An Introduction to Educational Testing and Measurement

Concordia University

CAI 5323 Assessment & Evaluation

Kubiszyn, T. & G. Borich (2003). Educational Testing and Measurement: Classroom Application & Practice, 9th Edition, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Tests are only tools

Tools can be appropriately used or intentionally abused

Tools can be well designed or poorly designed

Tools in the hands of ill-trained or inexperienced users can be dangerous

Quick Review

Validity:Does the test measure what it is supposed

to measure?

Reliability:Will this test yield stable scores over

repeated administrations?

Test are not infallible; Usefulness varies

No test meets “one size fits all”We often talk validity and reliability

without considering its usefulness.Usefulness can be affected by…

Different purposesDifferent populations

Measurement thought

Anything that appears in numerical form seems reassuringly scientific; if the

numbers are getting larger over time, we must be making progress.

Right???? Not always!

Testing v. Assessment Process

Tests (assessments): Typically occur on a single day and may or not include remediation and retest.

Assessment Process: Includes multiple sources and may span the entire semester and/or school year.

Something to think about…

The assessment process should be viewed as more of

a movie than a snapshot.

Socratic Moment

As a teacher what is unique about your assessment process?

Socratic Moment

As a principal what are your expectations for your teacher’s assessment process?

History in Texas’ Assesment

Select Committee on Education (H. Ross Perot), 1984Established State curriculum (Essential

Elements)No pass, no play70 as passing standardTeacher proficiency testsTexas Educational Assessment of Minimum

Skills (TEAMS)

National trends in Assessment

A Nation at Risk report, 1983, called for education reform and accountability

Today every state has some type of test and assessment accountability program

No Child Left Behind, 2002 (NCLB) mandates accountability standards to be eligible for federal funding

Fall 2011, President Obama allows states to opt out of the program.

NCLB’s Four Pillars, 2002

Accountability for Results Based on Scientific Research Expanded Parental Options Expanded Local Control and Flexibility

Multiple federal education programs included within it: Reading First Safe and Drug Free Schools Education Technology Teacher Quality Etc

Campus Accountability Data Tables

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/

NCLB

Socratic Moment

What are some societal trends in your district that may make testing in our schools more complicated in the future?

Socratic Moment

How do you believe testing and accountability will change in America over the next 20 years?