What is a standardized test?
Tests are standardized when they are developed, administered, and scored using established procedures and guidelines. Following these procedures and guidelines helps ensure that all students are tested under the same conditions, that they are all given equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities with respect to the content covered in the assessment, and that all scores are established and interpreted using appropriate criteria. Two types of standardized tests are: 1) norm-referenced tests, used to compare student performance to that of other students; and 2) criterion-referenced tests, used to measure student performance against a defined set of learning requirements or expectations. In developing standardized tests, test developers follow established procedures to create questions that reflect the curricula or the learning requirements. They also analyze the test to ensure that it measures student performance accurately and reliably.
When standardized tests are given to students, there are prescribed directions for how the test is to be administered - every test in every school must be given under the same conditions to ensure that no one has an advantage. Approved accommodations are prescribed for students who meet predefined criteria. In scoring standardized tests, manual and computer-assisted analysis double-checks the scoring process to help ensure that every student's score is accurate. Interpreting standardized test scores is a critical process as the decisions made based on test scores can have significant impact on students' lives. Many guidelines govern how test results can be applied and what evidence (usually statistical analysis) is needed to support various uses.
The more you know about the type of tests being given, how they are developed, administered, scored, and interpreted, the more insight you will have in understanding the testing process, its outcomes, and, ultimately, in making decisions regarding a student's education.
What are norm-referenced tests?
Norm-referenced tests (NRTs) compare a student's test score to other students' scores. Generally, a student's scores will be compared to other students' scores in the same cohort, such as 8th graders.
What are criterion-referenced tests?
Criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) compare a student's scores against set criteria, such as state curriculum standards. Criterion referenced tests provide information about a student's mastery of the criteria set forth.
What is an interim assessment?
An interim assessment is an assessment
that is given periodically throughout the school year to measure student
achievement prior to students taking the end-of-the-year summative assessment.
By administering interim assessments, teachers and administrators have
the opportunity to adjust instruction, if necessary, prior to the summative
assessment.
Why do schools give standardized tests?
Standardized tests are a formal and objective source of information that can be gathered on a large group of students in a short period of time. Educators use standardized testing, and specifically test data, along with their judgments and experiences with students to make appropriate decisions regarding a student's education. Norm-referenced tests provide information that can help educators make comparisons between groups of students. Criterion-referenced tests provide information about students' progress toward a defined standard, such as state learning standards.
Educators use the results from standardized tests in many ways. Test results provide important information to parents, alerting them to their student's academic successes and indicating areas where additional work and study would be beneficial. In the classroom, test results provide teachers with information about how a student compares to other students, which objectives have been learned or need to be addressed again, and which adjustments can be made to the instructional scope and sequence to enhance student learning. At the school level, test results inform the development of curriculum, the selection of textbooks and other resources, and the implementation of special programs. On a larger scale, district and state testing results affect: curriculum guidelines, school funding, professional development, the setting of learning standards, and other policies.
What do standardized tests measure?
Generally, most large-scale state and commercial standardized tests are achievement tests that measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities defined as the learning standards or curricula by state educational agencies or school districts. Achievement tests measure what students know or are able to do at the time of the test. The presumption is that there has been an opportunity for the student to learn the content through instruction in the home or at school.
Tests are typically divided into content areas - reading, writing, mathematics, and science. In addition, each content area is composed of several subcategories, or strands, for which a score is also given. These scores allow further analysis of a student's performance. For example, under mathematics, a test can also measure strands such as number sense, computation, and estimation. In some cases, scores are provided for specific skills, or benchmarks, such as multiplying whole numbers and estimating a solution to a problem.
How do standardized tests measure knowledge,
skills, and abilities?
Standardized tests measure knowledge, skills, and abilities by using two general types of assessment formats - selected response and open response. Many tests use a combination of both formats. The most common type of selected-response assessment (often called objective testing) is the multiple-choice test, where students select the correct answer to a question among several possible choices. Other types of selected-response assessments include true-false and matching. Open-response or constructed response assessments (also called performance assessment) require students to create their own answer to a question or task. The most common type of open-response assessment is the essay test, where students create a written composition presenting their own viewpoints. Other types of open-response assessments include: short answer, fill-in-the-blank, gridded response, math solutions, oral presentations, lab experiments, exhibitions, performances, and portfolios.
What is a Learning Locator™?
The Learning Locator is a code that may
be printed on a student's report. The goal of Learning Locator is to
provide teachers, parents, and students with resources that are specifically
aligned to the student's performance on the measured standards. When
a student's test responses are scored, a statistical analysis program
calculates that student's performance profile. The profile is matched
to a Learning Locator. Students then visit the Perspective website,
enter their Learning Locator, and receive materials personalized to
their performance profile and learning needs.
The goal of Learning Locator is to provide teachers, families, and students with resources that are specifically aligned to their state's standards and to the student's achievement level. The Learning Locator is designed to provide targeted practice on specific standards in order for students to meet achievement criteria for their existing achievement level, and to move to the next achievement level.
What is a learning resource?
Learning resources consist of activities, instructional materials, and quizzes designed for specific grade levels, subjects, and learning objectives. Within the Perspective website, students can access learning resources based on their Learning Locator or as assigned by a teacher. Students can also browse the library of available materials and work at their own pace.
How are learning resources determined?
A variety of supplemental learning resources is reviewed in order to provide Learning Locator learning activities for all of the assessed standards on a test. Using specific criterion for approving resources, content specialists locate learning resources which:
- Are directly linked to the assessed standard and the student's specific achievement level
- Contain quality content
- Are appealing to students
- Are presented to students in a variety of formats (games, worksheets, guided lessons, quizzes)
Resources that meet the above criteria are included in the grade level pool of resources and are linked to the assessed benchmark. This pool of resources is then reviewed and narrowed in order to help students focus on resources that will provide the most effective practice in specific standards and at a particular performance level.
Learning Locator resources are correlated directly to a student's assessment profile. Learning Locator is the categorization of a student's performance by content area (subscale) on the state assessment. This data is correlated with learning materials specifically chosen to help that student succeed. A Learning Locator is printed on the Individual Student Report delivered to each student following the state assessment. Each subject tested will have its own code associated with the student's results. On the Perspective website teachers, families, and students can enter the code in the Learning Locator field and access resources specific to that student's needs.
Why does the Learning Locator give my student below grade level resources?
Some resources were initially developed
for a national audience, and these may be labeled with a grade level
other than the grade level in which it appears. For example, in Grade
3 reading, you may see resources labeled as Grade 2. These resources
have been specifically aligned to the state standards and should be
utilized in the grade level library or Learning Locator in which they
appear. Additionally, due to Learning Locator assigning resources based
on a student’s specific assessment profile, some student profiles
will include resources that are below or above the student’s enrolled
grade level.
How does the Learning Locator know what resources
a student needs?
Content alignment activities are conducted by Content Specialists who have classroom experience in the grade level and content the domain measured on the assessment. The outcome of the alignment activity is a set of catalogued resources that are specifically correlated to the state assessment and to the student's achievement level. By using Learning Locator, students can access a personalized set of supplemental resources designed to provide practice on specific standards and to encourage students to meet achievement criteria for their existing achievement level and to move to the next achievement level.
A variety of supplemental learning resources is reviewed in order to provide learning activities for all of the assessed standards. Using specific criterion for approving resources, content specialists locate learning resources which:
- are directly linked to the assessed standard and the student's specific achievement level
- contain quality content
- appear to have student appeal
- are presented to students in variety of formats (e.g., games, worksheets, guided lessons, quizzes)
Resources that meet the above criteria are included in the grade level pool of resources and are linked to the assessed benchmark. This pool of resources is then reviewed and narrowed in order to help students focus on resources that will provide the most effective practice in specific standards and at a particular performance level.
Can I use the Perspective Web site without
a Learning Locator?
Yes, if you note that your child is struggling with a specific objective or topic you can use the Perspective Web site to locate resources to address your child's needs.
How does the assignment sheet work?
Teachers can select learning resources within the Perspective website's library of available materials and print out an assignment sheet for a student to complete. The student visits the Perspective website and enters the Resource ID numbers for the learning resources in order to access and complete the assigned material. The student can then mark his/her progress on the printed assignment sheet.
