Is The Naplan A Psychological Test? Why Or Why Not?

NCFE Level 4 Award in Understanding the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice

Although I admit NAPLAN is a useful assessment tool, we use it for the wrong purposes. It is irrational for use NAPLAN to as a student’s indicator of eligibility to sit for the HSC: it has

Tests are everywhere and there’s nothing we can do about it because they are in fact important to any student’s school life as they test his or her academic skills to show that they do indeed have those academic skills to pass and to get a better grade. Anyone who has gone to school would have heard or have done the famous NAPLAN test, it’s a test that doesn’t pass nor fail you which seems completely different to normal tests. NAPLAN short for The National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy is a “test” that diagnostics the student for government uses but doesn’t affect the student's overall grade. The Naplan test is a broken system that could ruin a student’s current and future studies and that’s why Australia should stop with this

Cohen, R. J., Swerdlik, M. E., & Sturman, E. D. (2013). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (8th Ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

What is an assessment? Alan Rogers (1994, p172) defines assessment as collection of data on which we base our evaluation. According to Reece and Walker (2008, p5) assessment consists of tests and observations that we, as tutor, use to determine how well the students has achieved the objectives. Geoff Petty (2004, p449) writes that “Assessment measures the breadth and depth of learning”. Assessments are used in all areas and domain of everyday life, whether formal or informal, ranging from taking a written or practical driving test to claims for income support or acquiring life insurance on-line.

When analysing their NAPLAN scores to the Victorian average the class demonstrate a clear understanding of application, retention and recall during assessed activities.

Lastly, Ipsative assessment is the self-assessment process undertaken by the learner to assess their own learning and achievements from the course/programme. This also identifies any needs a learner may have for the future if they are to progress further and again act as feedback to the tutor to develop and adjust the course/programme for future learners. Ipsative assessment can be supported by the teacher or conducted independently by the learner.

Assessment of this kind identifies strengths and weaknesses, and provides detailed diagnostic information about how students are thinking. The collection of evidence of this

Critics say that all NAPLAN tells us are students with a higher starting base of skill in absolute terms outperforming those from a lower starting point. The difficulty with one-off statistics is they take no notice of the starting position of the student regarding skills, nor determine any value the institution

Reliability measures come in the form of interrater reliability, test-retest for subtest high, internal consistency of .80 or higher, and decision consistency of classification (Brooks, Sherman, & Strauss, 2010; Davis & Matthews, 2010). Internal consistency used the split-half and Cronbach's Alpha. Concurrent validity for intellectual functioning used the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (.34-.58), Differential Abilities Scales–Second Edition, and Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (.53-.64); academic validity used Wechsler Individual Achievement Test–Second Edition (WIAT-II) (Brooks, Sherman, & Strauss, 2010; Davis & Matthews,

The reliability of an instrument contributes to the level of usability for empirical research (Whiston, 2009). Further, it refers to the replicability andstability of a measurement and whether it will result in the same assessment in the same individuals when repeated (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2008). When determining the reliability of an assessment, a reliability coefficient of at least .80 indicates a trustworthy level of reliability (Trochim, 2006).

In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses

A level S qualification requires that buyers have a degree, certificate, or license to practice in a health care profession, in addition to having the appropriate training and experience in ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical behavioral assessment measures (NEO PI-R™, 2012). A level B qualification is very similar to the level S qualification in that it requires a degree from an accredited 4-year college or university in psychology, counseling, or a related field, in addition to satisfactory completion of coursework in test interpretation, psychometrics and measurement theory, educational statistics; or a license or certification from an agency that requires appropriate training and experience in the ethical and competent use of psychological tests (NEO PI-R™, 2012). This helps to ensure that the test is only handled by individuals who have the necessary knowledge to interpret the test without misinterpretation, which could have negative outcomes. The NEO PI-R is self-administered, which means individuals who do not have formal training in clinical psychology, personality or related fields can administer and score the instruments. Although, it is highly suggested that the examiner review the administration and scoring procedures from the manual. On the other hand, interpretation of the results should only be done by professionals with training in psychological testing and measurement with knowledge of the

The NEO PI-R is self-administered, which means individuals who do not have formal training in clinical psychology, personality or related fields can administer and score the instruments (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Although, it is highly suggested that the administrator, whether formally trained or not, review the administration and scoring procedures from the manual. On the other hand,

Oral Assessment instruments should have an acceptable level of reliability in terms of internal consistency, test and re-test reliability and alternative form reliability. Its content must also have the necessary validity to be a valid assessment instrument, must be predictive and concurrent.