Methods of Assessment and Testing Considerations

Question 1

Definition of Formal Assessment

Answer 1

Assume a single set of expectations for all students and come with prescribed criteria for scoring and interpretation.

Question 2

Definition of Informal Assessment

Answer 2

Can judge and evaluate students’ performance and skill levels without making use of standardized test and scoring patterns.

Question 3

Differences between formal and informal assessment

Answer 3

• Formal: Formal assessments are formal ways of finding out how much a student has learnt or improved during the instructional period. These include exams, diagnostic test, achievement test, screening and intelligence test. The data are mathematically computed and summarized. Scores such as percentiles, stanines, or stand scores are mostly commonly given from this type of assessment.
• Informal: There are no standardized tool to measure or evaluate the performances in these assessment tools. The best examples of informal assessments are projects, experiments, and presentations given by students in classrooms and other platforms. They are not data driven but rather content and performance driven.

Question 4

Norm-Referenced Test

Answer 4

Allows us to compare a student’s skills to others in his age group.

Question 5

Purpose of Norm-referenced Test

Answer 5

Norm-referenced test are designed to “rank order” test takers - that is, to compare students’ scores.

Question 6

Drawbacks of Norm-referenced test

Answer 6

1. Many teacher are (unjustly) accused of teaching to the test.
2. Some school systems are under great pressure to raise their scores so they have resorted to decreasing (and sometimes doing away with) time spent in recess.
3. Standardized tests can place a huge amount of stress on students and teachers alike.
4. Standardized tests have the potential for test bias
5. Standardized testing only evaluates the individual performance of the student instead of the overall growth of that student over the course of the year.

Question 7

Criterion-referenced test (CRTs)

Answer 7

report how well students are doing relative to a predetermined performance level on a specified set of educational goals or outcomes included in the school, district, or state curriculum.

Question 8

Standards-referenced test

Answer 8

standard-based assessment

Question 9

Ecological assessment

Answer 9

involves directly observing and assessing a child in the many environments in which he or she routinely operates.

Question 10

Curriculum-based assessment (CBA)

Answer 10

is assessment based n the curriculum that a child is mastering.

Question 11

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM)

Answer 11

is an assessment method that involves timing tasks and then charting performance.

Question 12

Authentic Assessments

Answer 12

is a form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skill.

Question 13

Task Analysis

Answer 13

is very detailed; it involves breaking down a particular task into basic sequential steps, component parts, or skills necessary to accomplish the task.

Question 14

Outcome Based Assessments

Answer 14

has been developed, at least in part, to respond to concerns that education, to be meaningful, must be directly related to what educators and parents want the child to have gained in the end. Involved considering, teaching, and evaluating the skills that are important in real-life situations.

Question 15

Similarities between CBA and CBM

Answer 15

• both are curriculum based
• analysis
• development of material
• keep tract of student progress

Question 16

Differences between CBA and CBM

Answer 16

CBA: 
-non-standardized
-teacher created 
-Given frequently throughout the school year
CBM:
-standardized
-norm-referenced with scoring, start, and stop rules
-given annually