Methods of Assessment and Testing Considerations Flashcards
Definitions of and differences between formal and informal assessments
Formal assessments assume a single set of expectations for all students and come with prescribed criteria for scoring and interpretation, include exams, diagnostic tests, achievement tests, screening, and intelligence tests
Informal assessments can judge and evaluate students’ performance and skill levels without making use of standardized tests and scoring patterns, there are no standardized tools to measure or evaluate the performances in these assessment tools, the best examples are projects, experiments and presentations
Norm referenced tests
Allow us to compare a students skills to others in his or her age group. They are developed by creating the test items and then adminstering the test to a group of students that will be used as the basis of comparison
Drawbacks of Norm-Referenced Tests
Many teachers are accused of teaching to the test, some school systems are under great pressure to raise their scores so they have resorted to decreasing time spent in recess, they can place a huge amount of stress on the students and teachers, have the potential for test bias, only evaluates the individual performance of the student instead of the overall growth
Definition of Criterion-Referenced Tests
Report how well students are doing relative to a predetermined performance level on a specified set of educational goals or outcomes
Definition of Standards Referenced Tests
Standards based assessment, many states and districts have adopted content standards that describe what students should know and be able to do in different subjects at various grade levels
Definition of Ecological Assessments
Involves directly observing and assessing a child in the many environments in which he or she routinely operates
Definition of Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA)
Based on curriculum that a child is mastering, it may be the curriculum materials for the grade level the child is in, or it may be adapted to the students ability or IEP goals
Definition of Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM)
An assessment method that involves timing tasks and then charting performance, most concerned with fluency
Similarities and differences of CBA and CBM
CBA provides a direct assessment of a child skills upon entry into a curriculum, guide development of individual goals, interventions, and accommodations, with CBM a child is tested every week and their results are graphed, then the teacher is allowed to look at the data and change instruction
Definition of Portfolio Assessments
Most important type, aportfolio is a collection of work that is associated with standards students are required to learn, this collection of work is often gathered over a long period of time to reflect what you have been taught as well as what you have learned
Definition of Authentic Assessments
A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills
Definition of Task Analysis
Very detailed, involves breaking down a particular task into the basic sequential steps, component parts, or skills necessary to accomplish the task
Definition of Outcome Based Assessments
To respond to concerns that education must be directly related to what educators and parents want the child to have gained in the end, involves considering, teaching, and evaluating the skills that are important in real-life situations
