Standardized Testing: Its role in identifying gifted learners Identification and Assessment of Gifted Deborah Kelly

What are Standardized Tests? Tests that are standardized in four areas: Format – the format of all questions for all students in the same (usually multiple choice) Questions – the questions for all students are the same Instructions – the instructions for all students are the same Time allotment – the time permitted to complete the test is the same for all students

Types of Standardized Tests Norm-referenced: Provides a relative ranking of a student among other students Criterion-referenced: A description of specific knowledge and skills each student can demonstrate Source: Assessment of Student Achievement

Norm-Referenced Tests Educators interpret a student’s performance in relation to the norm group (the performances of students who have previously taken the test) Examples of this type of test are: SAT, ITBS, MAT, or CAT

Norm-Referenced Tests Norms are established by testing children all over the country The norm, the 50 th percentile, is determined by trying our test questions to see if the test items produce a result in which 50 percent of the students get the item wrong Devised distractors or wrong answers designed to trick students into making mistakes Contents are tested for “validity” to determine if the item tests what it claims to measure

Criterion-Referenced Tests Scores performance in relation to a clearly specified set of behaviors Does not depend on how other students performed on the test; focus is how the student performed on the domain of the content

Criterion-Referenced Tests Our GCRCT is this type of test High-stakes in that we use this to determine whether a child passes or fails third and fifth grades Controversy has arisen among educators who question the “cut-score” for passing or failing

Reliability Means accuracy in measurement (the degree to which the results would be nearly the same each time the test was administered) Scores derived from intelligence and achievement tests are likely to be highly reliable Must be present to a high degree for the identification process to be fair

Validity The degree to which a standardized test measures what it purports to measure

History of Standardized Testing Use of standardized testing in the United States cannot be attributed to any one factor, but can be closely linked to seven concerns or events: 1. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 was viewed as a wake-up call to improve mathematics and science curriculum so that we could stay competitive in the space race against the USSR. 2. Teachers inflated grades without regard to criteria or content of curriculum

History of Standardized Testing 3. Grades viewed as ambiguous. A grade might be reflective of variables such as attendance, behavior, neatness—not necessarily related to student achievement 4. Publication of A Nation at Risk in A decline of SAT scores between 1966 to 1990

History of Standardized Testing 6. Third International Mathematical and Science Study released test results showing that American students were slightly above average in science and slightly below average in math 7. Large scale assessment perceived by public as guardian of educational standards (e.g., No Child Left Behind legislation)

History of Standardized Testing Looked to testing as a means of providing a “watchdog” for education – a means by which educational efforts could be measured At first glance, test seemed objective Their multiple choice formats were cheap to administer and score Results were available relatively quickly

Uses for Standardized Tests Monitoring – Used as an external instrument to determine if test results correlate to other assessment indicators such as classroom performance and report card grades Diagnosis – To ascertain students’ strengths and weaknesses Teacher Accountability – When used to measure teacher performance, this can be problematic. Teachers are called upon to teach the students that appear at their door. As we all know, these students are not always distributed equitably among the staff.

Uses for Standardized Tests Principal/Superintendent/Board Accountability: Same issues here as for teachers. You get who you get. Student Accountability: Promotion, retention, graduation decisions – should not be the sole deciding factor, yet it often can be Selection Decision: To make discriminations among people to determine what type of educational experience they will have (gifted candidacy, for example)

Abuse of Standardized Tests Could result in tracking of students Teachers and administrators might lose jobs if students are low performers Quality teaching sacrificed to “teaching the test” Pay for performance could result in less willingness for teachers to teach the lower performing students

Abuse of Standardized Tests Eighteen states currently use exams to grant or withhold diplomas, but evidence shows that such tests actually decrease student motivation and increase the proportion of students who leave school early. We are among these states—our students must pass end of course tests in order to exit high school with a diploma.

Factors influencing test outcomes Family income Educational level of parents Poverty Motivation Cultural factors Students don’t enter the testing arena on a level playing field. The same biases that exists with identification of gifted students within our classrooms are largely due to the biases that exist within the testing instruments with which we measure achievement and aptitude.

Hot Topics Testing for young gifted children Myth: Young children cannot be tested because tests are not valid or reliable for early ages. Response: There are standardized tests that are valid and reliable for many young children

Hot Topics Myth: Verbal young children can score high on IQ tests causing false positives; that is, the tests will identify children as gifted who are not really gifted Response: If the test is valid and reliable, it will not give false positives

Hot Topics Students outside the mainstream Using multiple criteria that include inventories and checklists Broadening the data-finding procedures for students including such approaches as peer nomination, self-nomination, parent nomination Use of tests that have a history of effectiveness in identifying disadvantaged students (Torrance and Naglieri, e.g.)

Hot Topics Assessing Highly Gifted Complex—differences in scores obtained on various instruments are much greater for this group than for any other population “Ceiling effect” – occurs when the child’s knowledge goes beyond the limits of test Julian Stanley (1990) says “assessing the highly gifted is like trying to measure individuals who are 6 feet tall with a 5-foot ruler. There is no way to know how high a student’s score might have been if the test contained harder questions.

Hot Topics One-Shot versus Continuing Assessment Obviously, children grow and change. Most assuredly, their talents and abilities undergo processes of differentiation and specialization as they move through elementary grades and into high school. Use continuing assessment as a means to fine-tune a student’s educational program.