school subjects.

Diagnostic test

Single-subject test designed to identify

specific strengths and weaknesses.

Competency test

Assesses ones competence in selected

basic skill areas; often taken to graduate.

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Norm-referenced tests
and criterion-referenced tests
Norm-referenced test
Test where ones performance is evaluated
with reference to a norming group

Criterion-referenced test
Test where ones performance is evaluated
with reference to some standard or
criterion

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Interpreting standardized test scores

Grade equivalent scores
Interprets test performance in terms of grade level

Percentile ranks
Score that indicates the percentage of students who are at
or below a given students score

Standard scores
Score that is expressed in terms of standard deviations

Stanine score
Type of standard score that divides a population
into nine groups
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The normal probability curve

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Relationship among z scores,

T scores, and percentile ranks

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Percentage of cases
in each Stanine

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What is high-stakes testing?

High stakes testing is
using standardized test scores, either by
themselves or in conjunction with other data, to
determine whether students get promoted to the
next grade or graduate from high school,
whether teachers and administrators receive
financial rewards or demotions, and whether
school districts receive additional state funds or
lose their accreditation.
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Current status
of high-stakes testing
Type of test used (Education Week
on the Web, 2001)
40 states use criterion-referenced tests
in English
34 states use criterion-referenced tests
in math
Remaining states use norm-referenced
tests in these subjects
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Current status
of high-stakes testing
Use of test scores (Education Week on the Web,
2001)
11 states hold schools accountable for student learning solely
on the basis of students test scores
20 states provide financial rewards to schools whose students
perform at an acceptable level
14 states can close, restaff, or overhaul schools with low test
scores
18 states require students to pass a state-mandated test in
order to graduate
3 states require students in certain grades to pass a statemandated test to be promoted
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Problems with high-stakes

testing programs

The place of tests in educational reform

Characteristics of standardized tests
Relationship of tests to state standards
Breadth of assessment
Use of test results to support remediation
Use of test results to support improvements in
instruction
Impact on curriculum and instructional methods
Effects on students
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Standardized testing
and technology
Using technology to prepare students for
assessments
Using technology to assess mastery
of standards
e.g., American College Testing (ACT); Project Essay
Grade (PEG)

Computer adaptive testing (CAT)

computers determine sequence and difficulty level of
test items
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End of

Chapter 14
Understanding
and Using
Standardized
Tests