Standardized Tests

1. Standardized Tests

2. Standardized Tests The first thing you need to know about standardized tests: “Standardized test scores are not nearly as meaningful as most people think” James S. Cangelosi

3. Standardized Tests A test is standardized if it has been field tested to: Measure its reliability Establish norm-referenced standards for use in interpreting scores from subsequent administrations of the test.

4. Information on Standardized Tests: Tests in Print (Murphy, Conoley, & Impara, 1994). Contains information on 3,009 commercially availible test instruments. Test’s publisher and publication date listed along with biographical references. www.unl.edu/buros

5. Information on Standardized Tests: The Mental Measurements Yearbooks (Conoley & Impara, 1995). Information and reviews on virtually every widely used commercial test. Includes information on: Validity and usability

6. Information on Standardized Tests: Descriptions of the instrument and its features (i.e. type & number of items, levels, forms, type and availability of test manuals) Description of targeted test populations Information on norming group Information on costs and acquisition www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/mmybgui.htm

7. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test item” A test is composed of items. Each test item consists of a prompt (e.g. a question) and a scoring key (i.e. a rubric) Most standardized tests are comprised entirely of multiple choice items. In recent years the trend has been toward open ended items, usually short response and the occasional essay.

8. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Achievement test” Tests that are used to evaluate what students have learned or how well they have achieved certain goals California Achievement Test (CAT). K-12 Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS/4). K-12 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) K-9 Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford9)

9. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Aptitude test” Tests that are used to evaluate students’ potential for achieving certain goals if the students participates in reasonably appropriate learning activities. Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) K-13 Kauffman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). 2.5-12.5 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT7) K-12

10. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Norm Group” The sample of students with whom the test is field-tested and whose scores provide the standards for interpreting scores from subsequent administrations from the test. Nationally Normed: test norms established using a sample from across the nation Locally Normed: test norms established in a local geographic area.

11. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test Norms” A set of statistics computed from the norm group’s scores that provide: Standard to which subsequent scores are compared (i.e. average) Unit of measure for making comparisons (i.e. standard deviation)

12. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Raw Score” The sum of the points from the individual items composing the test. Example: If a test consists of 36 dichotomously scored items and a student responds correctly to 19 of those items, the student’s raw score is 19.

13. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Derived Score” A score that is the result of an arithmetic computation involving a raw score and other data (e.g. test norms) Examples: z-score, T-score, percentiles, stanines, NCE, grade equivalents, scaled scores.

14. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Student’s Grade Level” The grade and month of a student when the student takes the test, usually expressed as “g.m ” Example: If a 5th grade student takes a test in October, the student’s grade level is 5.2

15. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test Level” The particular subset of items from a large sequence of items that appears on a test taken by students at a particular grade level.

16. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test Form” The specific form of a test that has multiple but equivalent forms. Each form has different question but all forms are equivalent with respect to number and types of items, learning goals, and difficulty.

17. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test Edition” The number of times the test has been revised and normed. Until about 1985 new editions were typically made every 40 or so years Due to adverse publicity regarding “outdated” items, “culturally biased” items, and “yesterday’s” norms, tests are now revised about every 5-8 years.

18. Terminology of Standardized Tests “Test Manual” A manual to accompany the test which includes: Detailed directions for administration Reliability coefficients Demographic information from norm group Information on how the test was normed Explanations on how scores should be interpreted Information on appropriate uses of the test