Standardized Tests and Teaching

7/29/2019 Standardized Tests and Teaching

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John F. Kennedy (U.S President, 20th Century)

People do not have equal talents. Butall individuals should have an equalopportunity to develop their talents


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What is standardized tests?

Tests that have uniform procedure for

administration and scoring. They assess

students; performance in different domains andallow a students performance to be compared

with the performance of other students at the

same age or grade on a national basis (Airasian,

2005; Chatterji, 2003)


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What are the purposes of standardized tests?

Standardized teste can serve a number ofpurposes:

Provide information about students progress

compared with students elsewhere in the stateor nation.

Diagnose students strength and weakness

(Popham, 2005). For diagnostic purposes,

standardized tests are given individuallyrather

than to a group of students.


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Provide evidence for placement of students inspecific programs. To make decision whether a

student should be allowed to enter a specific

program, skip a grade, to graduate or todetermine their suitability for a particular

careers.

Provide information for planning andimproving instruction. Inform teacher about

how affective their instruction has been,

information that could be used to continue

similar instruction or modify it accordingly.


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Help administration evaluate programs.Students scores on a relevant standardized test

can be used along with other evidence to

determine the effectiveness of the program.Contribute to accountability. Schools and

teachers are increasingly being held

accountable for students learning. This has ledto the creation of standard-based tests, which

assess skills that students are expected to

mastered before they can be promoted or be

allowed to graduate.


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A standardized tests not be the ONLY

method for evaluating a students

learning. Nor should standardized

tests by themselves be consideredsufficient information in holding

schools accountable for students

learning (Popham, 2005; Taylor &Nolen, 2005)


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What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

Important criteria for evaluating standardizedtests are:

a. Norms- To understand an individual students

performance on a test, it needs to be comparedwith the performance of the norm group ( A

group of similar individual who previously were

given the tests by the test maker).

The test is said to be based on national norms

when the norm group consists of a nationally

representative group of students.


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The norms group should include students from

urban, suburban, rural arears; differentgeographical regions; private and public

schools; boys and girls; and different ethnic

groups. Based on individual students score on

the standardized test, teacher can determine

whether a student is performing above, on a

level or below a national norm (Freeland, 2005;

Gregory, 2007)The evaluations of a students test

performance might differ, depending on what

norm group is used.


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b. Validity The extent to which a test measureswhat it is intended to measure and whether

inferences about the test scores are accurate

(AERA, 1999; McMillan, 2002)In terms of the test characteristics, three types

of validity can be described:

i. Content validitywhich is the tests ability tosample the content that is to be measured.

ii. Criterion validitywhich is the tests ability

to predict a students performance as measured

by other assessments or criteria.


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iii. Construct validity is the extent to whichthere is evidence that a test measures a

particular construct. A construct is an

unobservable trait or characteristic of a person,such as intelligence, learning style, personality

or anxiety.

c. Reliability is the extent to which a test

produces a consistent, reproducible score. To

be called reliable, scores must be stable,

dependable and relatively free from errors of

measurement (Gronlund, 2006; Popham, 2006)


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Reliability can be measured in several ways:i. Test-retest reliability- the extent to which a

test yields the same performance when a

students is given the same test on twooccasions.

ii. Alternate forms reliability- judged by giving

different forms of the same test on two

different occasions to the same group of

students to determine how consistent their

score are.


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iii. Split-half reliability judged by dividing thetests items into two halves, such as the odd-

numberes and even-numbered items. The

scores on the two sets of items are compared todetermine how consistently the students

performed across each set.


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Validity and reliability are related (Gregory,

2007). A test that is valid is reliable but a testthat is reliable is not necessary valid.

People can respond consistently on a test but

the test might not be measuring what ispurports to measure (You have three darts to

throw. If all three fall close together, you have

reliability. However you have validity only if all

three hit the bulls-eye)


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d. Fairness and Bias Fair test are unbiased

and nondiscriminatory (McMillan, 2004). They

are not influenced by factors such as gender,ethnicity or subjective factors such as the bias

of a scorer. When tests are fair, students have

the opportunity to demonstrate their learningso that their performance is not affected by

their gender, ethnicity, disability or factors

unrelated to the purpose of the test.

An unfair test is a test that puts a particular

group of students at a disadvantage (Popham,

2006; Reynolds, Livingstone & Willson, 2006)


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For instance, a test that is supposed to assess

writing skills asks students to write a short storyabout a boy who practices very hard to be good

in football and makes the team. Clearly this

type of item will be easier for boys than girlsbecause boys are generally more familiar with

football, so the test will be unfair to girls as an

assessment of their writing skills.


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Discussion:

1. What is meant by standardized test? What

are the uses of standardized test?

2. What do norms, validity, reliability and

fairness have to do with judging the quality of astandardized test?

3. Can a test be valid but not reliable? Reliable

but not valid? Explain in your own words.


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Aptitude & achievement testsThere are two main types of standardized tests:

a. Aptitude tests a type of test that is used topredict a students ability to learn a skill or

accomplish something with further education

and training. They also include tests used topredict success in specific academic subjects or

occupational areas (Thorndike, 2005)

b. Achievement tests is a test that measures

what the student has learned or what skills the

student has mastered (Aiken & Groth-Marnat,

2006; Gronlund, 2006)


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Aptitude & achievement tests

Both types of tests assess a students currentstatus, the questions they use are often quite

similar and usually the results of the two kinds

of test are highly correlated.The SAT taken by students for admission to

college is usually described as an aptitude test

but the SAT can be achievement test too

depending on the purpose for which it is used.

(To predict success in college aptitude test; to

determine what have been learned

achievement test)


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Types of standardized testsa. Survey batteries is a group of individual

subject matter tests that is designed for aparticular level of students. Survey batteries

are the most widely used national norm-

referenced standardized tests (McMillan, 2004)b. Tests for specific subjects some SAT assess

skills in a particular area such as reading or

mathematics. Because they focus on a specific

area, they usually assess the skill in a more

detailed, extensive way.


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Types of standardized tests

c. Diagnostic tests consists of a relatively in-depth evaluation of a specific area of learning.

Its purpose is to determine the specific learning

needs of a student so that those needs can be

met through regular or remedial instruction.

For a test to be effective in diagnosis it should

have several test items for each skill orobjective that is measures (McMillan, 2004)


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d. High-Stakes State Standards-Based Tests The early state-mandated assessments simply

provided an overall view of how students in a

state were performing in certain subject areas,especially reading and mathematics.

1990 efforts began to connect state-mandated

standard-based testing to state-endorsed

instructional objectives (objectives that every

student in the state is expected to achieve)


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Possible advantages and uses of High-Stakes

Testing:

i. Improved student performance

ii. More time teaching the subjects testediii. High expectations for all students

iv. Identification of poorly performing schools,

teachers and administratorsv. Improved confidence in schools as test

scores increase


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Criticism of State Standard-Based Tests:

i. Dumbing down of the curriculum with

greater emphasis on rote memorization than on

problem-solving and criticaal thinking skills.ii. Teaching to the test. Teachers teach

knowledge and skills that are to be covered on

the state tests (Bransford & others, 2005;Gallagher, 2000)

iii. Discrimination against low-socioeconomic-

status and ethnic minority children. This results


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when disproportionate percentages of these

children do not meet the state standards, while

higher-SES and non-latino white students do

(researchers have found that students who areplaced in the lowest track or remedial pograms-

disproportionately low-income and minority

students-are most likely to experiencesubsequent inferior teaching and reduced

achievement (Cooper & Sherk, 1989;Oakes,

1990)


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e. District and National Tests. District-

Mandated Tests and National assessment of

Educational Progress (NAEP). Malaysia are all

public examinations run by LPM and MPM.f. Standardized Tests of Teacher Candidates.

Many teacher candidates are required to take

some version of PRAXIS tests or a test createdby an individual state. The PRAXIS tests and

state test for teachers (licensing exam).


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Types of standardized testsThe tests used by state for licensing of teacher

candidates assess (i) basic skills or generalacademic ability, (2) subject matter knowledge

(3) pedagogical knowledge.

The PRAXIS tests consist of (1) PRAXIS I preliminary screening of basic skills, taken early

in undergraduate program or before student

admitted to a teacher certification program. (2)

PRAXIS II to ensure student know heir

specialty content areas and or effective

pedagogy before being awarded a preliminary


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Types of standardized testsTeaching knowledge for student learning,

creating an environment for student learning,teaching for student learning and teacher

professionalism.

Taken in the junior or senior year ofundergraduate school. (3) PRAXIS III tests are

assessment of classroom teaching performance.

They are administered during the first year of

teaching and can be used as part of a licensing

decision. Tests include essays, oral response

tests, listening tasks, portfolio reviews, video

stimuli and in classroom observation.


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Types of standardized testsCriticisms of current PRAXIS. Three such

criticisms (Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2005):

i. Tests assess low-level or marginally relevant

knowledge and skills rather than deepknowledge of subject matter and actual

teaching skills

ii. The cutoff scores for the tests sometimes are

low or not enforced. If state are experiencing a

shortage of teachers, they often waive the

testing requirement and hire individuals who

have failed the test.


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Types of standardized testsiii. There is a lack of consistency across that has

restricted teacher mobility. This is especially aproblem because some states have teacher surpluses,

others teacher shortages.

The call for a National Test for Teacher candidates.

The national test should assess a common core of

knowledge for professional preparation including how

to create learning opportunities that make subjects

accessible to all students. The National Academy of

Education also recommended that the test results

should be incorporated into state licensing

requirements.


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Discussion:1. How clearly do aptitude and achievement tests

differ in purpose? In form?2. What are survey batteries, specific subject tests,

and diagnosis tests?

3. What are some possible advantages to high-stakes

state standard-based testing and what are someways their results are being used? What are some

criticisms of high-stakes state standard-based

testing?

4. What is the argument for National standardized

testing? Why is it resisted?

5. How can standardized tests of teachers be

characterized?

Documents

Standardized Tests and Teaching