Uncommon Measures Equivalence and Linkage Among Educational Tests (1999) / Chapter Skim
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4 Tests and Testing in the United States: A Picture of Diversity
4 Tests and Testing in the United States: A Picture of Diversity
Pages 61-86
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From page 61... ...
The diversity in educational testing has increased as states anc3 clis' tricts have moved rapidly to revise their curricular goals, to reflect high expectations for student learning, anc3 have acloptec3 or created new in' struments to measure student performance that are aligned with those goals.
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From page 62... ...
SelectecI-response items, such as multiple-choice questions, require test takers to select the one best answer from a set of alternatives anc! to mark the answer on a separate answer sheet or directly on a test paper.
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From page 63... ...
But who would assert that an extensive vocabulary, proper use of grammar, capitalization, punctuation, anc3 good editing skills are the same as the creative process of writing? It is likely that using a statistical linking procedure to predict expected performance on a performance~basec3 writing assessment from the results obtained from se' lectec3-response items (anc3 vice versa)
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From page 64... ...
It is the interpretation of the resulting scores that is norm-referencec3 or criterion-referencec3, not the test instrument itself. In fact, raw scores, the exact count or measure of how many items a test taker answered correctly, can be interpreted within both norm-referencec3 anc3 criterion-referencec3 frameworks.
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From page 65... ...
Examples of nationally normec3 achievement tests currently used by many states anc3 school districts include the {owe Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) , published by Riverside Publishing Company; the Stanford Achievement Test- Ninth Edition (SAT- 9)
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From page 66... ...
To maximize the reliability of a percentile ranking within a group, test developers try to create a test that is able to generate scores from near zero to the highest possible score. To accomplish this, test developers include a few items that are so easy that virtually all of the test takers will get them correct and a few items that are so difficult that only the highest achievers can answer them correctly.
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From page 67... ...
TEST CONTENT In abolition to the variations in frameworks, content emphasis, item difficulty, anc3 sampling techniques, tests vary significantly in their most fundamental aspect: the knowledge anc3 skills they ask students to Hems onstrate. No test can possibly tap all the concepts anc3 processes emboc3' iec3 in a subject area as vast as reacling or mathematics.
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From page 68... ...
A characterization of the subclomain of the K-12 school mathematics curriculum appears in Curriculum arid Evatuatior~ Starboards for School Math' emetics (hereafter, Star~dards) of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
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From page 69... ...
Although the Starboards and the pro' cesses of language and thinking that underlie them are inherently inte' grated in use and in teaching, reacling tests tend to emphasize one of four dimensions in this domain: word recognition, passage comprehension, vocabulary, and reacling inquiry. These dimensions are justifiable on the basis of the moderate to low correlations among them and fundamental differences in their psychological and educational meanings; see Box 4~2 for a description of these four dimensions.
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From page 70... ...
70 UNCOMMON MEASURES: EQUIVALENCE AND LINKAGE AMONG TESTS The diversity in defining and teaching the domain of reading and differences in emphases in curriculum and instructional methoclology are reflected in the diversity of assessments that purport to measure the c30main. Assessments of reacling, like assessments of mathematics, vary in terms of the content, level of difficulty, and the cognitive skills tapped by the items selectecl for the test.
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From page 71... ...
TESTIN G IN STATES AN D DISTRICTS Trerrds ire State Studer~t Assessment Programs, published by the Council of Chief State School Officers (Bond et al., 1998) , anc3 Quality Courts '98 (Education Week, 1998)
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From page 72... ...
Purposes It is safe to say that the ultimate purpose of assessment is to improve instruction ancl student learning. But many states differ in their relative emphasis on the use of assessments in program evaluation, curriculum planning, school performance reporting, ancl student diagnosis (Roeber et al., 1998)
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From page 73... ...
eorgla Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Alabama Kindergarten Assessment, Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing, Differential Aptitude Test, Basic Competency Test, Career Interest Inventory, End-of-Course Algebra and Geometry Test, Alabama High School Basic Skills Exit Exam Custom developed Custom developed Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Tests of Achievement Proficiency High School Proficiency Test Golden State Examinations CTB/McGraw-Hill item banks, NAEP items, and state items Connecticut Mastery Test, Connecticut Academic Performance Test State-developed writing assessment High School Competency Test, Florida Writing Assessment Program Curriculum-Based Assessments, Georgia High School Graduation Tests, Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program, Writing Assessment Stanford Achievement Test ~ Hawaii State Test of Essential Competencies, Credit by Examination Iowa Tests of Basic Skills Form K, Tests of Achievement Proficiency Custom developed Custom developed No mandated statewide testing program, approximately 99 percent of all districts participate in the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills on a voluntary basis Direct Writing Assessment, Direct Mathematics Assessment Illinois Goals Assessment Program Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus
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From page 74... ...
Maryland Student Performance Assessment Program, Maryland Functional Tests, Maryland Writing Test Michigan Educational Assessment Program: Criterion-referenced tests of 4th-, 7th-, and llthgrade students in mathematics and reading and 5th-, 8th-, and llth-grade students in science and writing; Michigan High School Proficiency Test 1996-1997 students took minimum competency literacy tests in reading and mathematics Functional Literacy Examination, Subject Area Testing Program Missouri Custom developed, TerraNova Missouri Mastery and Achievement Test Montana Stanford Achievement Test, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Nebraska No statewide assessment program in 1996-1997
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From page 75... ...
Use of State Commercial Tests Use of Other Assessments TerraNova New Hampshire Custom developed New jersey Custom developed New Mexico Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Form K New York Custom developed North Iowa Tests of Basic Skills Carolina North Dakota Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills/4, TCS Ohio Custom developed Oklahoma Iowa Tests of Basic Skills Oregon Custom developed Pennsylvania Custom developed Rhode Island Metropolitan Achievement Test 7, Custom developed South Metropolitan Achievement Carolina Test 7, Custom developed Grade 8 Writing Proficiency Exam, Grade 11 proficiency exam New Hampshire Education Improvement and Assessment Program (Advanced Systems in Measurement and Evaluation, Inc. ~ Grade 11 High School Proficiency Test, Grade 8 Early Warning l est New Mexico High School Competency Exam, Portfolio Writing Assessment, Reading Assessment for Grades 1 and 2 Occupational Education Proficiency Examinations, Preliminary Competency Tests, Program Evaluation Tests, Pupil Evaluation Program Tests, Regents Competency Tests, Regents Examination Program, Second Language Proficiency .
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From page 76... ...
Texas Custom developed Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, Texas End-of-Course Tests Utah Stanford Achievement Test 9, Core Curriculum Assessment Custom developed Program Vermont Has a voluntary state New Standards Reference Exams assessment program in math, Portfolio assessment in math and writing Virginia Customized off the shelf Washington Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills 4, Curriculum Frameworks Assessment System West Virginia Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Wisconsin TerraNova, Custom developed Wyoming State assessment program in vocational education only for students in grades 9-12 Literacy Passport Test, Degrees of Reading Power, Standards of Learning Assessments, Virginia State Assessment Program Writing Assessment, Metropolitan Readiness Test Knowledge and Concepts Tests, Wisconsin Reading Comprehension Test at Grade 3 NOTES: Custom-developed assessments result from a joint venture between a state and a commercial test publisher to design a test to the state's specification, perhaps to more closely match the state's curriculum than an off-the-shelf test. Customized off-the-shelf assessments result from modifications to a commercial test publisher's existing product.
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From page 77... ...
These tables are compiled from data collected by the Council of Chief State School Officer's Annual State Student Assessment Survey. The data are self- reported by the assessment director in the states' eclucation departments anc3 describe the assessment programs they operated cluring the 1996- 1997 school year (Roeber et al., 1998~.
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From page 78... ...
( 1998~. High School Exit Exam Student Diagnosis School Performance Reporting Curriculum Planning Program Evaluation Improvement of Instruction FIGURE 4-2 Most reported assessment purposes.
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From page 79... ...
The purpose of accommociation is to remove variance that is not related to the domain of the test that is, to level the playing field by eliminating irrelevant sources of differences in student performance. The most common test accommociations are changes in the timing or scheduling of the assessment; mode of presentation, such as Braille or large- print versions for the visually impairec3 or reacling a writing assessment item to an auditory learner; or mocie of responses, such as use of a scribe to record oral responses and fill in the test booklet.
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From page 80... ...
. lSSlSSlppl Missouri Montana High school graduation Student diag nosis or placement Student diagnosis or placement High school graduation High school graduation High school graduation Student promotion; high school graduation Student diagnosis or placement High school graduation Student diagnosis or placement; endorsed diploma High school graduation
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From page 81... ...
. mprove Instruction Student diagnosis or placement; improve instruction; program evaluation Student diagnosis or placement; improve instruction; program evaluation Improve instruction; program evaluation Student diagnosis or placement; improve instruction; program evaluation Improve instruction; program evaluation Student diagnosis or placement; improve Instruction; program eve uat1on Improve instruction Improve instruction; program evaluation Student diagnosis or placement; improve instruction; program evaluation Improve instruction; program evaluation Improve instruction; program evaluation
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From page 82... ...
Iowa does not administer a statewide assessment.
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From page 83... ...
. mprove Instruction Program evaluation Improve instruction; program evaluation SOURCE: Data from 1996 Council of Chief State School Officers Fall State Student Assessment Program Survey.
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From page 84... ...
, schools anc3 districts may align curriculum more closely with test content, anc3 test takers may have stronger motivation to c30 well (e.g., Koretz et al., 19911. Performance gains on tests used for accountability (high~stakes tests)
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From page 85... ...
Comparing results earned on different types of measures anc3 reportec3 at different levels of aggregation is a challenge with serious implications for the ability to link tests to each other or to NAEP. Currently aciministerec3 state anc3 commercial achievement tests anc3 NAEP vary significantly in terms of their content emphasis, types and difficulty of test questions, anc3 the thought processes they require of students.
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From page 86... ...
86 ~ ~: ELITE ~ AIDE ~ BETS scored, and how the scores are reported and used (RoeLer et aL, 1998~. Moreover, Ji~rent test takers might use 3-rent cognitive processes on the same gem.
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