John F. Kennedy (U.

S President, 20th Century)

People do not have equal talents. But all individuals should have an equal opportunity to develop their talents

What is standardized tests?

Tests that have uniform procedure for administration and scoring. They assess students; performance in different domains and allow 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)

What are the purposes of standardized tests?

Standardized teste can serve a number of purposes: Provide information about students progress compared with students elsewhere in the state or nation. Diagnose students strength and weakness (Popham, 2005). For diagnostic purposes, standardized tests are given individuallyrather than to a group of students.

What are the purposes of standardized tests?

Provide evidence for placement of students in specific programs. To make decision whether a student should be allowed to enter a specific program, skip a grade, to graduate or to determine their suitability for a particular careers. Provide information for planning and improving instruction. Inform teacher about how affective their instruction has been, information that could be used to continue similar instruction or modify it accordingly.

What are the purposes of standardized tests?

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 led to 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.

A standardized tests not be the ONLY method for evaluating a students learning. Nor should standardized tests by themselves be considered sufficient information in holding schools accountable for students learning (Popham, 2005; Taylor & Nolen, 2005)

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

Important criteria for evaluating standardized tests are: a. Norms- To understand an individual students performance on a test, it needs to be compared with 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.

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

The norms group should include students from urban, suburban, rural arears; different geographical 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.

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

b. Validity The extent to which a test measures

what 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 validity which is the tests ability to sample the content that is to be measured. ii. Criterion validity which is the tests ability to predict a students performance as measured by other assessments or criteria.

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

iii. Construct validity is the extent to which there 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)

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

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 two occasions. 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.

What are the criterias for evaluating standardized tests?

iii. Split-half reliability judged by dividing the tests items into two halves, such as the oddnumberes and even-numbered items. The scores on the two sets of items are compared to determine how consistently the students performed across each set.

Validity and reliability are related (Gregory, 2007). A test that is valid is reliable but a test that is reliable is not necessary valid. People can respond consistently on a test but the test might not be measuring what is purports 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)

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 learning so 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)

For instance, a test that is supposed to assess writing skills asks students to write a short story about 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 girls because boys are generally more familiar with football, so the test will be unfair to girls as an assessment of their writing skills.

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 a standardized test? 3. Can a test be valid but not reliable? Reliable but not valid? Explain in your own words.

Aptitude & achievement tests

There are two main types of standardized tests: a. Aptitude tests a type of test that is used to predict a students ability to learn a skill or accomplish something with further education and training. They also include tests used to predict 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)

Aptitude & achievement tests

Both types of tests assess a students current status, 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)

Types of standardized tests

a. Survey batteries is a group of individual subject matter tests that is designed for a particular level of students. Survey batteries are the most widely used national normreferenced 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.

Types of standardized tests

c. Diagnostic tests consists of a relatively indepth 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 or objective that is measures (McMillan, 2004)

Types of standardized tests

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)

Types of standardized tests

Possible advantages and uses of High-Stakes Testing: i. Improved student performance ii. More time teaching the subjects tested iii. High expectations for all students iv. Identification of poorly performing schools, teachers and administrators v. Improved confidence in schools as test scores increase

Types of standardized tests

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-socioeconomicstatus and ethnic minority children. This results

Types of standardized tests

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 are placed in the lowest track or remedial pogramsdisproportionately low-income and minority students-are most likely to experience subsequent inferior teaching and reduced achievement (Cooper & Sherk, 1989;Oakes, 1990)

Types of standardized tests

e. District and National Tests. DistrictMandated 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 created by an individual state. The PRAXIS tests and state test for teachers (licensing exam).

Types of standardized tests

The tests used by state for licensing of teacher candidates assess (i) basic skills or general academic 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

Types of standardized tests

Teaching knowledge for student learning, creating an environment for student learning, teaching for student learning and teacher professionalism. Taken in the junior or senior year of undergraduate 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.

Types of standardized tests

Criticisms of current PRAXIS. Three such criticisms (Darling-Hammond & BaratzSnowden, 2005): i. Tests assess low-level or marginally relevant knowledge and skills rather than deep knowledge 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.

Types of standardized tests

iii. There is a lack of consistency across that has
restricted teacher mobility. This is especially a problem 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.

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 some ways 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?