Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing According To The Glossary Of Education Reform

After a long year of teaching the core curriculum standards, every year in the spring, students are to take a progress test to determine if they have learned the minimum required, to determine if their teacher had taught effectively. When I think about assessments, I think about State assessments, standardized test, Maps, and AYP. However not all assessments are test. There are many different types of assessments, for example, there are comprehensive, formative, summative, and performance assessments. Different types of assessments help guide students to do the very best work they are capable of doing.

Content validity is achieved when the content of the assessment matches the educational objectives. Criterion validity is demonstrated by the ability of the test to relate to external requirements. Construct validity takes into account the educational variables, such as the native language of the students, to predict the test outcomes. Reliable assessments have consistent results; Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly.

Assessment is used to make a specific educational decision and is the process of evaluating the extent to which participants in education have developed their knowledge, understanding and skills.

Standardize tests can be used to evaluate a student's understanding and knowledge in subject area. For example, The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia Milestones) is a comprehensive summative assessment, which measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Standardize test have a positive effect on instructional decision making in the classroom. Standardize testing can help teachers diagnose student issues, evaluate student academic performance, form small groups, and develop instructional plans.

Haydn (2009 cited in Capel et al 2009 page 329) defines assessment as "all those activities which are undertaken by teachers, and others, to measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning".

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, standardized testing has been at the center of attention in the educational system. Several schools and teachers have been forced to drill children on the information they will be tested on. Teachers are forced to demonstrate other important topics in order to teach test material. Similar to majority of tests provided in the school system, standardized test have both pros and cons. Generally speaking, standardized testing is a great way to determine a baseline for a child. As Miller (2016) indicated, tests have a multitude of benefits, which include student enthusiasm, peer learning, self-improvement and retention, transfer of learning, student self-assessment, and teacher instructional guidance. Teachers are able to use the data from the standardized tests to build an entire academic plan around the results. Additionally, students and parents are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each child in order to determine the next steps needed to help bridge any gaps within their academic studies.

For example, assessment provides clear measurement and recording of achievement during a course that provides identification of individual

Assessment is used to make a specific educational decision and is the process of evaluating the extent to which participants in education

The primary types of assessment are formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments take the form of

According to Peris Oribabor norm referenced test are tests that iare used to rank students from high to low, an example of this would be the ACT or SAT test ( p.1 ), however the “test results has limited use to a classroom teacher” (p.2). The criterion referenced test on the other hand “measures more specific skills students have learned from a segment of instruction and allows for pre/post assessment to inform instruction” (Oribabor pg.1-2) and this type of test could help drive classroom instruction. The criterion referenced test then will help schools determine the strengths and weaknesses of their curriculum with the downside being teachers would be able to teach to the test to ensure their students do

It is made up of four major parts: standards for particular applications, technical standards for test construction and evaluation, professional standards for test use, and standards for administrative procedures. A test that is technically adequate meets the criteria for validity, reliability, and norms. Validity is “the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences” that can be made from the test results. (American Psychological Association 9) Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure. Reliability is the extent to which the test results are dependable and consistent. Unrelated to the purpose of the test, errors in measurement can be viewed through inconsistencies in the performance, motivation, or interests of students being tested. Norms can be shown in age or grade equivalence, standard scores, and percentiles. They are generally shown in charts showing the performance groups of students who have taken the test. Norms show the comparison of the performance of new groups of test takers with the samples of students on whom the test was standardized. Goodwin and Driscoll (59-60) note that standardized tests have the following qualities: They provide a “systematic procedure for describing behaviors, whether in terms of numbers or categories.” They have an established format and set materials. Also, they present the same tasks and

i.e. Tests that are graded on a pass/fail basis or on a grading scale are considered examples of criterion-referenced interpretation.

When using Norm-Referenced test it typically covers a broad area of achievement. During these test instead of focusing on major points and having one test on specifically one area. For instance, a math test that is not a Norm-Referenced test will focus only on multiplication problems; while as a Norm-Referenced test will have all aspects of math equations on it including multiplication, division, addition, and subtract. These test are also used to measure how well the teachers are able to teach the standards we are supposed to uphold in

In the article Classroom and Formative Assessment in Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Learning written by Ketabi and Ketabi states the importance of utilizing formative assessments to drive instruction (2014). “Teachers should continuously assess their students in order to help teaching and learning progress” (Ketabi and Ketabi, 2014, p. 435). The article gives a brief overview of different forms of assessments. Ketabi and Ketabi go on to explain the difference between formal and informal assessments. Formal assessments thoroughly planned and developed to acquire evidence about a student’s success in prearranged times while informal assessments are “occasional and unplanned comments and feedback” (Ketabi and Ketabi, 2014, p.436). The article continues to

Assessment is the process by which individual learning is assessed. Testing monitors the student progress and can also be used as a measure of terminal or summative effectiveness of the teaching/learning process.