LEARNING OBJECTIVES

a. Define test interpretation and develop a full understanding of it.

b. Understand the concept of Criterion-referenced and Norm-referenced framework; differentiate one against the other and use them appropriately to interpret student’s performancec. Participate actively during the discussion by asking questions and doing prepared seat works.

At the end of the lesson proper, the students are expected to:

Test Interpretation is the process of translating quantitative data of points into a set of numerical equivalent.

Test Interpretation uses numerical equivalent that has no true zero point.

True zero point – indicates precisely where measurement begins. It provides uniform meaning from one situation to another and from one scale to another. Physical measurement is an example.

Test Interpretation

Test interpretation has an arbitrary point where points can be interpreted from lowest to highest and it basically doesn’t start at zero.

Test interpretation is unique from one another. A score of 50 in a simple Vocabulary test does not take the same way of interpreting a score of 50 in Mathematics.

Test Interpretation

Score Interpretation is the same as test interpretation. It is the process ofanalyzing scores in a test or non-test. This is a method of generating meaningful quality (through transmutation) and attaching qualitative value judgment on transmutation results.

Test Interpretation

Raw scoresThe number of points received on a test when the test has been scored according to the directions.

Example: John got 10 out of a 20 item Literature quiz about “The Merchant of Venice”.

Although raw scores reflect an immediate interpretation as a response to the scores, it doesn’t yield a meaningful interpretation because the scores are merely compared against the number of items.

If John got ten out of a 20 item quiz, what does 10 mean? Is that a good score? What were the questions provided? Was the quiz hard or easy? What does John’s score mean in comparison to his classmate’s scores?

Thus, we have to interpret John’s score in a more descriptive and meaningful way.

Tells how much the student “GOT” but not what that “GOT” “MEANT”.

Raw scores

Scaled scores are the results of transformation (usually transformed through a consistent scale)

Scores in essays drawn against a rubric is an example.

Scaled scores

A referencing framework is a structure you can use to compare a student’s performance to something external to the assessment itself.

Referencing Framework?

what is a

CRITERIA

Norm-ReferencingFramework

Criterion-ReferencingFramework

Criterion referenced interpretation permits us to describe an individuals test performance without referring to the performance of others.

Infers the kind of performance a student can do in a domain, rather than thestudent’s relative standing in a norm group.

CRITERION – the domain of performance to which you reference a student’s assessment results

Criterion - Referencing Framework

Most widely used interpretation because of its ease of computation and there is a ready transmutation table printed at the inside back cover of the teacher’s class record.

A criterion-referenced interpretation of scores requires the comparison of a particular student’s score with subjective and pre-determined performance standards (criteria).

Criterion - Referencing Framework

Criterion-referenced and standard-based interpretations of test result are most meaningful when the test has been specifically designed for this purpose.

Do not have a well-developed, derived score systems.

Test performance using CRA can be measured through:

Speed of Performance - The time a student takes to complete a task, or the number of tasks completed in a fixed amount of time.

Criterion - Referenced Assessments

Example:

Typing 40 words per minuteRunning a mile in 5 minutes

Completing 25 number facts correctly in 1 minute

Criterion - Referenced AssessmentsPrecision of Performance

The degree of accuracy with which a student performs a task.

Example:

Measuring accurately to the nearest 10th of a meter, weighing accurately to the nearest gram, fewer than 10 typing errors, etc

Criterion - Referenced AssessmentsPercentage

A number telling the proportions of the maximum points earned by the student (percentage correct, percentage of objectives mastered, etc.

Criterion - Referenced AssessmentsQuality Rankings

the quality level at which a student performs (“Excellent”, rating of “5,” “mastery,” etc.

Percentage-correct score

Standards for judging whether a student has mastered each of the instructional objectives or achievement domains measured by criterion-referenced tests are frequently set in these terms.

Criterion - Referenced AssessmentsExpectancy Tables.

Makes it possible to interpret raw scores in terms of expected performance on some measure other than the test itself. It interprets raw score simply and directly without the aid of test norms

Getting the score equivalent:

rating =score (HPR – LPR) + LPRNi

FORMULA

The Criteria:LPS = LPR; 0 = 50%, 60% or 65%

HPS = HPR; perfect score = 100

Where:LPS = Lowest Possible Score

LPR = Lowest Possible Rating

HPS = Highest Possible Score

HPR = Highest Possible Rating

Ni = Number of Items.

Toshanda Welling got a raw score of 38 out of a 50 item summative test in Literature. What would be the rating of her score if the Lowest Possible Rating (LPR) is 60% and the Highest Possible Rating (HPR) is 100%?

EXAMPLE:

STATE THE GIVEN:Raw score – 38

HPR – 100%

LPR – 60%

Ni – 50%

THE ANSWER:

90.4 %

THE PRE-SET CRITERIA:The teacher’s lesson plan dictates that the proficiency level that the students need to attain is 85% and beyond.

INTERPRETATION:

Toshanda's score of 38 has a rating of 90.4. When compared against the pre-set criteria, it is higher than the cut-off passing percentage of 85% which means that she did pass the unit test.

PASSED!

Norm-Referenced Framework Norm-Referenced Interpretation tells us how an individual compares with other students who have taken the same test.

How much the student knows is determined by his standing or rank within the reference group. This means that student’s score is not treated individually but as a part of the group where the student belongs.

NORM GROUP

The well-defined group of other students.

Basically, ranking the scores of students from highest score to the lowest one provides an immediate sample for norm-referenced interpretation. However, barely ranking “raw scores” to interpret students’ performance formally is not proper and valid.

The raw scores are converted to a derived score.

A derived score is a numerical report of test performance on a score scale that has well-defined characteristics and yields normative meaning.

Norm-Referenced Framework

Most common types are:

Grade EquivalentsPercentile Ranks/Bands Standard scores

Norm-Referenced Framework

Stanines

Grade EquivalentScoresAlso described as an example of developmental score scale, report test performance in terms of the grade group in which an individual’s raw score is just average.

The grade equivalent that corresponds to a particular raw score identifies the grade level at which the typical student obtains that raw score.

Largely utilized in coming up in an interpretation of standardized achievement test, especially at the elementary level.

Grade EquivalentScoresAlso described as an example of developmental score scale, report test performance in terms of the grade group in which an individual’s raw score is just average.

The grade equivalent that corresponds to a particular raw score identifies the grade level at which the typical student obtains that raw score.

Largely utilized in coming up in an interpretation of standardized achievement test, especially at the elementary level.

The grade equivalent that corresponds to a particular raw score identifies the grade level at which the typical student obtains that raw score.Compare performance along a developmental continuum- as a child moves from one grade level or age level to the next.

Grade EquivalentScores

GE scores are reported as decimalized numbers, such as 3.9. A GE score of 3.9 denotes that the student’s performance is equivalent to the average performance of a 3rd grader in the 9th month of the school year. Because there are 10 months in a school year, for a given grade level, such as grade 3, GE scores would range from 3.0 – 3.9

Table 1.

GE Illustration

Laura, a fourth grade pupil, took an achievement test in

arithmetic and got a score of 35. The test she took was also

administered to fourth and fifth grade pupils in the norm group in

July and January respectively . In the first take, the median raw

score of the fourth grade pupils is 22 adding numerous points to

35 during the retake. On the other hand, the fifth graders got a

median raw score of 30 during the first take and 47 during the

retake. What does her score tells about her relative standing in

terms of grade level?

Example:

Grade LevelTime of Administration(Months)MedianGrade Equivalent4

455

July (.1)January (.7)

July (.1)January (.7)

22353047

4.14.75.15.7

Table 2. Laura’s Grade-Equivalent Score

Grade LevelTime of Administration(Months)M.R.S.Grade Equivalent4

455

July (.1)January (.7)

July (.1)January (.7)

22353047

4.14.75.15.7

Laura’s raw score of 35 is exactly equal to the MRS in the second line. It gives a GE of 4.7 which can be interpreted as “Laura does arithmetic in the average level as the fourth grade pupils in the norm group do.” It also means that “Laura performs largely greater than what the fourth grade pupils in the norm group in July do.”

After knowing how GE works and how beneficially does it create sound judgments through valid score interpretation based on norm groups, we may want to simply things as well.

Say for example:

Emily, who is in the middle of the fifth grade, has the following GE scores:

English 5.9 Means that she is quite 5 months advanced in English

Science 6.6 Means that she is 1 year and 2 months advanced in Science

Mathematics 8.1 Means that she is 3 year and 2 months advanced in Mathematics

I get it but I got new serious queries piling over my head now.

The examples given showed that Emily can perform tasks done by 6th graders in English and Third year secondary students in Math since her GE is aligned with those levels. Does her GEs actually mean that she can efficiently do tasks for higher grade levels?

Q

RNo, the scores don’t.

The scores are only rough guides for us to merely say that a student can perform tasks less efficiently, efficiently, and more efficiently than the students in the norm group. Thus, Laura’s GE scores only meant that she performs well in English than do her classmates and does Math far better. GE scores should not be interpreted literally.

QLet me keep it coming.

Do the GE scores represent the same rating as compared to the other GE scores of another Publishing test? In the same manner, are the GE scores gained from different subjects can be compared against each other?

No, they don’t and sorry, but no, they can’t.

RThe Publisher’s way of deriving GE scores for, say a reading comprehension test for fifth graders, doesn’t mean the same value or corresponding GE scores on another publishing test doing a fifth grade reading comprehension test as well.