Reporting Test Scores to Different Audiences

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.

new material can be presented. These tests help the teacher gain a perspective of the range of attained learning as well as individual competence. Tests can be used to help make promotion and retention decisions. Many factors enter into the important decision of moving a student into the next grade. Intuition is an important part of any decision but that intuition is enhanced when coupled with data. Standardized tests, and records of classroom performance on less formal tests are essential for supplying much of the data upon which these decisions are based. Test results are important devices to share information with boards of education, parents, and the general public through the media. Rudner, L. and W. Schafer (2002) What Teachers Need to Know About Assessment. Washington, DC: National Education Association. From the free on-line version. To order print copies call 800 229-4200 3 some criterion. This section ends includes a discussion of norm-referenced and criterion referenced tests. This section also includes standardized and large scale assessments-typically the types of tests sponsored by state education agencies, reported in the popular press, and unfortunately, often inappropriately used as the sole measure to judge the worth of a school. We start with a discussion of the different types of scores used to report standardized test results. You will learn the advantages, disadvantages of each along with how the different types of scores should be used. A key feature of state assessments is that they are almost always accompanied by a careful delineation of endorsed educational goals. There should be no ambiguity with regard to what is covered by such tests. The next chapter discusses aligning one's instruction to the test and making the test into a valuable instructional planning tool. There is often a debate with regard to teaching to a test. Some argue that since the test identifies goals, teaching to the test is equivalent to teaching goals and should be done. Others argue that teaching to a test is an attempt to short circuit the educational process. The next chapter identifies a continuum of acceptable and unacceptable practices for preparing students to take standardized achievement tests. Lastly, with testing so prominent in the popular press, we provide an overview of some of the politics of national testing. Section 2: Essential Concepts for Classroom Assessment. The most frequent and most valuable types of tests are those developed and used by classroom teachers. This section is designed to help you develop you write better multiple choice and better performance tests. You will learn to examine what it is that you want to assess, how to write questions that assess those concepts. Special attention is paid to the development of analytic and holistic scoring rubrics. Consistent with the view of testing as a form of data gathering and communication, chapters have been included on asking classroom questions as part of routine instruction and on writing comments on report cards. Rudner, L. and W. Schafer (2002) What Teachers Need to Know About Assessment. Washington, DC: National Education Association. From the free on-line version. To order print copies call 800 229-4200 4 the reasonable expectations that those involved in the testing enterprise-test producers, test users, and test takers-should have of each other. The document is applicable to classroom tests as well as standardized tests.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

The goal of this study was to understand the role that external testing plays in elementary schools. Focus was on uncovering teachers' beliefs about testing and preparing students to take tests, how these beliefs and values are organized, and what implications they might have on practice. To accomplish this, the day-today life in classrooms and how tests and results come into play were studied. The dual case study design provided an interpretive contrast for two schools from the Phoenix (Arizona) area. Schools used the same external tests (the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Basic Skills Test, Continuous Uniform Evaluation System, and Study Skills Test). Although the schools had many similarities, including that of population, one had a program-centered, phonics-based curricular context, and the other had a student-centered, literature-based approach. Observations of 29 classrooms, interviews with 19 teachers, and more extensive observations of 6 focal classrooms made the analysis of beliefs about testing possible and allowed the description of activities related to testing at the two schools, including test preparation and coaching. Study findings are grouped into: (1) local definitions of testing; (2) the role of testing; and (3) the effects of testing. It is held that to define the role of testing as simply psychometric is to oversimplify it, but it is the psychometric weaknesses of tests that make them useful weapons in skirmishes among interest groups. It is argued that no test score ever improves schools. The changes brought about because of test scores are short-term and largely symbo Seven exhibits, one figure, and one table are provided. A 70-m list of references is included. Two appendices summarize a sul !y of Arizona educators and discuss disappointing test scores. (SLD)

ETS Research Report Series, 2011

November 4th, 2010, to explore some issues that influence score reports and new advances that contribute to the effectiveness of these reports. Jessica Hullman, Rebecca Rhodes, Fernando Rodriguez, and Priti Shah present the results of recent research on graph comprehension and data interpretation, especially the role of presentation format, the impact of prior quantitative literacy and domain knowledge, the trade-off between reducing cognitive load and increasing active processing of data, and the affective influence of graphical displays. Rebecca Zwick and Jeffrey Sklar present the results of the Instructional Tools in Educational Measurement and Statistics for School Personnel (ITEMS) project, funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara to develop and evaluate 3 web-based instructional modules intended to help educators interpret test scores. Zwick and Sklar discuss the modules and the procedures used to evaluate their effectiveness. Diego Zapata-Rivera presents a new framework for designing and evaluating score reports, based on work on designing and evaluating score reports for particular audiences in the context of the CBAL (Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning) project (Bennett & Gitomer, 2009), which has been applied in the development and evaluation of reports for various audiences including teachers, administrators and students.

1990

and Student Testing (CRESST) UCLA Graduate School of Education 1 Standardized testing has assumed a prominent role in recent efforts to improve the quality of education. National, state, and district tests, combined with minimum competency, special program, and special diploma evaluations, have resulted in a greatly expanded set of testing requirements for most schools. At a cost of millions, even billions, of dollars and at the expense of valuable student, teacher, and administrator time, testing advocates and many policymakers still view testing as a significant, positive, and costeffective tool in educational improvement.

1997

This document, fourth in a series, describes trends in statewide assessment programs. It is based on surveys conducted in the past f= the Acsociation of State Assessment Programs. States were asked to describe the assessment programs they operated during the 1995-96 school year. Part On of the survey asks each state to describe its existing .1-sc(211_aborat,ive partners, and what it is developing. Part Two of the survey asks each state to describe its efforts in nontraditional assessment. Part Three of the survey asks each state to describe each assessment program, component, or groups of assessments that are used to gather a set of data used for the same assessment purposes. For each component, states explain who is tested, what subjects are tested, and what types of assessments are used. In addition, states describe accommodations provided to English language learners and students with disabilities. States have designed very different assessment systems, from use of a norm-referenced test alone to use of performance assessments. Most states, however, use a combination of multiple choice, short-answer, extended-response questions, performance tasks, or portfolios. This is the last year the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory will participate in the collection of survey information on assessments; the program will continue under the direction of the Council of Chief State School Officers.