Important Definitions:Evaluation: decision making about student performance and appropriate teaching strategiesMeasurement: evaluation expressed in quantitative termsAssessment: procedure used to obtain information about student performanceWhy?:Decisions about studentsFeedback on progress, strength, weaknessJudge instructional abilitiesEducational policiesTypes of Assessments:Norm-referenced: comparing a students scores with those of other studentsComparison groups- class, school, school district, state, national samplesGrading on curveStudents compared to other studentsAverage becomes anchor for other gradesFairness issueAdjusting the curveCriterion-referenced: assessing student mastery to a prescribed set of criteriaTell teachers what students can and cannot doMastery of objectivesCriteria for grades set in advanceStudent determines what grade they want to getAll students can receive an ATerms:Validity:Is the test measuring what it is supposed to be measuringHow well a test measures what its supposed to measureTo be valid, a test MUST be reliableReliability:Consistency with which a test measures whatever its measuringA test can be reliable, but NOT validEnhancing reliability:Several tasks, clearly defines tasks, avoid assessment when student is ill, assess under similar conditions for all students, identify criteria**REMEMBER**increase validity by using info gathered from MULTIPLE assessment formatsDefinition:Procedures for administration are uniform across examiners and settingsMethods:Group administrationIndividual administrationReference:Standardization sample (norm group)- representative of the target populationPurpose:Provide information about students progressDiagnose students strengths and weaknessesProvide evidence of placement of students in specific programsHelp administrators evaluate programsContribute accountabilityTeachers Role in Standardized Testing:Prepare students to take testAdminister testUnderstand and interpret test resultsCommunicate test results to parentsWhat do test scores mean?Measures of central tendency:Mean, Median, ModeRangeMeasures of variability:Standard deviation: a measure of how widely the scores vary from the mean. The more spread out the scores, the larger the standard deviationRaw Scores – actual number of items correct/endorsedStandard Scores – transformation of scores to produce a normal distributionPercentile Ranks – expresses the percentage of persons in the standardization sample who scored at or below a specific raw scoreCHECK OUT ASSESSMENT SLIDE SHOW FOR STANDARD DEVIATIONTypes of Scores:Age Equivalents: expresses a persons performance as the average performance for that age group, AE=7-10, 7 years 10 monthsGrade Equivalents: expresses a students performance as the average performance for a particular gradeGE= 8.38th grader, 3/10 through the yearAs good as an 8th grader did on the 7th grade material, doesn’t mean should be in 8th gradeAssessments 12/01/2014Important Definitions:-Evaluation: decision making about student performance and appropriate teaching strategies-Measurement: evaluation expressed in quantitative terms-Assessment: procedure used to obtain information about student performanceWhy?:-Decisions about students-Feedback on progress, strength, weakness-Judge instructional abilities-Educational policiesTypes of Assessments:-Norm-referenced: comparing a students scores with those of other studentsoComparison groups- class, school, school district, state, national samplesoGrading on curveoStudents compared to other studentsoAverage becomes anchor for other gradesoFairness issueoAdjusting the curve-Criterion-referenced: assessing student mastery to a prescribed set of criteriaoTell teachers what students can and cannot dooMastery of objectivesoCriteria for grades set in advanceoStudent determines what grade they want to getoAll students can receive an ATerms:-Validity:oIs the test measuring what it is supposed to be measuringoHow well a test measures what its supposed to measureoTo be valid, a test MUST be reliable-Reliability:oConsistency with which a test measures whatever its measuringoA test can be reliable, but NOT validoEnhancing reliability:Several tasks, clearly defines tasks, avoid assessment when student is ill, assess under similar conditions for all students, identify criteria**REMEMBER**-increase validity by using info gathered from MULTIPLE assessment formatsStandardized Tests 12/01/2014Definition:-Procedures for administration are uniform across examiners and settingsMethods:-Group administration-Individual administrationReference:-Standardization sample (norm group)- representative of the target populationPurpose:-Provide information about students progress-Diagnose students strengths and weaknesses-Provide evidence of placement of students in specific programs-Help administrators evaluate programs-Contribute accountabilityTeachers Role in Standardized Testing:-Prepare students to take test-Administer test-Understand and interpret test results-Communicate test results to parentsWhat do test scores mean?-Measures of central tendency:oMean, Median, Mode-Range-Measures of variability:oStandard deviation: a measure of how widely the scores vary from the mean. The more spread out the scores, the larger the standard deviation-Raw Scores – actual number of items correct/endorsed-Standard Scores – transformation of scores to produce a normal distribution-Percentile Ranks – expresses the percentage of persons in the standardization sample who scored at or below a specific raw score-CHECK OUT ASSESSMENT SLIDE SHOW FOR STANDARD DEVIATIONTypes of Scores:-Age Equivalents: expresses a persons performance as the average performance for that age group, AE=7-10, 7 years 10 months-Grade Equivalents: expresses a students performance as the average performance for a particular gradeoGE= 8.3o8th grader, 3/10 through the yearoAs good as an 8th grader did on the 7th grade material, doesn’tmean should be in 8th