Standardized TestsStandardized Tests

What They Measure

How They Measure

Construction: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:Purpose:

• To determine a student’s level of performance relative to the performance of other students in similar age and grade

Type: Criterion-Referenced TestType: 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 TestType: 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?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

The Bell CurveThe Bell Curve

Comparison with Other StudentsComparison with Other Students

• Grading on a Curve or Norm ReferencedGrade % of Students

A 10

B 25

C 40

D 20

F 5

Problems with Normed TestsProblems 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 IssuesStudent-Related Issues

• Age, Sex, and Development

• Motivation

• Emotional State

• Disabilities

Test BiasTest 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: Interpreting Scores: Grade EquivalentsGrade 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 EquivalentsAge Equivalents

• Same issues as grade equivalents

• Used often to ascertain normal child development

• Have not attracted widespread acceptance in schools

Percentile RankPercentile 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.

StanineStanine

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).