Comparison between Standardized and

Classroom Assessment

Dr. Aftab Ahmad Khan

Standardized Assessment

• A standardized assessment is an assessment that assesses students in a

very consistent manner.
• An assessment that:
i. Has been developed empirically,
ii. Has adequate norms,
iii. Definite instructions for administration, and
iv. Evidence for reliability and validity.
• The questions on the test are all the same, the time given to each student
is the same, and the way in which the test is scored is the same for all
students.
Conti…

• A standardized test is any form of test that:

i. requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection
of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way, and
ii. is scored in a consistent manner,

• It makes possible to compare the relative performance of individual

students or groups of students.
Conti…

• A standardized test is carefully constructed by experts in the light of

acceptable objectives or purposes; procedure for administering,
scoring and interpreting scores are specified in detail so that no
matter who gives the test or where it may be given, the result should
be comparable.
Conti…

• The term standardized assessment is primarily associated with large-

scale tests administered to large populations of students, such as a
multiple-choice test given to all students of a particular grade in a
particular province.
Conti…
• Standardized tests can include: multiple-choice items, true-false
items, matching items, short-answer questions, essay questions, or a
mix of question types.
• Standardized tests were traditionally presented on paper and
completed using pencils, and many still are, they are increasingly
being administered on computers connected to online programs.
• Multiple-choice and true-false formats are widely used for large-scale
testing situations because computers can score them quickly,
consistently, and inexpensively.
• On the other hand, open-ended essay questions are scored by
humans using a common set of guidelines or rubrics to promote
consistent evaluations from essay to essay—a less efficient and more
time-intensive and costly option that is also considered to be more
subjective.
Characteristics of Standardized Tests
i. They consist of items of high quality.
ii. The items are pretested and selected on the basis of difficulty
value, discrimination power, and relationship to clearly defined
objectives in behavioral terms.
iii. The directions for administering, exact time limit, and scoring are
precisely stated, any person can administer and score the test.
iv. Norms, based on representative groups of individuals, are provided
as an aid for interpreting the test scores. These norms are
frequently based on age, grade, sex, etc.
Conti…
iv. Information needed for judging the value of the test is provided.
v. Before the test becomes available, the reliability and validity are
established.
vi. A manual is supplied that:
a. explains the purposes and uses of the test,
b. describes briefly how it was constructed,
c. provides specific directions for administering, scoring, and
interpreting results,
d. contains tables of norms, and
e. summarizes available research data on the test.
Uses of Standardized Tests
i. Standardized test assesses the rate of development of a student’s
ability.
ii. It provides a basis for ascertaining the level of intellectual ability-
strength and weakness of the pupils.
iii. It checks and ascertains the validity of a teacher-made test.
iv. These tests are useful in diagnosing the learning difficulties of the
students.
v. It helps the teacher to know the casual factors of learning
difficulties of the students.
Conti…
v. Provides information’s for curriculum planning.
vi. Provide remedial coaching for educationally backward children.
vii. It also helps the teacher to assess the effectiveness of his teaching
and school instructional programs.
viii. Provides data for tracing an individual’s growth pattern over a
period of years.
ix. It helps for organizing better guidance programs.
x. Evaluates the influences of courses of study, teacher’s activities,
teaching methods and other factors considered to be significant for
educational practices.
Commonly used Standardized Test
ISEE Independent School Entrance Examination

SSAT Secondary School Admission Test

HSPT High School Placement Test

SHSAT Specialized High School Admissions Test

PSAT Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test

GED General Educational Development Test

ACT American College Test

SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test

SAT Subject Test Scholastic Aptitude Test Subject Tests

Mathematics

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Literature
Classroom Assessment
• It is an ongoing process through which teachers and students interact
to promote greater learning.
• The assessment process emphasizes data collection of student
performance to diagnose learning problems, monitor progress, and
give feedback for improvement.
• Involves using multiple methods in order to obtain student
information through a variety of assessment strategies.
Conti...

• Classroom Assessment is a systematic approach to formative and

summative evaluation, used by instructors to determine how much
and how well students are learning or has learnt.

• It provide key information during the class regarding teaching and

learning so that changes can be made as necessary.
Conti…
• The main purpose of Classroom Assessment is to empower both
teachers and their students to improve the quality of learning in the
classroom, to better understand the students' learning and so to
improve the teaching.
• It is both a teaching approach and a set of techniques.
• The approach is that the more you know about what and how
students are learning, the better you can plan learning activities to
structure your teaching.
• The techniques are mostly simple, non-graded, anonymous, in-class
activities that give both teacher and the students useful feedback on
the teaching-learning process.
Characteristics of Classroom Assessment

• Learner-Centered- its focus is on observing and improving learning ,

rather than on observing and improving teaching.
• Teacher-Directed- the individual teacher decides what to assess, how
to assess, and how to respond to the information gained through the
assessment.
• Mutually Beneficial- students reinforce course content and strengthen
their self-assessment skills
How can a teacher use Class Assessment
Techniques (CATs)
i. Decide what you want to learn from a classroom assessment.
ii. Choose a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) that provides this
feedback, is consistent with your teaching style, and can be easily
implemented in your class.
iii. Explain the purpose of the activity to students, then conduct it.
iv. After the class, review the results and decide what changes, if any,
to make.
v. Let your students know what you learned from the CAT and how
you will use this information
Commonly used Classroom Assessment
Techniques (CATs)
i. Minute paper
Description What to do with data

• During the last few minutes of • Review responses and note any
the class period, ask students to useful comments. During the
answer on a half-sheet of paper: next class periods emphasize the
"What is the most important issues illuminated by your
point you learned today?"; and,
"What point remains least clear students' comments.
to you?". The purpose is to elicit
data about students'
comprehension of a particular
class session.
ii. Chain Notes
Description
• Students pass around an
envelope on which the teacher
has written one question about
the class. When the envelope
reaches a student he/she spends
a moment to respond to the
question and then places the
response in the envelope.
What to do with data
• Go through the student
responses and determine the
best criteria for categorizing the
data with the goal of detecting
response patterns. Discussing
the patterns of responses with
students can lead to better
teaching and learning.
iii. Directed paraphrasing
Description
• Ask students to write a layman’s
"translation" of something they
have just learned -- to assess
their ability to comprehend and
transfer concepts.
What to do with data
• Categorize student responses
according to characteristics you
feel are important. Analyze the
responses both within and
across categories, noting ways
you could address student
needs.
iv. One-sentence summary
Description
• Students summarize knowledge of
a topic by constructing a single
sentence that answers the
questions "Who does what to
whom, when, where, how, and
Evaluate the quality of each
summary quickly. Note whether
students have identified the
essential concepts. The purpose is
to require students to select only
the defining features of an idea
What to do with data
• Evaluate the quality of each
summary quickly and holistically.
Note whether students have
identified the essential concepts
of the class topic and their
interrelationships. Share your
observations with your students
v. Exam Evaluations
Description
• Select a type of test that you are
likely to give more than once or
that has a significant impact on
student performance. Create a
few questions that evaluate the
quality of the test. Add these
questions to the exam or
administer a separate, follow-up
evaluation.
What to do with data
• Try to distinguish student
comments that address the
fairness of your grading from
those that address the fairness
of the test as an assessment
instrument. Respond to the
general ideas represented by
student comments.
vi. Application cards
Description What to do with data

• After teaching about an • Quickly read once through the

important theory, principle, or applications and categorize them
procedure, ask students to write according to their quality. Pick
down at least one real-world out a broad range of examples
application for what they have and present them to the class.
just learned to determine how
well they can transfer their
learning.
vii. Student-generated test questions
Description
• Allow students to write test
questions and model answers
for specified topics, in a format
consistent with course exams.
This will give students the
opportunity to evaluate the
course topics, reflect on what
they understand, and what are
good test items
What to do with data
• Make a rough tally of the
questions your students propose
and the topics that they cover.
Evaluate the questions and use
the goods ones as prompts for
discussion. You may also want to
revise the questions and use
them on the upcoming exam.