Chapter 11

Assessment for Education

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Response to Intervention (RtI)
– Specific learning disability: a disorder in one or
more of the basic psychological processes involved
in understanding or in using language, spoken or
written, which disorder may manifest itself in the
imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write,
spell, or do mathematical calculations.
– A specific learning disability (SLD) was diagnosed
if a significant discrepancy existed between the
child s measured intellectual ability and the level
of achievement that could reasonably be expected
from the child in one or more areas.
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Response to Intervention (RtI)
– In the mid-1970 s, the federal mandate to identify
and assist children with learning problems defined
a learning disability as a severe discrepancy
between achievement and intellectual ability.
– RtI model: a multilevel prevention framework
applied in educational settings that is designed to
maximize student achievement through the use of
data that identifies students at risk for poor
learning outcomes combined with evidence-based
intervention and teaching.
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Response to Intervention (RtI)
– The RtI model is multilevel because there are at
least three levels of intervention:
• Level 1: The classroom environment wherein all
students are being taught whatever the teacher is
teaching
• Level 2: A small group of learners who have failed to
make adequate progress in the classroom have been
segregated for special teaching
• Level 3: Individually-tailored and administered
instruction for students who have failed to respond to
the second level of intervention
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Response to Intervention (RtI)
– The RtI model aims to accelerate the learning
process for all students as well as identify students
with learning disabilities
– Implementation is often done according to a
problem-solving model, while some states and
districts rely on a general intervention policy
– Integrative assessment: a multidisciplinary
approach to evaluation that assimilates input from
relevant sources
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Dynamic assessment is an approach to
exploring learning potential that is based on a
test-intervention-retest model
– Budoff (1967, 1987) explored differences between
deficits identified by standardized tests that
appeared due to differences in education versus
mental deficiency
• The Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD)
was designed to yield information about the nature and
amount of intervention required to enhance a child s
performance
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Dynamic assessment
– Zone of proximal development: the distance
between the actual developmental
level as determined by individual
problem-solving under adult
guidance or in collaboration with
more capable peers
• Vygotsky (1978)

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Dynamic assessment
– Such procedures differ from traditional assessment
in several ways:
• Dynamic assessors do not remain neutral; instead, they
may do everything in their power to help the testtaker
master the material in preparation for retesting
• Variations may be introduced that help the testtaker
better understand or remediate the obstacles to learning

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Achievement tests: designed to measure
accomplishment
– In most educational settings, achievement tests are
used to gauge student progress toward instructional
objectives, compare an individual s
accomplishments to peers, and help determine
what activities might best propel the students
toward goals
– May be standardized nationally, regionally, or
locally, or not at all
– Scores may be put to a wide variety of uses 11-9
 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Achievement tests
– Measures of general achievement may survey
learning in one or more academic areas
• Tests that cover a number of academic areas are
typically divided into several subtests and referred to as
achievement batteries
• e.g., Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP)
battery; SRA California Achievement Tests; Wechsler
Individual Achievement Test–Third Edition (WAIT III)

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Achievement tests
– Measures of achievement in specific subject areas
• Most specific-subject achievement tests are teacher-
made, but there are many standardized instruments to
gauge achievement in standard areas
• At the elementary-school level, the acquisition of basic
skills (reading, writing, basic arithmetic) is emphasized
• At the secondary school level, one popular battery is the
Cooperative Achievement Test, consisting of a series of
separate achievement tests in diverse areas such as
English, social studies, and mathematics
• At the college level, such tests are usually in the form of
end-of-major outcomes assessments
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests tend to focus on informal
learning or life experiences rather than
structured learning, as is normally assessed in
achievement tests
– Also referred to as prognostic tests and are
typically used to make predictions, generally on a
broader fund of information and abilities

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the preschool level
– Aptitude during this time of development is
generally referred to as readiness
– At this level, such assessment is largely a matter of
determining whether a child s cognitive,
emotional, and social development is appropriate
for the child s age
– Checklists and rating scales are tools commonly
used with preschoolers
• e.g., Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL),
Connors Rating Scales–Revised (CRS-R), Behavior
Assessment System for children-2 (BASC-2)
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the preschool level
– CBCL has been designed for use with children
through young adults, ages 4 – 18
• Those with close relationships to the subject provide
information for competence items covering the
subject s activities, social relations, and school
performance
• The checklist also contains items describing specific
behavioral and emotional problems
• A syndrome may be defined as a set of co-occurring
emotional and behavioral problems:
– Anxious/Depressed; Withdrawn/Depressed; Somatic
Complaints; Social Problems; Thought Problems;
Attention Problems; Rule-Breaking Behavior; and
Aggressive Behavior
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the preschool level
– CRS-R can be used to screen for ADHD and other
behavior problems
– BASC-2 utilizes teacher and parent ratings to
identify adaptive difficulties on 16 scales ranging
from activities of daily living (ADLs) to study
skills
• A Self-Report of Personality (SRP) may also be
administered if the respondents are believed to have
sufficient insight into their own behavior

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the preschool level
– Psychological tests
• By the age of 2, children provide a unique challenge to
assessors in terms of evaluation and assessment
– Language and conceptual skills emerge, but are not
advanced enough to assess using traditional tests
– The attention span of a preschooler is short
– Motivation in the child may vary from one test to the next
• Tests such as the WPPSI-III and the SB5 may be used to
gauge developmental strengths and weaknesses, but
interpretation of these scores proves questionable at times
– What is the meaning of a score on an infant intelligence
test?
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the elementary-school level
– Children of the same chronological age may vary
widely in their abilities
– School readiness tests provide educators with a
measure to assess an incoming student s abilities
– Metropolitan Readiness Test (sixth edition;
MRT6) is a test battery that assesses the
development of the reading and mathematics skills
important in the early stages of formal learning

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the secondary-school level
– Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) consists of a
number of tests:
• A multipart test referred to as the SAT (containing
measures of reading, writing, and mathematics)
• SAT subject tests
– The SAT developers claim that SAT scores,
combined with a consideration of high school
GPA, yields the best available predictor of
academic success in college
• Understandably, a great deal of controversy surrounds
this statement
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the secondary-school level
– American College Testing Assessment (ACT) is a
curriculum-based college entrance exam, wherein
scores may be predictive of creativity as well as
academic success
– Some evidence suggests that the ACT and the SAT
scores were highly correlated with general
intelligence

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the college level and beyond
– Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
• An entrance examination for college students seeking
graduate school admission
• Contains a General Test form and several subject tests
– The General Test contains verbal, quantitative, and
analytical reasoning sections
• Many independent researchers have examined the test
with regard to psychometric variables
– Some evidence supports its utility, but other
evidence refutes such usefulness
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Aptitude tests at the college level and beyond
– Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
• A 100-item multiple choice analogy test that examines
the testtaker s ability to perceive relationships as well
as his or her general intelligence, vocabulary, and
academic learning
– Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
• Consists of four sections: Verbal Reasoning, Physical
Sciences, Writing Sample, and Biological Sciences
• One group of investigators examined the ability of the
MCAT to predict performance in medical school and
medical licensing exams and concluded that predictive
validity was impressive
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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Diagnostic test: a tool used to identify areas of
deficit to be targeted for intervention
– Reading tests
• The Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised
(WRMT-III) is a paper-and-pencil measure of reading
readiness, reading achievement, and reading difficulties
• Other reading tests include the Stanford Diagnostic
Reading Test, the Metropolitan Reading Instructional
Tests, the Diagnostic Reading Scales, and the Durrell
Analysis of Reading Test

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 The Role of Testing and Assessment in
Education
• Diagnostic tests
– Math tests
• The Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test, Fourth
Edition (SDMT-4) is a standardized test that can
provide useful diagnostic insights with regard to the
mathematical abilities of children from preschool to
college age
• The KeyMath3-DA is a standardized test for
administration to children as young as 4 ½ to adults as
old as 21
• Both tests, and many others, help diagnose difficulties
with arithmetic and mathematical concepts
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 Psychoeducational Test Batteries
• Psychoeducational test battery: a test kit that
generally contains two types of tests: those that
measure abilities related to academic success
and those that measure educational
achievement
– Allow for normative comparisons as well as
individual evaluation of strength and weakness

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 Psychoeducational Test Batteries
• Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-
ABC)
– Designed for use with ages 2½ to 12 ½
– Subtests measuring both intelligence and
achievement are included, divided into two
subgroups reflecting the two kinds of information-
processing skills: simultaneous and sequential
skills

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 Psychoeducational Test Batteries
• Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-
ABC)
– Recommendations for teaching based on Kaufman
and Kaufman s (1983) concept of processing
strength can be derived from these test findings
• e.g., a student whose strength is sequential processing
should be taught using the guidelines for sequential
learners

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 Psychoeducational Test Batteries
• Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children,
Second Edition (KABC-II)
– Designed for use with ages 3 to 18
– The grounding in Luria s theory of sequential
versus simultaneous processing theory was
expanded
– A grounding in the CHC theory was added,
providing the examiner with a choice as to which
model of test interpretation was optimal for the
testing situation
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 Other Tools of Assessment in
Educational Settings
• Performance, portfolio, and authentic
assessment
– Performance assessment has historically referred
to any type of assessment that requires the
examinee to do more than choose the correct
response
• e.g., essay questions, research proposals
– Performance task: a work sample designed to
elicit representative knowledge, skills, and values
from a particular domain of study
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 Other Tools of Assessment in
Educational Settings
• Performance, portfolio, and authentic
assessment
– Portfolio assessment: a form of performance
assessment that refers to the evaluation of one s
work samples
– Authentic assessment: in an educational context,
an evaluation of relevant, meaningful tasks that
may be conducted to evaluate learning of academic
subject matter but that demonstrate the student s
transfer of that study to real-world activities
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 Other Tools of Assessment in
Educational Settings
• Peer appraisal techniques
– Peer appraisals can help call attention to an
individual who is experiencing academic, personal,
social, or work-related difficulties
– Peer appraisals allow an individual in charge to
view members of a group from the perspective of
those alongside the individual being evaluated
– The results of peer appraisals can be graphically
illustrated (e.g., a sociogram)

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 Other Tools of Assessment in
Educational Settings
• Measuring study habits, interests, and attitudes
– Academic performance is the result of a complex
interplay of a number of factors
– A number of tools have purported to examine these
factors:
• Study Habits Checklist
• What I Like to Do Interest Inventory
• Survey of School Attitudes
• Quality of School Life Scales
• Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes
• Study Attitudes and Methods Survey 11-31