Assessment vocabulary

Question 1

Norm-referenced

Answer 1

tests include the SAT, IQ tests, and tests that are graded on a curve. Anytime a test offers a percentile rank, it is a norm-referenced test.

Question 2

Criterion-referenced

Answer 2

tests include Advanced Placement exams A criterion-referenced test is a style of test that uses test scores to generate a statement about the behavior that can be expected of a person with that score

Question 3

Mean

Answer 3

The mean (average) of a data set is found by adding all numbers in the data set and then dividing by the number of values in the set.

Question 4

Median

Answer 4

the middle score of a list of scores smallest to largest

Question 5

Stanine

Answer 5

statistical units from a scale of 1 to 9 which is used to indicate a performance level

Question 6

Percentile

Answer 6

Percentile in statistics, the percentile rank of a score is the percentage of scores in its frequency distribution that are less than that score

Question 7

normal curve equivalent - or NCE,

Answer 7

a way of measuring where a student falls along the normal curve. The numbers on the NCE line run from 0 to 100, similar to percentile ranks, which indicate an individual student’s rank, or how many students out of a hundred had a lower score.

Question 8

standard deviation

Answer 8

standard deviation - how spread out the data is. It is a measure of how far each observed value is from the mean. In any distribution, about 95% of values will be within 2 standard deviations of the mean

Question 9

standard error of measurement

Answer 9

(SEm) is a measure of how much measured test scores are spread around a “true” score. The SEm is especially meaningful to a test taker because it applies to a single score and it uses the same units as the test.

Question 10

P-value - A p-value i

Answer 10

a measure of the probability that an observed difference could have occurred just by random chance.
The lower the p-value, the greater the statistical significance of the observed difference.
P-value can be used as an alternative to or in addition to pre-selected confidence levels for hypothesis testing.

Question 11

scaled score - A scaled score is

Answer 11

A representation of the total number of correct questions a candidate has answered (raw score) that has been converted onto a consistent and standardized scale.

Question 12

item response theory

Answer 12

It is widely used in education to calibrate and evaluate items in tests, questionnaires, and other instruments and to score subjects on their abilities, attitudes, or other latent traits.

Question 13

Grade-equivalent

Answer 13

An age or grade equivalent is simply the median raw score for a grade level. Because the acquisition of skills measured by an instrument such as a vocabulary test occurs more rapidly during early ages, raw scores increase at a greater rate with younger examinees than with older examinees.

Question 14

item discrimination

Answer 14

the ability of an item to differentiate among students based on how well they know the material being tested

Question 15

A standardized test is

Answer 15

any form of test that (1) requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from a common bank of questions, (2) is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, which makes it possible to compare the relative performance of individual students or groups of students.