NAME: WYCLIFFE NYAITI

DEPARTMENT – M.ED G/C

COURSE CODE: EFGC813

ASSIGNMENT

QUESTION:
WHAT IS STANDARDIZATION PROCESS?

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INTRODUCTION

Standardization is a process of ensuring that a test is standardized (Osadebe, 2001).

It could also be defined as the process of developing and implementing technical
standard (Wikipedia, 2013).

A standardized test differs from other types in its purpose and design. The ultimate
purpose of a standardized test is as the name implies, standardization it provides a
standard for comparison. Standardized tests are designed to evaluate and then
compare the aptitudes or competencies of a diverse population of individuals e.g
students from different institutions who have different educational backgrounds
therefore a standardized test must be:

i. Representative of a domain of knowledge

ii. Dependable with regard to the format and scoring
iii. Consistent in terms of testing conditions (Standardized Assessment A
primer, 2011).

Standardized tests are format test that allow you to compare your students with
other students a region country. These tests are usually valid and reliable because
they have been tested on large sample populations and have been revised to
eliminate unreliable or invalid questions. They are useful if you want to compare
your students with other students or if you want to rank students against the
“norms”. The norms for standardized test depend on where the tests were
developed.

One major disadvantages of standardized tests is that, they are not effective with
students that have abilities needs, or problems that differ from those of the
“normal” students population. In addition the content of standardized tests does not
always match what is taught in a certain school or classroom. Study by These

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found out that many students in less developed countries do poorly on standardized
test especially on tests that are developed in other countries. One reason for this is
that these tests are usually given in English, which is a second language for many
students. Another reason is that the content and culture of the test usually does not
match the classroom content and culture in a particular school. Although
standardized tests are changing to include more variety and to encourage higher
level thinking, they are still very limiting and should not be used as the sole
measure f a student’s performance systems, determine a student’s academic future.
If a student passes, he or she can move ahead. If a student fails, he or she will not
have the same opportunities. The number of students that pass and fails is also seen
as a reflection of the quality of teaching and the success of the school system.

Teacher – generated tests are generally designed to evaluate your learning of the
course material in order to assign a course grade. Teacher – generated tests are
usually written for a specific course (e.g. EFGC813) within a specific discipline
(e.g. guidance and counseling) and are typically administered in the same
classroom as the course is taught under the supervision of the faculty member
responsible for teaching that course. The focus of teacher - generated exams is
limited in content and the questions tend to emphasize knowledge of facts, specific
details or specific concepts. They are generally not intended to measure learning
across different courses or disciplines.

For teacher generated exams, the similarities or continuities between the learning
environment and the testing environment provide numerous conscious and
subconscious clues and memory cues or (triggers) to help you recall information
on the exam. For example you might remember the sound of the teacher’s voice as
he was explaining the concept you need to understand to answer a test question.

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Many teachers prefer criterion reference test because the students performance and
the test relates directly to what was taught during the course. Criterion reference
tests can measure skills, knowledge and attitudes. The disadvantages of teacher –
generated tests are often unreliable and less valid than standardized tests, and their
effectiveness relies on the skills of the individual teachers who created the tests and
grade them.

The two primary types of tests

Test Types

Teachers-generated Standardized Test

Designed for a single course Designed for cover entire domain

Limited focus Global focus
Emphasis on specific details Emphasis on associations

The two basic types of questions

Test Questions

Lower – level thinking Higher – level thinking

Designed to assess memory Designed assess problem-solving

Focus on recognition Focus on application in new
Emphasis on specific details situations
Test Validity and Reliability Emphasis on critical reasoning

A good test should possess two characteristics namely, validity and reliability.

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 i. Test validity: To be valid, the test must measure what it intends to
measure. Test validity include, face, content and concurrent. Test-takers
often have an opinion about tests, their perception of an examination is
known as face validity content experts design tests, their expertise ensures
the exam tests the material it is supposed o test (content validity). Also a
test should correlate well with a previously validated test (measurement
instrument) that was designed to measure the same thing; this is called
concurrent validity.
ii. Test reliability: To be reliable, a test must produce essentially the same
results when administered at multiple sites over an extended period of
time, in other words, the results must be reproducible. A test that produces
statistically different scores depending on the testing location is not
reliable. A test cannot be valid if not also reliable.

Importance of standardized testing

1. Standardized test can improve diagnosis of students and teachers strengths

and weaknesses. It help an educator evaluate the effectiveness of a
curriculum or to help assess if instructional methods are a good match to
child’s learning style.
2. Standardized test can improve prediction and selection for gifted programs,
college, scholarships or employment. Results can be highly effective
identifying needs of exceptional students. Standardized test scores are an
additional source of information to assess academic performance and a
student’s course work, homework, projects etc are other means of
assessment.
3. The most controversial and least known benefit of standardized testing is
that these tests can actually improve achievement. Richard P. Phelps has

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 found an abundance of evidence demonstrating that students in schools with
testing programs learn more than their counterparts in schools without
testing mandates.
4. Standardized test help identifying areas for improvement. It gives teachers
and parents (guardians) an insight into what students are learning and how
well they are mastering the skills they learn. Without a standardized test,
teacher may not know how much knowledge student gain and what areas
they to need improve.

REFERENCES

Osadebe, P.U (2001). Construction and validation of Test. A seminar paper

presented at the University of Port Harcourt.

Wikipedia (2012) Standardization Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

standardized-test

Environmental Education in the schools: creating a program that works (Peace

Corps, 1993, 499p).