Lecture 9 Educational Testing (Catherine) Flashcards

To provide an overview of Educational Testing covered in Lecture 9

1
Q

What is the objective of a test?

A

is to provide some indication of an individuals behaviour
-is this child ready for school?
-How well will this high school student do at university?
-Does this child have an educational difficulty?
(Assumption 3: Test related behaviour predicts non-test related behaviour)

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2
Q

Name the 3 types of educational tests used in educational settings, and what type of test are these?

A

*Achievement tests
evaluates what a person has learned as a result of exposure to a relatively defined learning experience

*Diagnostic Tests
Similar to achievement tests, but used for diagnostic purposes

  • Aptitude Tests
  • Measures what a person has learned informally
  • Provides information about potential ability

*All 3 are ability tests

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3
Q

What are the main components of an achievement test?

A
  • Achievement tests measure the degree of learning that has taken place as a result of exposure to a relatively defined learning experience
  • e.g. a specific program of instruction/training (PSY3041)
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4
Q

What are the 2 varieties of achievement test?

A
  • Those that are fact based and require rote-learning

* Those that require both knowledge of the facts & sufficient understanding to be able to apply these facts

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5
Q

What are 3 uses for an achievement test?

A
  • Making decisions about a student
  • placement in a particular class/stream
  • acceptance into a programme
  • advancement to a higher level
  • Gauging the quality of instruction in a particular class, school, district or state
  • How well are the teachers teaching?
  • Screening for learning difficulties
  • in such circumstances, measures of general achievement may precede the administration of more specific diagnostic tests designed to identify areas for remediation
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6
Q

What are the 2 main measures of General Achievement?

A
  • Survey Battery Tests / Achievement Batteries

* Measures of Achievement in Specific Subject Areas

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7
Q

What are the key aspects involved in delivering a Survey Battery Tests / Achievement Batteries & what are some well known tests?

A

*Usually given in school settings to measure progress in broad content area (e.g. vocab, maths, reading)
*Can be individual or group administered
*Constructed to provide norm-referenced (performance relative to students in same group) & criterion-referenced (absolute standard) analysis of respondent performance
*e.g.s
Wide-Range Achievement Test
SRA California Achievement Test
Wechsler Achievement Test

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8
Q

What are the key aspects involved in delivering Measures of Achievement in Specific Subject Areas & what are some of the advantages & disadvantages?

A
  • These are often teacher-made tests
    e. g. a quiz or a final examination in a course (PSY3041)

*Advantages of teacher-made tests:
tailored to a specific program of instruction or training

  • Disadvantages of teacher-made tests:
  • often not standardised
  • may lack objectivity, content validity etc
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9
Q

What are the key aspects involved in delivering Diagnostic Tests?

A
  • A distinction is made between tests used primarily for evaluative purposes (achievement tests) & tests used primarily for diagnostic purposes (diagnostic tests)
  • Diagnostic Tests are used to diagnose learning disabilities
  • but do not necessarily provide information that will answer questions about WHY a LD exists
  • The line between evaluative and Diagnostic Tests is fuzzy - evaluative tests can provide insights into diagnostic areas & vice versa
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10
Q

What are examples of Diagnostic Tests of Reading?

A

Sub-tests: letter identification, word identification, etc

  • Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test
  • Metropolitan Reading Instructional Tests
  • Diagnostic Reading Instructional Tests
  • Durrell Analysis of Reading Test
  • Woodcock Reading Mastery Test
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11
Q

What are examples of Diagnostic Mathematics Tests?

A

Sub-tests: basic concepts, operations, etc.

  • Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test
  • Metropolitan Mathematics Instructional Tests
  • Diagnostic Mathematical Inventory
  • KeyMath Revised: A Diagnostic inventory of essential mathematics
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12
Q

What are some key components of Aptitude Tests?

A
  • They focus on informal (rather than formal) learning
  • Aptitude tests measure the potential for learning based on an individual’s life experience
  • as opposed to an achievement test which measures learning related to a specific program of instruction
  • Aptitude tests are also called prognostic tests, used for prediction
    e. g. to measure school readiness or ability to complete postgraduate studies
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13
Q

What are the key differences between Achievement and Aptitude tests?

A

The successful completion of a question on an achievement test requires familiarity with specific knowledge e.g. the concept of correlation, & the knowledge that the variance is accounted for by a correlation coefficient

The successful completion of a question on an aptitude test requires familiarity with more general knowledge e.g. such as concept of size and analogies

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14
Q

What are some examples of Aptitude Tests?

A
  • Intellectual & cognitive functioning
  • Tests that measure a broad range of cognitive functioning in the following domains, general mental ability (IQ), mental retardation, giftedness
  • Special Aptitude
  • Tests that measure one aspect of ability
  • Often used in determining the likelihood of success in a vocation (e.g. mechanical aptitude test)
  • Multiple aptitude tests
  • Tests that measure many aspects of ability
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15
Q

What are Psycho-educational Test Batteries?

A
  • Tests that combine aspects of achievement & aptitude tests
  • abilities related to academic success
  • educational achievement (e.g. reading, writing, arithmetic)
  • Two uses of test data
  • Normative comparisons (i.e. performance related to age-matched peers)
  • Evaluation of the test-taker’s strengths & weaknesses
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16
Q

What are examples of the 5 main

Psycho-educational Test Batteries?

A
  • The Iowa Test Series
  • kindergarten to year / grade 9
  • vocab, reading, language, work study, maths
  • The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test
  • kindergarten to year / grade 12
  • verbal comprehension, verbal reasoning, pictorial reasoning, quantitative reasoning
  • The Stanford Achievement Test
  • kindergarten to year / grade 12
  • vocab, spelling, reading comprehension, word study & skills, language, science
  • The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (KABC-II)
  • Ages 2.5 yrs through to age 12.5 (K-ABC)
  • Ages 3 to 18 years (KABC-II)
  • The Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III)
  • Ages 2 to 90+ years
17
Q

Give details about the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (KABC-II)?

A

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (KABC-II)

  • Ages 2.5 yrs through to age 12.5 (K-ABC)
  • Ages 3 to 18 years (KABC-II)
  • The K-ABC intelligence sub-tests are divided into 2 groups reflecting simultaneous skills and sequential or successive skills
  • i.e. reflecting Luria’s information-processing view that focuses on HOW information is processed, rather than on WHAT is processed
  • The Revised KABC-II expands the theoretical basis to include sequential versus simultaneous processing theory and CHC (Catteel-Horn-Carroll) Theory
  • A number of researchers have expressed concerns with the test’s dual theory basis which is seen as trying to have it both ways
18
Q

What are some of the other tools of assessment?

A
  • There are tools of Performance, Portfolio & Authentic Assessment
  • These assessments marshal a variety of knowledge, skills, and values that the examinee must exhibit
  • Performance Assessment
  • domain specific (e.g. portfolio assessment)
  • The evaluation of work samples conducted according to experts from the domain of study tapped by those tasks
  • Authentic Assessment
  • involves the assessment of ‘relevant, meaningful tasks’ that demonstrate the transfer of an area of study to ‘real world’ activities
  • e.g. the assessment of writing skills based on a person’s writing samples rather than responses on multiple choice items
19
Q

Peer Appraisal is another type of assessment tool, what can you tell me about this technique?

A
  • Involves asking an individual’s peer group to make the evaluation
  • e.g. used in commercial organisations (360” appraisal
  • These techniques are useful as they can:
  • direct attention to academic, personal, social difficulties
  • can provide insights into dynamics & the structure of social networks (modelling using socio-grams)
  • However,
  • they are not particularly useful if group members have not had much experience working together
  • Assessment changes as a function of the assessment situation and group membership