1. Assessing Achievement and Aptitude: Applications for Counseling Chapter 8

2.  Achievement tests: what individual has learned /acquired  Aptitude tests: predict future performance /ability to learn new tasks  Contrast between achievement and aptitude tests is one of purpose more than of content Achievement vs. Aptitude

3.  Survey achievement batteries  Individual achievement tests and diagnostic achievement tests  Criterion-referenced tests and minimum-level skills assessments  Subject area tests Assessment of Achievement

4.  Administered to thousands of students in multiple school districts throughout the nation  Many subtests that measure achievement in certain academic areas (i.e., reading, math, language arts)  Can provide information on strengths, limitations, and the students’ progress from year to year  Often co-normed with tests of general ability or academic intelligence Survey Achievement Tests

5.  Examples:  Iowa Tests  Metropolitan Achievement Tests, Eighth Edition  TerraNova, Third Edition  Current, well-known achievement battery  Modular series with multiple measures of achievement  Achievement batteries also available for adults (i.e., Test of Adult Basic Education) Survey Achievement Tests (cont.)

6.  Often used in psychoeducational evaluations (screening for learning disabilities, cognitive handicaps, behavioral disorders, other academic issues)  Can also be used with adults  Commonly used achievement tests:  Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement – Second Edition (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004)  Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition (Wechsler, 2009)  Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (Wilkinson & Robertson, 2007) Individual Achievement Tests and Diagnostic Achievement Tests

7.  Identifying learning disabilities  In the past, discrepancy model was used to identify specific learning disabilities (SLD)  SLD identified when there was difference of two standard deviations between academic achievement and intellectual ability  Response to Intervention (RTI) model now replaces discrepancy model for identifying learning disabilities  Data used to identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes  Intervention provided to student at primary, secondary or tertiary level  Student progress monitored and intervention adjusted as needed Individual Achievement Tests and Diagnostic Achievement Tests (cont.)

8.  Criterion-referenced instruments:  Designed to determine if a certain academic standard is met  Becoming more common with increasing focus on standards and accountability in education  Criterion-referenced assessments in Indiana: ISTEP+, IMAST, ISTAR  Minimum-level skills tests:  Criterion-referenced tests where the minimum level is the “criterion” for passing  Great controversy over the institution of minimum competency examinations as prerequisite to earning high school diploma Criterion-Referenced Tests & Minimum- Level Skills Assessments

9.  Single subject tests developed by teachers make up largest area of achievement tests  Vary in quality, content validity should be considered  Advocates of authentic assessment and performance assessment have had major influence on teacher-developed subject area tests Subject Area Tests

10.  Increase in standardized achievement testing in all 50 states (“high stakes testing”)  No Child Left Behind (2001)  Focus on educational accountability, examining individual student progress  Blueprint for revising Elementary and Secondary Education Act released in March 2010, not yet reauthorized  National Assessment of Educational Progress (“the nation’s report card”)  AERA’s conditions for high-stakes achievement testing programs in education Issues in Achievement Testing

11.  Scholastic Aptitude Tests  Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)  American College Testing (ACT)  Graduate Record Examination (GRE)  Vocational/Career Aptitude Tests  Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test Battery (ASVAB)  WorkKeys  Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) Aptitude Assessment

12.  Validity of SAT and ACT are about the same  Correlation with freshman GPA ranges from.30 to.50  Best predictor of college success is combination of high school grades and all 3 SAT section scores  Best predictor of graduate school success is combination of GRE scores and undergraduate GPA Validity of Scholastic Aptitude Tests

13.  Used in career counseling to predict job or occupational performance  Some used for employment selection purposes  Effective selection of instruments requires that they accurately predict successful performance of job duties – difficult for many reasons:  Job duties within an occupation vary depending on organization and setting  What constitutes “successfully performing”?  Job performance can rarely be measured unidimensionally  Difficult to recruit large norming groups Vocational/Career Aptitude Tests

14.  Test sophistication – individual’s level of knowledge in test-taking skills  Coaching – training or practice on questions that are the same or similar to items on test  Education – domain or area is covered more broadly, with intent of helping test taker learn content or information Test Preparation and Performance

15.  Test scores improve when individuals retake alternate form of test  Individuals with extensive experience taking standardized tests have advantage  Some test publishers are trying to provide free test preparation materials to create “more level playing field” Test Sophistication

16.  Research investigating effects of coaching on test results has mixed and inconsistent results  Closer the resemblance between the coaching material and test content  greater improvement in scores  “Teaching to the test” approach  General conclusions: coaching programs may increase scores slightly; significant changes occur only if programs are longer and content is closely aligned with test material Coaching