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 How tests are constructed
Standardized Tests A standardized achievement test is a test that is developed using standard procedures and is then administered and scored in a consistent manner for all test takers. Students respond to identical or very similar questions under the same conditions and test directions. The standardization of test questions, directions, conditions of testing and scoring is needed to make test scores comparable and to assure, as much as possible, that test takers have equal, unbiased opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do. >>back to top Formative Assessment Over the course of a school year, teachers often build in opportunities to assess their students’ learning. This is commonly referred to as formative assessment. Unlike standardized tests that are typically given over a limited period of time and can count toward a final grade in a class, formative assessment is generally carried out over the course of a few weeks, months or the entire school year. While it might influence a student’s report card to some extent, this kind of assessment is not necessarily always used for grading purposes. Formative assessment can focus both on the learning of each individual student and a class as a whole. It can be conducted through direct teacher-to-student feedback, through a classroom vote or show of hands, or even through pencil and paper quizzes. An increasing number of schools are also turning toward computer software to design assessments and score student responses electronically, allowing for rapid analysis of where the learning of a student or a class stands at a given time. Educators apply formative assessment to determine which concepts their students are or are not grasping. By assessing where student understanding of a concept is at any given point during instruction, a teacher can then quickly modify their lesson plan to focus more on those particular areas in which they observe their students struggling. Educators use formative assessment to evaluate instruction strategies, curriculum and to make adjustments for better student performance. Research has shown formative assessment to be particularly helpful for lower-achieving students because instructors are better able to demonstrate how learning can be achieved through practice and additional work, rather than leave a student to think that they are unable to learn a particular concept because they are not “smart” enough. Most importantly, formative assessment supports the idea that with hard work, all students can learn to a high degree. >>back to top Developing Tests Under NCLB No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires each state to establish its own requirements regarding the specific knowledge – or content standards – it expects each student to achieve. Each state decides what its students should know and be able to do, and then the state develops criteria for measuring each content standard. States also establish performance standards, which specify the level to which each content standard should be mastered. Among states, there are considerable differences in the number and types of content standards students are expected to master. In fact, states typically require students to be taught more content standards in the classroom than they will actually be required to master on a test itself, to ensure students are achieving in various ways that cannot always necessarily be measured by a test. For example, some content standards may involve extended work on a student project or require individual student observation by teachers – two activities that cannot be easily incorporated into a standardized test taken during a set period of time. Once all of the content standards have been established by a state, the process of developing a test includes deciding the following: • Which content standards to measure, • What reporting categories are needed to support effective instruction, • What kinds of test questions best address a particular content standard and • How challenging the test for a particular grade level should be. These decisions are made collaboratively, and involve state departments of education, testing developers and educators. Many states invite classroom teachers to review test questions for appropriateness, and many states also involve classroom teachers in setting performance level standards. The procedures each state follows in creating its tests are documented and made public, which not only keeps the process of designing tests transparent, but also helps to ensure testing quality and validity. And for their part, testing companies have developed and refined student identification systems and barcodes for quality checks and accuracy; have developed new reporting software to score and report results in shorter time frames, and have utilized technology to create electronic systems that track a state’s tests by school and district to see where they are in processing (e.g. receiving, scanning, scoring, report preparation, shipping, etc.). For more information, please visit Ensuring Quality Tests. >>back to top Types of Test Questions & Formats Standardized tests can have a variety of formats and can be taken by students in a number of ways, including paper-and-pencil, computer-based and computer adaptive assessments. Any format can present questions that test both higher- order skills and fundamental skills. Common formats are:
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