...or its affiliate(s). . . . . . . . . . ASSESSMENT REPORT Administration Practices for Standardized Assessments Administration Practices for Standardized Assessments Note: This report is based on “Appropriate Administration Practices with Standardized Tests” published in Testing Information Bulletin No. 3 by Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement, June 1996. Introduction Pearson Inc. (Pearson) develops and distributes a variety of assessments for educational and clinical purposes. To meet the goal of producing highly valid, reliable results for test users, each of these products is developed according to strict guidelines. For standardized tests, the way in which the test is administered is equally important. By carefully adhering to administration practices, a test user can contribute to the validity and reliability of each student’s results. Moreover, following appropriate administration practices satisfies widely accepted ethical standards and codes of responsibilities required for test administrators. This report discusses general and documented administration practices for standardized assessments, especially with regard to Pearson’s educational assessment products, such as the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Tenth Edition (Stanford 10). Assessment Standardization The way in which an assessment is administered to students is especially important for standardized assessments. During the development process, standardization establishes uniform...
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...examination to test ones understanding of basic concepts. For those students who want to attend an Ivy league or elite college, the SATs are more than just a test. It is a deciding factor whether one will be accepted or not into a college or university. The scores completely overlook the determination, creativity, and desire of students to try and reach their goal. The SATs are a phony test that does not evaluate ones overall knowledge; they are overstated on their value and lead young students to a lot of pressure and stress. The SAT test is good in theory, but should not be used to measure intelligence. Some claim that the test should be required to test students physically and mentally on how well they perform on tests. Large-scale meta-analyses by researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that “SAT performance is as good of a predictor of overall college grade point average as it is of freshman grade point average” and other researchers have documented that “the SAT predicts life outcomes well beyond the college years including income and occupational achievements” (Lubinksi and Benbow, 1). However, this is not true. How can one test, one score, one meaningless number, indicate how well you will do in life? The SATs should not be a determining factor of whether a student is admitted to a university or not. Taking an SAT test is not for all students. Some people are visual learners and need it to be taught orally to comprehend information. This test is completely...
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...ARE FINAL EXAM NECESSARY I have news for many of you who have yet to live and work in the real world: rarely in your life will success at any endeavor come down to one event. The real world is getting up every day, going to work at whatever it is you do, making mistakes and learning from them while trying to get better with experience. Although most of you have been conditioned through supposed “make or break you” tests like the SAT and ACT to believe that the culmination of your learning can be gauged by one score on one test taken one particular day, this is a lie. The truth is, that is a ridiculous measurement of successful learning. The way our system is set up is fundamentally flawed. Ending high school with the SAT or ACT, finishing each college semester with a round of heavily weighted tests and basing entrance to graduate schools on standardized test scores like the LSAT, MCAT and GRE does nothing but teach students that attendance and regular work are optional as long as they manage to save themselves with a good midterm and final test grade. This is a bad lesson to teach students because this is not the way the real world works. The classes that allow for you to do this are not helping you at all. By procrastinating all semester long and expecting some miracle to happen where you will suddenly learn everything from the last four months you are not helping yourself at all. Some classes don’t weight or even require a final, they base the grading on quizzes...
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...intellectual ability or college readiness. There is not a shortage of standardized tests, yet schools keep adding these tests into their curriculum. Standardized testing can be helpful; it can show a student’s improvement in school and help teachers figure out what they need to teach more thoroughly. But, in general, standardized tests are not ideal: bad test takers have a disadvantage and learning is much more important than a test score. Students attend school to learn. However, it currently seems that the only point of school is to be taught about a subject, take a test on that material, and then move on to the next lesson. This does not seem to be huge problem, but the one reason we are in school, to learn, seems to be skipped over in that schedule. Schools are too focused on providing decent test scores, that it seems as if learning is not important, only the testing is. This also leads to more frequent cheating on tests and students not completing homework assigned. The big question is: what is a solution to this problem? Standardized testing can be reduced by adopting the portfolio idea, and because some tests are necessary, schools could make it easier for weak test takers with preparation before taking the actual test, and providing...
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...Standardized Testing and Its Effects: An Annotated Bibliography The first standardized test was administered by Horace Mann in the nineteenth century as as a result of the concern with the educational reform in America (Gallagher, 2003). Although the students’ results were disappointing, this lead to the movement of using standardized tests throughout curriculum. In spite of the controversy, the popularity of this form of testing has increased greatly over time. The debate on standardized tests has been an ongoing issue throughout history. While some believe that these tests are an unjust, incorrect way to measure intelligence, others suggest that standardized testing is a vital part of the educational process. In order to gather an unbiased...
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...for inclusion in Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice by an authorized administrator of Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact jcera@law.berkeley.edu. The Legal Implications of Gender Bias in Standardized Testing Katherine Connort Ellen J. Vargyast TABLE OF CONTENTS I. II. INTRODUCTION ....................................... THE FACTUAL CONTEXT ............................. A. The Scope of the Problem ............................ 1. Post-Secondary Admissions Tests .................. 2. Vocational Aptitude Tests and Interest Inventories. B. Causes of Gender Differences in Test Scores ........... 1. Post-Secondary Admissions Tests .................. 2. Vocational Aptitude Tests and Interest Inventories. C. Validity of the Tests .................................. 1. Post-Secondary Admissions Tests .................. a. Tests Which Predict Differently by Gender ..... b. Unvalidated Test Uses ......................... 2. Vocational Aptitude Tests and Interest Inventories. a. Failure to Measure Aptitude ................... b. Interest Inventory Validation Problems ......... D. The Factual Context: Conclusions .................... 14 17 17 18...
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...FS 5: FORM 1 for FS 5 (For Field Study Student and Mentor) Documenting and Assessing Student Progress 1. List the procedures you follow to correct different types of student work (e.g., daily papers, homework, tests, projects, etc.) Hands- on exercises everyday with proper monitoring of every student or every group of the class. Visual presentation of the said procedure. Showing of possible mistakes that students commit. 2. List the methods you use to record student progress (e.g., gradebook, anecdotal notes, progress charts, etc.) Rubrics Checklist 3. List any time-saving tips you have discovered for correcting papers or recording information. On the spot checking of the activities Discussions of the correct answers in the class (that way, answers can be explained) 4. What is your schools’ policy for grading and maintaining student records? Permanent record folders? Subject-related progress charts? Permanent record folders- teachers should always be giving related activities to the students according to the subject matter. All of it should be graded so that students as well as the teacher will see the progress, the strengths and weaknesses of the students which the teacher can assess properly in such a way that the students’ records will be noted carefully. FORM 2 for FS 5 (For Field Study Student and Field Study Teacher) Assessing Student Activities: Product...
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...Changes to the Current Standardized Testing Program Rowan University February 9, 2016 Standardized testing has become a subject of debate in the U.S education system. The New Jersey Department of Education replaced its previous common core testing, NJASK and HSPA, in 2014, with a single new standardized test, PARCC, for all grades from 3-12 as the single statewide assessments tool (“PARCC Assessment,” 2016). Many, if not, all states have their own version of standardized testing programs at their grade and high school level, but the question arises as to how accurately standardized tests measure current students and future potential toward college. Some will agree with J. Pollard (2002) that ‘we need standardized tests, if only because we have no alternative method of measuring student achievement, and making sure that all kids are getting a decent education’. Others will argue that it is a distractor and negatively impacts a students’ long term motivation and that it causes unnecessary stress (“High stakes testing,” 2016). If we decided to abandon such testing as PARCC, what will replace it? This paper will look into the issue of standardized testing, offer some alternatives methods that reflect changes in assessments and looking into a means to address the issue at the National level. The end result would be an assessment system that can continue to evaluate our children in the holistic view for future advances into higher education. ...
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...The first standardized tests appeared in America during World War I as a means of placing U.S. Army recruits into military roles that suited their skills. Later the psychologists that created those tests created the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT. The objective was to create a full-length test to judge the overall intelligence of a student applying to college. The ACT was later created in 1959 with a similar goal. The two tests today contain sections for reading, writing, math, and in the ACT, science. Today, standardized tests are defined as any examination that is managed and scored in a standard way. Throughout time standardized tests have been progressively changing in their measurement of individuals. Today there are two noteworthy sorts...
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...Standardized tests are intended to measure a student’s intellectual capacity, yet do they truly do so? Do they accurately measure a student’s intelligence, or do they only show a person’s memory capacity? Standardized tests are an epidemic, overtaking the school curriculum, putting an indescribable pressure on the students to meet the expectations set by these tests. Standardized tests corrupt and destroy education, in the way that they target three subjects, deeming the others as ‘unimportant’ and useless. Therefore, standardized tests should be abolished from Texas, on account that they neglect supposedly ‘unimportant’ subjects and limit the horizon for learning. Standardized tests, such as the STAAR, focus on English, math, and science,...
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...A large part of the American public school system relies on testing in order to test students’ knowledge and learning, but how accurate are these tests in measuring learning and are these test beneficial to learning? These standardized tests may actually do more harm, than good to students’ education. The first problem with standardized testing is that they only measure whether a student can perform well on a test on one specific day. “High-stakes tests are unfair to many students. Some students simply do not test well. Many students are affected by test anxiety or do not show their learning well on a standardized test, resulting in inaccurately lower scores”(Fairtest). Some students may be better test takers than others and therefore may...
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...and life in general. Education however has to keep up with technology. If there are better ways to teach math, to stimulate students and keep them interested, we should use them. Mr. Barry makes reference to education in the 1950’s and the Cold War. He seems to imply that competition with Russia made students more motivated or successful than they are today. SAT scores were higher back then. However I do not think that’s an accurate comparison to the math abilities of high school students today. In the 1950’s and 60’s college was attended mostly by upper and middleclass white students. They were the only ones taking the SAT. Today students of all abilities and ethnicities take the test. That is why the average test score is lower. Mr. Barry states “place the blame for our children's lousy test scores where it clearly belongs: on our children”. I do not agree that all the blame goes to...
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...in the 7th Century Imperial China where the test was administered to people seeking jobs in the government (Mathews). The tested used by the Chinese tested the applicants' knowledge of Confucian philosophy and were used up until 1898 (Crozier). For the Western world, the Industrial Revolution brought about the movement to bring school aged kids working in factories and on farms to the classroom. Standardized testing allowed the newly expanded student body to be tested efficiently (Jehlen). The use of standardized testing exponentially rose after the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 which mandated annual testing in all 50 states (Coulson). The use of standardized testing is now split into a like or dislike because of the amount of achievement, the reliability, and the amount of discrimination they bring. Achievement brings about the sense of accomplishment and opponents of standardized testing believe that standardized testing does not bring about a sense of accomplishment because standardized testing has not improved student achievement. After the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2002, the United States decreased from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment to 31st place in 2009 and with a lesser decrease in science but no change in the ranking for reading (Walker). Opponents of standardized testing use a National Research Council report from 2011 that found no evidence that test-based incentive programs are working as a...
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...may affect performance may include age ,cognitive style ,home background ,ability to remember given information ,level of confidence and amount of previous learning experiences. In order to identify these pupils, assessment tests of both scholastic aptitude and achievement are used to assess pupil variability. This discussion focuses on the role of criterion referenced tests and norm referenced tests in the teaching and learning process. Definition of key terms Criterion referenced test According to Popham and Hesek (1969),a criterion referenced test is a measure used to identify an individual’s status with respect to an established standard of performance .Similarly ,Mpofu E (1991),says a criterion referenced test measures whether a student has or has not reached the criterion or specific level of achievement .This means that criterion referencing as the name implies ,involves determining a student ‘s grade by comparing his or her achievements with clearly started criteria for learning outcomes and clearly stated standards for particular levels of performance. The major focus is on how pupils’ skills and abilities are measured and tested in the classroom. Norm Referenced test Popham and Husek (1969), define a norm –referenced test as a measure used to identify an individual’s...
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...Assessment Matrix Grand Canyon University SPE-359 | Norm Referenced | Criterion Referenced | Descriptions | * Norm referenced tests are most often used for placement * Designed to create distinctions amongst students * Tests are scored as a percentage or percentile ranking(EdGlossary, 2015) | * Criterion tests are better known as Standardized tests * Designed by a specific committee of experts * Tests are scored as percentages. * Teachers create this type of test to determine content retention. (EdGlossary.2014) | Purpose | * These tests are to determine where a student ranks amongst peers. * Compare students to peers of the same age or grade level * Used for placement such as college or academic grouping(EdGlossary.2015) | * These tests are designed to determine if a student has achieved a specific goal or skill. * Identify any learning disabilities. * Identify any gaps among students of different groups. * To hold teachers accountable.(EdGlossary.2014) | Content | These tests are typically based on national standards.(EdGlossary.2015) | These tests measure a broad skill area based on text books or specific criterion chosen by the school district (EdGlossary.2014). | Characteristics | Often use multiple choice format. Some may include open ended questions or short answer questions (EdGlossary.2015). | Typically tests with multiple choice questions to determine content knowledge and scored by a percentage (EdGlossary.2014)...
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