Testing terminology
April 19, 2010
What is meant by a valid and reliable test?
A valid test must:1. Measure what it is intended to measure (e.g., math measures math, not reading). 2. Be standardized (e.g., all the questions, testing and scoring are the same). 3. Be normed (e.g., based on an age, grade, or ability level).
A reliable test must: 1. Provide valid and consistent results over time. 2. Be objectively scored (e.g., unbiased, in contrast to subjective).
What are standardized, norm-reference tests?
They are tests that are standardized (all the questions/scoring/testing conditions are the same) and normed (based on an age/grade ability level). By testing many children of the same age/grade, the norming process forms bell curve results on a valid and reliable test . Examples include the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), not to be confused with the college entrance SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the Stanford Assessment Test (SAT).
What is a criterion-referenced test?
It measures preset criteria (e.g., can one multiply by 7). This type of assessment is commonly used in classrooms by teachers to verify the students have learned the curriculum (e.g., can the students name the state capitols?). At the state level, it also is referred to as standards-based, not to be confused with standardized, above. The unanswered question is, “What is the outcome: academic knowledge or controversial criteria such as personal beliefs and values?”
What is the difference between a test and an assessment ?
An assessment determines the value of something based on accumulated data. It is subjectively determined (affected by the scorer) as adequate or inadequate. For instance, the county assessor determines how much your house is worth by assessing it. When a child is assessed, someone is determining his or her worth. The unanswered question is, “Worth to whom and for what purpose?” An assessment need not comply with the requirements for validity and reliability.
What is the problem with the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) assessments?
There are three major concerns:
- First is that The WASLs are based on the state’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR’s), which often give very untraditional, sometimes inappropriate, emphasis on various concepts. For example, equal weight is given to students showing he/she knows that (1) “all measurement is approximate” and his/her actual ability to (2) compute numbers (add, subtract, multiply and divide).
- The second concern is that the WASLs are not standardized, normed, valid or reliable.
- Thirdly, The WASLs are scored subjectively and emphasize career training, not academic learning, in the schools. It is must be assumed that the child’s being assessed for his or her worth as a worker, but for whom and for what purpose?
Tags: WASL, assessments, criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, reliability, testing, valid
What is meant by a valid and reliable test?
A valid test must:1. Measure what it is intended to measure (e.g., math measures math, not reading). 2. Be standardized (e.g., all the questions, testing and scoring are the same). 3. Be normed (e.g., based on an age, grade, or ability level).
A reliable test must: 1. Provide valid and consistent results over time. 2. Be objectively scored (e.g., unbiased, in contrast to subjective).
What are standardized, norm-reference tests?
They are tests that are standardized (all the questions/scoring/testing conditions are the same) and normed (based on an age/grade ability level). By testing many children of the same age/grade, the norming process forms bell curve results on a valid and reliable test . Examples include the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), not to be confused with the college entrance SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the Stanford Assessment Test (SAT).
What is a criterion-referenced test?
It measures preset criteria (e.g., can one multiply by 7). This type of assessment is commonly used in classrooms by teachers to verify the students have learned the curriculum (e.g., can the students name the state capitols?). At the state level, it also is referred to as standards-based, not to be confused with standardized, above. The unanswered question is, “What is the outcome: academic knowledge or controversial criteria such as personal beliefs and values?”
What is the difference between a test and an assessment ?
An assessment determines the value of something based on accumulated data. It is subjectively determined (affected by the scorer) as adequate or inadequate. For instance, the county assessor determines how much your house is worth by assessing it. When a child is assessed, someone is determining his or her worth. The unanswered question is, “Worth to whom and for what purpose?” An assessment need not comply with the requirements for validity and reliability.
What is the problem with the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) assessments?There are three major concerns:
- First is that The WASLs are based on the state’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR’s), which often give very untraditional, sometimes inappropriate, emphasis on various concepts. For example, equal weight is given to students showing he/she knows that (1) “all measurement is approximate” and his/her actual ability to (2) compute numbers (add, subtract, multiply and divide).
- The second concern is that the WASLs are not standardized, normed, valid or reliable.
- Thirdly, The WASLs are scored subjectively and emphasize career training, not academic learning, in the schools. It is must be assumed that the child’s being assessed for his or her worth as a worker, but for whom and for what purpose?
Tags: WASL, assessments, criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, reliability, testing, valid