Summarizing Student Achievement Chapter Sixteen Educational Psychology: Developing Learners 6th edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Summarizing Student Achievement The three most widely used methods for summarizing student achievement are: Course grades Portfolios Standardized test scores Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Summarizing the Results of a Single Assessment Teachers use scores to summarize how students perform on individual classroom assessments. Raw Scores This score is based solely on the number or point value of correctly answered items. Advantages Easy to calculate Easy to understand (on the surface) Disadvantage Difficult to know exactly what raw scores really mean Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Course Grades: Scores Criterion-Referenced Scores Scores that specifically indicate what a student knows or can do Determined in relation to student’s achievement on specific objectives or standards May be an either-or score (pass or fail) or indicate a level of competence Advantages Useful for determining what specific objectives students have obtained, what skills have been mastered, and where specific weaknesses lie Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Course Grades: Scores Norm-Referenced Scores Scores that indicate how a student’s performance on an assessment compares with the average performance of peers Grade-equivalent scores indicate the grade level of a student to whom his/her performance is most similar. Age-equivalent scores indicate the age level of a student to whom his/her performance is most similar. Grade- and age-equivalent scores used frequently because they are fairly easy to use Do not indicate the typical range of performance for students at a particular grade or age level Often used inappropriately May encourage people to believe that all students should be performing at grade level Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Course Grades: Scores Percentile Ranks Scores that indicate the percentage of peers in the norm group getting a raw score less than or equal to a particular student’s raw score Good for reporting test results May distort actual differences between students A ten point difference between percentile ranks implies a greater difference in achievement than may actually be present Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Characteristics Being Measured Course Grades: Scores Standard Scores Scores that indicate how far a student’s performance is from the mean with respect to standard deviation units These scores tend to reflect the normal distribution of scores Many Some None N u m b e r o f P e o p l e Low Moderate High Characteristics Being Measured Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Course Grades: Scores Standard Scores The numbers used to derive standard scores are the standard deviation and the mean Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Determining Final Class Grades Problems with traditional grading techniques include: Lower reliability and validity of individual assessment instruments may lead to inaccurate grades. Different teachers use different criteria to assign grades. In heterogeneous classes, different students might be working toward different goals. Typical grading practices promote performance goals rather than mastery goals. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Strategies for Ensuring Accurate Grades Taking the job of grading seriously Basing grades on achievement Basing grades on hard data Being selective about the assessments used to determine grades Identifying a reasonable grading system and sticking to it Accompanying grades with qualitative information Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Considering Improvement Problems exist with basing final grade solely on improvement including: Some students come to class already possessing some of the knowledge and skills to be tested, leaving little room for improvement. Some students may start out with the lowest possible performance in order to “beat the system.” In order to reward improvement, teachers should: Assign greater weight to assessments conducted at the end of semester Consider offering retakes when applicable Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Considering Effort Most experts recommend against basing grades on effort. More skilled and knowledgeable students don’t need to exert as much effort and may therefore be penalized. Effort can only be assessed subjectively and is therefore highly unreliable. It’s best to encourage and reward effort in informal assessments. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Considering Extra Credit Course grades should be based on student’s performance and achievement in relation to the instructional goals and objectives. If used, extra-credit work should be available to all students and relate to the instructional goals and objectives. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Using Portfolios A portfolio is a collection of a student’s work compiled systematically over a lengthy period of time. In addition to paper-pencil assignments, it may include photos, videos, or student-created objects. Advantages include: The ability to capture the complexity of student achievement Allowing instruction to be intertwined with assessment Encouraging students to reflect on and evaluate their own accomplishments Positively influencing the nature of instruction Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Using Portfolios Effectively Consider the specific purpose for which a portfolio will be used Involve students in the selection of the contents Identify the criteria by which products should be selected and evaluated Ask students to reflect on the products they include in their portfolio Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Types of Standardized Tests Achievement tests Assess how much students have learned from the things they have been taught Enable comparisons of students from many different places Assist in tracking students’ progress over time May help identify the onset of learning difficulties Content validity may be an issue Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Types of Standardized Tests Scholastic aptitude and intelligence tests Assess a general capacity to learn and are used to predict future academic achievement Specific aptitude tests Predict future ability to succeed in a particular content domain Not used as frequently as in the past Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Types of Standardized Tests School readiness tests Assess cognitive skills important for success in a typical kindergarten or first-grade curriculum Helpful for looking for specific delays, but scores do not correlate with actual school achievement after enrollment Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Selecting and Using Standardized Tests Choose a test that has high validity for your particular purpose and high reliability for students similar to your own Make sure that the test’s norm group is relevant to your population Take students’ age and development into account Make sure students are adequately prepared to take the test When administering the test, follow the directions closely and report any unusual circumstances Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Interpreting Standardized Test Scores Have a clear and justifiable rationale for establishing cutoffs for acceptable performance Compare two standardized test scores only when those scores are derived from the same or equivalent norm group(s) Never use a single test score to make important decisions Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

High-Stakes Testing and Accountability There is considerable pressure on teachers and educational administrators to raise scores on standardized tests. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that all states establish challenging academic content standards. “Adequately yearly progress” in meeting state-determined standards is required. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Problems with High-Stakes Testing The tests don’t always reflect important instructional goals. Teachers spend a great deal of time teaching to the tests. School personnel have disincentives to follow standardized testing procedures and to assess the progress of low achievers. Different criteria lead to different conclusions abut which students and schools are performing at high levels. Too much emphasis is placed on punishing low-performing schools; not enough is placed on helping those schools improve. Students’ motivation affects their performance on the tests and consistently low performance affects motivation. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Potential Solutions to the Problems Identify and assess those things that are most important for students to know and do Educate the public about what standardized tests can and cannot do Look at alternatives to traditional objective tests such as authentic assessments Advocate for the use of multiple measures in any high-stakes decisions Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition

Taking Student Diversity into Account Remember that assessment instruments can be culturally biased. Items can offend or unfairly penalize some students on the basis of their ethnicity, gender, or SES. Teachers should continually be on the lookout for unintentional bias. Language skills and differences affect performance on many kinds of assessments. The use of portfolios may be more effective at conveying the progress and achievements of students with a variety of disabilities and special needs. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved. Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, sixth edition