1. Standardized Tests

2. Standardized tests are commercially published tests most often constructed by experts in the field. They are developed in a very precise fashion, and have specific instructions for both administration and scoring. These instructions are supposed to be followed exactly by everyone who administers the tests.

3. Standardized Tests Confusion may exist concerning the definition of standardized tests. In the past, the term standardized referred mainly to norm- referenced tests However, a standardized test mayor may not be norm-referenced. We consider a test to be standardized if it is a published test with specific instructions for administration and scoring.

4. Standardized Tests NORM-REFERENCED TESTS Although not all standardized tests have norms, most do. Norms are average scores for a given group of students, which allow comparisons to be made among different students or groups of individuals.

5. Standardized Tests The norms are derived from a random sampling of a cross-section of a large population of individuals. Norm-referenced tests are used to help teachers learn where their own students stand in relation to others in the class, school system, city, state, or nation. Although a child may be doing average work in a particular class, the child may be above average when compared to other norms. Similarly, it is possible for a child to be doing above average work in a particular third-grade class but to be below average compared to all third-graders in the nation.

6. Standardized Tests LIMITATIONS OF NORM-REFERENCED MEASURES 1. The measure may be inappropriate for use with some groups or individuals. It might be too hard for some and not challenging enough for others. 2. Allocated time limits may be unrealistic, which means that the scores of students who work slowly but with precision are most likely not accurate.

7. Standardized Tests 3. Items may sample breadth of reading rather than depth, which results in a superficial view of the student's reading behaviors. 4. Administering the test in a group setting might invalidate the results in that children who fail to understand the directions may be unable to answer any of the items they actually know.

8. Standardized Tests 5. The test format limits the kinds of items used. Multiple-choice formats are often used and these do not measure some reading behaviors appropriately. 6. Norm-referenced tests generally provide an overestimate of the students appropriate instructional reading level.

9. Standardized Tests Teachers must be cautious when they use these tests. In addition to the limitations mentioned above, teachers must use the three assessment questions to determine whether a test is appropriate for their students What do I want to know? Why do I want to know? How can I best discover this information?

10. Standardized Tests Another important factor concerns the students themselves. Students who feel comfortable, alert, well-fed, rested, and highly motivated are better prepared to perform at their best. Such factors do affect test performance. Teachers want to administer tests under the best possible circumstances. Good teachers remind students and parents before a test that students need to sleep well, eat breakfast, pay attention, and expect to do well on a test.

11. Standardized Tests Standardized tests are often referred to as high-stakes tests. The term "high-stakes“ implies undesirable consequences for those who fail. Performance benchmarks for these tests are usually determined by policy, not by students' needs. While evaluation and interpretation is out of the hands of teachers, the results are often used to reward or penalize students, teachers, and schools. Without a doubt, the political use of high-stakes testing data affects the lives of students and teachers.

12. Standardized Tests Reading Survey Tests and General Achievement Tests. The major difference between the two types of tests is that a standardized reading survey test, such as the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, only measures reading and therefore can be omewhat more comprehensive.

13. Standardized Tests TEST SCORE TERMINOLOGY There are many potentially confusing terms test makers use in discussing standardized achievement tests. Following is a guide to some of the terms teachers will probably encounter at one time or another.

14. Standardized Tests Raw Score The raw score is the number of items that a student answers correctly on a test. The raw score is usually not reported because it does not convey meaningful information. Test makers use the raw scores to derive their scale scores.

15. Standardized Tests Standard Scores Standard scores are used to compare test takers' assessment scores. They are presented in terms of standard deviations. If the standard deviation is large, it means that the scores are more scattered in relation to the mean. Conversely, if the standard deviation is small, the scores are more clustered around the mean."

16. Standardized Tests Standard Deviation Measurement experts like to work with standard deviations because they feel that they produce more accurate appraisals of a student's scores in relation to others, and they are exceptionally helpful in understanding test results. For example, on one test, the standard deviation is 10, and the mean or average of all the scores is 100.

17. Standardized Tests Two students take the two different tests. Student A scores 110 on one test and Student B scores 105 on the other test. Even though the students have different scores, they both have scored one standard deviation above the mean. The 110 score is therefore equivalent to the 105 score.

18. Standardized Tests The same logic would apply to tests with different means. It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss the various kinds of standard scores that exist.

19. Standardized Tests Normal Curve Many teachers are familiar with the bell- shaped symmetrical curve (normal curve) in which the majority of scores fall near the mean (average) of the distribution, and the minority of scores appear above or below the mean.

20. Standardized Tests Grade Equivalent A grade equivalent is a description of the year and month of school for which a given student's level of performance is typical. A grade equivalent of 6.2 on the Terra Nova California Achievement Test (CAT) is interpreted as the score that is typical of a group of students in the third month of the sixth grade.

21. Standardized Tests (September is designated as month.0, October as.1, November as.2, December as.3, and so on up to June, which is.9.) These scores are useful in the elementary grades because fairly regular gains are expected in basic skill development at each grade level. Extreme grade equivalents, those that are more than two years above or below grade level, must be interpreted with great caution because they are based on "extrapolations“ rather than actual student performance.

22. Standardized Tests A very low or a very high score just means that the student scored far below or far above the national average. A grade equivalent score of 6.6 by a third- grader does not mean the third-grader is able to do sixth-grade work or should be in the sixth grade. It does mean that this student is scoring well above the average for third-grade students.

23. Standardized Tests Percentile A percentile is a point on the distribution below which a certain percent of the scores fall. A test score equivalent to the 98th percentile means that the student's score is higher than that of 98 percent of others who took the test. Remember that the 50th percentile score is the middle score, or the median; it is the point above and below which half of the students scored.

24. Standardized Tests Likewise, remember that percentile and percent correct are not the same. A percentile score of 75 on an achievement test by a fifth-grader means that the fifth-grader obtained a score higher than 75 out of every 100 students in a representative sample of fifth- graders in the nation who took the test. A student might get 60 percent of the test items correct and still be in the 75th percentile.

25. Standardized Tests CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS Criterion-referenced reading tests are based on an extensive inventory of reading objectives. These tests are designed to help teachers learn about students' specific strengths and needs. Teachers use them to gain more information about students' various skill levels. The information they get from the test is used in conjunction with other valid assessment data to plan appropriate instruction.

26. Standardized Tests Criterion-referenced tests are considered standardized if they are published tests that have been prepared by experts in the field and have precise instructions for administration and scoring. They can be administered individually or to a group, and they can be teacher-made or standardized.

27. Standardized Tests Criterion-referenced tests are concerned primarily with mastery of predetermined objectives, which are based on content material. On criterion-referenced tests, an individual is supposed to compete only with himself or herself. While there may be very little difference in appearance between a norm-referenced test and a criterion-referenced test, differences do exist in the objectives of the tests.

28. Standardized Tests For a criterion-referenced test to be valid, a content domain must be specified. The test items must be representative of the content domain. Test makers identify various content area domains and write measurable objectives within each domain. They develop detailed item specifications to ensure detailed measurement of the skills stated in the objectives. Usually, there are several items written for each objective.

29. Standardized Tests Criterion-referenced tests are not norm- based; however, as odd as it may sound, "criterion-referenced tests and norm- referenced tests are no longer seen as a strict dichotomy." When a criterion-referenced test has equated norms, it mean that "the scores on one test have been statistically matched to the scores on a normed test."

30. Standardized Tests Some test makers are including a "cutoff or passing score" with criterion referenced tests, perhaps because the term criterion implies a benchmark for performance. With a criterion-referenced interpretation of scores, the focus is on what students can do and the comparison should be to a content domain, not to other students.