Classroom Test and Assessment Chapter 6

8 basic steps of testing and assessment The objective of testing and assessment is to obtain valid, reliable, and useful information concerning student achievement. 1) Determine the purpose of measurement 2) Developing specifications 3) Selecting appropriate assessment tasks 4) Preparing relevant assessment tasks

8 basic steps of testing and assessment (cont) 5) Assembling the assessment 6)Administering the assessment 7)Appraising the assessment 8) Using the results Using the steps you will achieve the main goal, which is improved learning and instruction.

Purpose Pre-testing Tests and assessment given at the beginning of an instructional segment to determine two key components Whether students have the prerequisite skills needed for the instruction (determine readiness). What extent students have already achieved the objectives of the planned instruction (placement or modification of instruction).

Purpose (cont) During Instruction Tests and assessments given during instruction provide the basis for formative assessment. They are used to monitor learning progress, detect misconceptions, encourage students to study, and provide feedback to students and teachers. Using a different types of test items and complex performance assessment needs to ensure that the full comprehension of objectives is assessed (meaning choose questions carefully to have understanding in the classroom.)

End-of-Instruction The main interest is in measuring the extent to which the intended learning outcomes and performance standards have been achieved. Although these end-of-instruction test and assessments are used primarily for summative assessment they can serve as other functions,

End-of-Instruction (cont) such as, 1) Feedback to students 2) Encouraging students to undertake advanced work 3) Assigning of remedial work 4) Assessing instruction as well as for grading purposes 5) Function as both formative and summative 6) Pre-test for the following unit 7) Evaluating instructional effectiveness

Selecting Appropriately It is common to make a distinction between classroom test that consist of objective test items and performance assessment that require students to construct responses or perform a particular task. Objective test require students to supply a word or two or to select the correct answer from a number of alternatives. They are called objective because they have a single right answer or best answer that can be determined in advance.

Objective Test There are five main components to an objective test, such as Short answer What is the name of the author of Moby Dick? Completion In the equation 2X+5=9, X=____ Matching Color of the sky A) Brown Color of the dirt B) Blue Color of the trees C) Green True-False or Alternative Response T F An atom is the smallest particle of matter. Yes No Acid turns litmus paper red. Multiple Choice In the equation 2X+5=9, 2X means 2 plus X 2 multiplied by X 2 minus X

Objective Test To obtain the correct answer, students must demonstrate the specific knowledge, understanding, or skill. They are not free to redefine the problem or to organize and present the answer in their own words. This type of method contributes to scoring that is quick, easy, and accurate. Negative side: inappropriate for measuring the ability to formulate problems and choose an approach to solving them or the ability to select, organize, and integrate ideas.

Performance Test Permit the student to organize and construct the answer. Other types of performance may require the student to use equipment, generate hypotheses, make observations, construct a model, or perform to an audience. For the most performance assessments do not have a single right or best response- there may be a variety of responses.

Performance Test Performance assessment tasks are needed to measure a student’s ability to engage in hands-on activities, such as conducting an experiment, designing and conducting a survey, or essay. Since essay is the most common, there are two types of essay questions: extended-response and restricted-response.

Performance Test Extend-Response Permit students to decide which facts they think are most pertinent, to select their own method of organization, and write as much as seems necessary for a comprehensive answer. Tends to reveal the ability to evaluate ideas, to relate them coherently, and to express them succinctly. They are valuable for measuring complex skills and understanding of concepts and principles, they have three weaknesses: Inefficient for measuring knowledge of factual material Scoring criteria are not as apparent to the student Scoring is difficult and unreliable due to the various responses, include array of factual material, organization, legibility, and conciseness.

Performance Test Restricted-Response These questions minimize some of the weaknesses of extended, for three reasons: Easier to measure knowledge of factual material. Scoring more clear to the student. Reduces the difficulty of the scoring. The negative side- less effective as a measure of the ability to select, organize, and integrate ideas. In addition, if the restrictions become too tight, the questions reduce to nothing more than a objective type test.

Most Appropriate Types Read as a class page 151, under “selecting the most appropriate types of items and tasks” What does this mean to you? Discuss with your partner.

Most Appropriate Types Multiple-Choice Questions Will measure the learning outcome directly. True- False Questions Most valuable in those special instances where there are only two possible answers. Matching Questions Used only where a series of homogeneous things are to be related.

Representative Test We expect students to know thousands of facts, but we can test for only a limited number of them; we expect students to develop understanding applicable to innumerable situations, but we can test application to only a limited number of situations; and we expect students to develop thinking skills that will enable them to solve a variety of problems, but we can test their problem-solving ability with only a limited number of problems.

Number of Questions Of course this is important factor when deciding area of achievement. There are a set of specifications that depend on such factors: Purpose of measurement: The type of test or assessment Age of the students Level of reliability needed for effective use of the test/ assessment results.

Eliminating Barriers Have questions that would contain these situations: Ambiguous Statements Excessive wordiness Difficult vocabulary Complex sentence structure Unclear instructions Unclear illustrative material Racial, ethnic, or gender bias

Suggestions for tests/ assessment Use your test and assessment specifications as a guide Write more items and tasks than needed Write the items and tasks well in advance of the testing date Write each test item and assessment task so that the task to be performed is clearly defined and it calls forth the performance described in the intended learning outcome

Suggestions for tests/ assessment 5. Write each item or task at an appropriate reading level 6. Write each item or task so that it does not provide help in responding to other items or tasks 7. Write each item so that the answer is one that would be agreed on by experts or in the case of assessment, responses judged excellent would be agreed on by experts 8. Whenever a test or assessment is revised, recheck its relevance

Improving learning As you construct classroom tests and assessments, keep in mind the extent to which is likely to contribute directly or indirectly. Well constructed classroom tests and assessments should increase both the quality and quantity of student learning.

Exercises Question 1 Question 2 Describe why you would use a pretest and how would the results be used in your teaching? Question 2 List several objectives that are best measured with objective test. List several that require the use of performance assessment.