reliability
the consistency of a measurement over time and repeated measurements
validity
can be determined by comparing a test score against some separate or independent observation of whatever is being measured
unbiased test
a test that does not unfairly favor a particular group
standardized test
a test that has been carefully constructed and field-tested so that (ideally) it has a high degree of reliability and validity
norm-referenced test
a test that assesses students by comparing their performance to that of a norm group (ex: California Achievement Test)
criterion-referenced test
a test that assesses students by comparing their performance to a per-determined level of mastery (ex: FCAT)
measures of central tendency
mean, median, and mode
mean
determined by adding up all the scores and dividing this sum by the total number of scores that were added
median
the midpoint in a distribution of scores from highest to lowest
mode
the score in a distribution that appears most frequently
measures of variability
used to describe the amount of spread
range
the greatest score minus the least score in a set of scores; the simplest measure of variability
standard deviation
a measure of dispersion of a set of data values about the mean of the data set
raw score
the total number of correct responses on an assessment
z-score
the distance in standard deviations from the mean of the scores on the assessment; (raw score - mean) / standard deviation
percentile
a value at or below which P percent of the data fall
quartile
values that divide an ordered data set into four portions, each of which contains approximately 1/4 of the data
stanine scores
scores derived from percentiles; compare test performance using nine intervals that are numbered 1 to 9
grade equivalent score
used to describe student's performance in comparison to the performance of an average student at a specified grade level
formative assessment
occurs before and during instruction
diagnostic assessment
administered before instruction and are designed to identify students' strengths and weaknesses (e.g., pre-tests, student interviews, learning style inventories)
Florida School Readiness Uniform Screening System (SRUSS)
requires that new kindergarten students in Florida public schools be assessed for school readiness at the beginning of the school year (ESI-K and DIBELS)
Early Screening Inventory - Kindergarten (ESI-K)
assesses children's visual-motor/adaptive development, their language and cognition, and their gross motor skills
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
measures important skills that form the basis for early success in reading
summative assessment
most often used to determine students' academic achievement in each class or course, often for the purpose of grades (e.g., student projects, unit and chapter tests, standardized tests)
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT)
summative assessment tool which measures students' achievement on the Florida Sunshine State Standards; administered in grades 3-11; measures skills in reading, writing, science, and math
authentic assessment
incorporates real-life application tasks and enables the teacher to directly assess meaningful and complex educational performances
performance assessment
same as authentic assessment; long been used in assessment of music, art, drama, and physical education
process/product assessment
same as authentic assessment; long been used in science, math, social studies, and language arts
instructionally embedded assessment
(aka teacher observation) uses systematic observational methods along with checklists, interviews, and questioning while students are engaged in learning activities
portfolio
meaningful collection of student work; one of the best ways for students to engage in assessing their progress over time
projects
include stories, essays, drawings, models, audio recordings, videos, powerpoints, and other mechanisms that allow students to demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge and skills
checklist
an assessment tool, listing skills or performances, that can used by teachers or students to monitor learning
conferences or interviews
provide an opportunity to discuss and question a student about what the student knows and is able to do
journals
provide a way for students to respond in writing to a prompt by the teacher and to reflect on their own learning
student self-assessment
performed by the students (e.g., grading their own papers, group participation, and portfolio assessment)
peer assessment
assessment by students of their classmates' products or performances