Reporting Test Scores to Different Audiences

1982

This is the fifth in a series of six monographs developed to help local educators use and report Michigan. Educational Assessment Program (HEAP) test results. An organized plan facilitates the important task of reporting test results to the school board quickly and accurately. This monograph gives one approach that' enables the staff to take the offensive and initiate the reporting process before MEAP results are even returned to the district. This will reduce anxiety and provide a base for developing the districts' comprehensive reporting plan. Three different types of reports to the school board are recommended: (1) a background report on the purposes of MEAP and how the results can be used; (2) a report on actual test results, uses of results in the district, and implications of results (including other measures of achievement); and (3) follow-up reports that present specific ways test results are being used to correct problem areas. While these are not the only usable report techniques, they are effective in focusing the school board's attention on the instructional uses of HEAP, avoiding misleading comparisons with other schools or districts, and assuring the use of HEAP results to

1984

/11(4, This document has been reproduced as receivnd from the person or organization ongenating it Minor changes havn been made to improve wermfumononatity Points of view or opinions stated in %is document do not necsserity represent official NIE pos.t.un 0. pill. V Table of Contents /2.192.

1997

This report describes how assessments are scored and results are reported in the inclusive assessment and accountability systems in Maryland and Kentucky. Specific topics include: (1) how school performance is reported to the public;

1995

Parent opinions about standardized tests and performance assessments were examined systematically. Mutually exclusive but randomly equivalent stratified samples from schools participating in a study of performance assessment and control schools were used to measure change in parent opinion over time. Approximately one-third of parents (n=105) completed questionnaires at the beginning of the school year, one-third completed them at the end of the year (similar sample), and the remaining third supplied interview samples (n=33 and n=27, respectively). Results demonstrated thaL parents' favorable ratings of standardized national tests did not imply a preference for this type of educational assessment over other types of assessment for measuring student or school progress. Parents considered report cards, hearing from the teacher, and seeing graded samples of student work as more informative than standardized tests, and they wanted comparative information to measure their own child's progress. When parents had a chance to look at performance assessments through the year, they endorsed their use for district purposes and preferred them for classroom use. Survey data like the Gallup Poll showing widespread approval of standardized tests should not be taken to mean that parents are opposed to other forms of assessment. Appendixes contain the parent questionnaire and the interview protocol. (Contains 3 figures, 17 tables, and 9 references.) (SLD)

1993

As part of a larger study of implementation of alternative asse.sment, a survey of parent opinions about standardized tests and performance assessments was conducted in three elementary schools. In the three participating schools, 3rd-grade teachers attended workshops on assessment development and implemented these practices in their classrooms. Samples of 69 parents from participating schools and 36 from three control schools were interviewed after completing questionnaires. Findings suggest that parents' favorable ratings of standardized national tests, supported by a Gallup Poll on the issue, do not imply a preference for such measures over other less formal sources of information for monitoring their children's progress or for judging the quality of education at their local schools. Parents tended to rely on the teacher to tell them how their child was doing relative to others, and they seldom mentioned comparison to external and national norms. Even for accountability purposes, parents preferred talking to the teacher and seeing student work. Most parents endorsed the performance assessment problems they saw, although a few expressed concern over the subjectivity of such measures. Twelve tables present survey and interview findings. An appendix presents excerpts from some parent interviews. (Contains 12 references.) (SLD)

1980

1983

The Center for the Study of Evaluation, of the Graduate School of Education at the University' of California at Los Angeles (CSE) hosted a two day conference on "Paths to Excellence: Testing and Technology" on July 14-15, 1983. Attended by over 100 =educational researchers, \practitioners, and-policymakers, the first day of the conference focused on issues in educational testing; day. two explored the status and future of technology in schools. This docuMent presents the collected papers from the first day of the conference. Presentations focused on CSE's study of teachers' and principals' use of achievement testing in the nation's schools. The study provided ba.sic data about'the nature and frequency of classroom testing, the purposes:for which test results are used-, principals' and teachers' attitudes toward testing, and local contexts supporting the use fof tests (e.g., amount cf staff development, testing resources, leadership support). The findings were presented ate he c,Onference, and presenters were asked to provide thein interpretations of the data and their perspectives on their implications for national, state, and/or local testing policies. One speaker, William Coffman,' was asked to provide context for the conference"by considering the study in the light of the history of research on educational testing. (PN)

2016

This important work was possible from funding by the High Quality Assessment Project (HQAP), which supports state-based advocacy, communications, and policy work to help ensure successful transitions to new assessments that measure K-12 college-and careerreadiness standards. HQAP's work is funded by a coalition of national foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Helmsley Trust. We sincerely appreciate the cooperation and efforts of the testing programs that participated in the study-ACT Aspire, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. In particular, we thank Elizabeth (Beth) Sullivan, Carrie Conaway,

2019

In Beyond Testing: 7 Assessments of Students & Schools More Effective Than Standardized Tests (2017), Deborah Meier and Matthew Knoester explore several alternative ways to assess students’ knowledge. The authors make a case that current practices used to assess learning in schools are reduced to a single test score, and argue they should be replaced with more effective methods that gauge what students actually know. Standardized tests are but one way to measure academic success.

1997

This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.