Week 15 (Cont'd) : Assessing Student Learning

Week 15 (Contd)
ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

Constructing and Grading Tests
Constructing and Grading Tests

We will focus on Test types Test item construction Reporting of grades
Before we begin, do you think teachers can be objective in assigning grades? Why or why not?
Objectives
Determine an appropriate test for that purpose. Compare and contrast standardized tests and teachermade tests. Compare and contrast the different types of teachermade test items and the advantages and disadvantages associated with each. Construct the different types of items that can be included in teacher-made tests. List the purposes for assigning grades. Assign letter grades for participating students and provide a valid rationale for this assignment. Describe procedure for teacher record keeping and the reporting of student progress.
Types of Tests
1. Standardized tests
constructed by experts with explicit instructions for administration, standard scoring procedures, and tables of norms for interpretation Useful in comparing the performance of one individual with another, of an individual against a group, or of one group with another group. Results typically yield a percentile norm, an age norm, and a grade-level norm (or a combination)
Types of Tests
Standardized tests are used to make decisions about:

Determining placement in differentiated instructional tracks. Individualizing instruction for remediation or acceleration. Diagnosing areas of strength and weakness. Gauging the effectiveness of an instructional program or group of programs. Evaluating the extent of student progress. Determining teaching emphasis and effectiveness.
(Sax, 1980 and Ebel and Frisbie, 1991)
Types of Tests (cont.)

Limitations of standardized tests Validity questionable in situations in which they do not measure what was taught Likely to have social and cultural bias

2. Teacher-made tests:
Can be constructed so they are consistent with learning goals and objectives Present same questions to all students under nearly identical conditions Generate a product that can be evaluated and easily stored for later use
Teacher-made tests:
Low reliability Most teachers lack skill for designing valid tests or writing appropriate test items 3 alternatives for constructing tests: Objective test Essay test Combination
Various types of test items used by teachers

Guidelines for creating alternate-choice items:
Avoid using negative statement and double negatives Ask something important and worth remembering Dont make false stems longer than true stems Watch for item response patterns Be clear and concise Limit each statement to only one central idea Avoid using wordsall, none, sometimes and usuallythat can divulge the correct response Dont use exact quotes from textbookscan have different meaning when taken out of context
Various types of test items used by teachers (cont.)

Guidelines for creating multiple-choice items:
The central issue or problem should be stated clearly in the stem. Avoid writing a stem at the end of one page and the alternatives on the next page, or placing choices in a linear sequence. Avoid providing grammatical or contextual clues to the correct answer. Use language that even the most unskilled readers will understand. Avoid absolute terms (such as always, never, and none) in the stem and alternatives. Alternatives should be grammatically correct. Avoid the use of negatives (such as not, except, and least) and double negatives in the stem and alternatives. Avoid giving structural clues. Use all of the above and none of the above with care. Avoid pulling statements directly from the textbook. Alternatives should be plausible to less knowledgeable students.

Guidelines for creating matching items: Indicate clearly and concisely the basis for matching the premises with the responses. Design the entire matching item so it is contained on one page. Keep the number of items to be matched short. Put premises and responses in logical order. Be sure items include statements, words, or phrases that have a high degree of homogeneity. Make the length of statements consistent. If names are to be matched, use complete names.

Guidelines for creating completion items:
Give clear instructions. Be definite enough in the incomplete statement so that only one correct answer is possible. Do not adapt direct statements from the textbook with a word or two missing. Make sure all blanks are of equal length and correspond to the lengths of the desired responses. Write items that can be completed by a single word or brief phrase.

Guidelines for creating essay items:
Make directions clear and explicit. Allow ample time for students to answer the questions. Students should be given a choice of questions. The worth of each question should be determined as a test is being written. Explain your scoring technique to students before you give the test.
Test Types: Advantages and Disadvantages
Guidelines for developing authentic assessment

Design meaningful and worthy programs or tasks that match the content and outcomes of instruction. Make sure tasks have real-life applicability. Put emphasis on product and process, conveying that both development and achievement matter. Provide opportunities for learner self-evaluation. Develop scoring procedures and their application.
Quizzes
Evaluates student progress Check homework Measure whether content from immediate/preceding lessons was understood Short in lengththree to five questions Limited to material taught in immediate/preceding lessons Encourage students to keep w/their work Provide feedback for teachers related to their effectiveness Serve as warning signal of teaching/learning problems
Grading Systems
Teachers collect relevant data and then must interpret it and assign grades There is no way to assign grades that is fair to all students 2 grading systems: Absolute grading standards Relative grading standards
Absolute Grading Standards

Grades given relative to performance against an established set of grading criteria Each student has the potential to achieve any grade Students can achieve high grades in this system if they put forth the effortcontrol of test scores is in the hands of students Student either does/does not get an established percentage of the responses correct
Relative Grading Standards

Assess student performance with respect to the performance of other students Grading with a curve
Normal Curve Ranking System Inspection Method
Limitation: Does not take into account differences in overall ability of students
Assigning Final Grades

Point grading system
Importance of each assignment is reflected in points allocated
Weighted grading system

Each assignment is given a letter grade. Letter grades are then weighted
Percentage grading system

Calculation of the percentage of correct responses
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
St 1
St 2
St 3
St 4
Contracting for Grades

Teacher promises to award a specific grade for specified performance. Students know exactly what they must do to receive a certain grade; depending on the amount of work they wish to do, they receive a particular grade. Teachers must:
develop sets of objectives that correspond to specific letter grades. decide the activities and assignments that will be required at each level. share requirements with students in writing.
Recording and Reporting Grades

Record keeping can be a burden; however, the record keeping burden can be reduced through the use of computer technology. The form of grade cards and the judgment on report cards varies from one school district to another and often from one grade level to another.

Week 15 (Cont'd) : Assessing Student Learning

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Week 15 (Contd)

ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

Constructing and Grading Tests

Standardized tests are used to make decisions about:

Types of Tests (cont.)

Types of Tests (cont.)

Types of Tests (cont.)

Various types of test items used by teachers

Various types of test items used by teachers (cont.)

Various types of test items used by teachers (cont.)

Various types of test items used by teachers (cont.)

Various types of test items used by teachers (cont.)

Test Types: Advantages and Disadvantages

Guidelines for developing authentic assessment

Absolute Grading Standards

Relative Grading Standards

Assigning Final Grades

Weighted grading system

Percentage grading system

Contracting for Grades

Recording and Reporting Grades

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