Chapter 9 Flashcards
achievement tests
standardized tests measuring how much students have learned in a given content area
accountability
mandated obligation of teachers and other school personnel to accept responsibility for students’ performance on high stakes assessments
age-equivalent score
test score indicating the age level of students to whom a test taker performed most similarily
analytic score
scoring a student’s performance on an assessment by evaluating various aspects of it separately
anecdotal records
narrative accounts of observed student behavior or performance
aptitude tests
standardized tests designed to predict the potential for future learning and measure general abilities developed over long periods of time
assessment
process of observing a sample of a student’s behavior and drawing inferences about the student’s knowledge and abilities
authentic assessment
assessment of students’ knowledge and skills in a “real-life” context
central tendency
typical score for a group of scores
checklist
assessment tool with which a teacher evaluates student performance by indicating whether specific behaviors or qualities are present or absent
conferences
face-to-face interactions with teachers and students or teachers and parents to communicate strengths in student learning or areas that need improvement
content validity
extent to which an assessment includes a representative sample of tasks within the domain being assessed
criterion-referenced score
assessment score that specifically indicates what a student knows or can do
diagnostic assessment
highly specialized, comprehensive and detailed procedures used to uncover persistent or recurring learning difficulties that require specially prepared diagnostic tests as well as various observational techniques
dynamic assessment
systematic examination of how easily a student can acquire new knowledge or skills, perhaps with an adult’s assistance
essay tests
an assessment format that requires students to make extended written responses to questions or problems
ETS score
Standard score with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100
formal assessment
pre-planned systematic attempt to ascertain what students have learned
formative evaluation
evaluation conducted before or during instruction to facilitate instructional planning and enhance students’ learning
grade-equivalent score
test score indicating the grade level of students to whom a test taker performed most similarily
high-stakes testing
practice of using students’ performance on a single assessment instrument to make major decisions about students or school personnel
holistic scoring
summarizing a student’s performance on an assessment with a single score
informal assessment
assessment that results from a teacher’s spontaneous, day-to-day observations of how students behave and perform in class
Mean (M)
Mathematical average of a set of scores
Median
middle score in a group of scores
Mode
most frequently occurring score
normal distribution (normal curve)
theoretical pattern of educational and psychological characteristics in which most individuals lie somewhere in the middle range and only a few lie at either extreme
norm-referenced score
assessment score that indicates how a student’s performance on an assessment compares with the average performance of others
objective testing
multiple choice, matching, true/false, short answer, and fill-in tests; scoring answers does not require interpretation
paper-pencil assessment
assessment in which students provide written responses to written items
percentile ranking
test score indicating the percentage of people in the norm group getting a raw score less than or equal to a particular student’s raw score
performance assessment
assessment in which students demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a non-written fashion
portfolio
collection of a student’s work systematically compiled over a lengthy time period
practicality
extent to which an assessment instrument or procedure is inexpensive and easy to use and takes only a small amount of time to administer and score
rating scale
assessment tool with which a teacher evaluates student performance by rating aspects of the performance on one or more continua
raw score
assessment score based solely on the number or point value of correctly answered items
reflections
students’ own evaluations and descriptions of their work and their feelings about their achievements
reliability
extent to which an assessment instrument yields consistent information about the knowledge, skills, or characteristics being assessed
rubric
list of components that a student’s performance on an assessment task should ideally include
running record
narrative records of a child’s activities during a single period of time
standard deviation (SD)
statistic that reflects how close together or far apart a set of scores is and thereby indicates the variability of the scores
standard score
test score indicating how far a student’s performance is from the mean with respect to standard deviation units
standardization
extent to which assessments involve similar content and format and are administered and scored similarly for everyone
standardized tests
test developed by test-construction experts and published for use in many different schools and classrooms
stanine
standard score with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of 2; it is always reported as a whole number
summative evaluation
evaluation conducted after instruction to assess students’ final achievement
validity
extent to which an assessment instrument actually measures what it is intended to measure and allows appropriate inferences about the characteristic or ability in question
Variability or variance
degree of difference or deviation from mean
z-score
standard score with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1
