TerraNova Score Interpretation

Post-Test Data Analysis Webinar

Christi Linton

Goals for our Webinar

• Data Interpretation• Understanding the types of information provided by

the TerraNova assessment• How to identify areas for improvement• Utilizing our existing resources• Linking Data to Instruction• Tips for Communicating TerraNova data to parents

The Purpose of Standardized Achievement Tests

•Reinforces educational decisions that have a positive impact on individual students and their parents, groups or classes of students, schools and communities

•Aid teachers and administrators in improving instructional plans, to keep parents informed about the progress being made by their children, and to inform the community of general progress being made by a school or school system

Instructional Program Planning

Curriculum Analysis

Administrative Planning and

Direction

Evaluation of Student Progress

Needs Assessment

Understanding and Using Test Data The Purpose of Standardized Tests

“Assessment should promote learning, not simply measure it.”Jay McTighe

Types of Information Provided by Achievement Tests

• TerraNova Scores:– Accurate Norm-Referenced Information

– Relevant Criterion-Referenced Information

– Standards-Based Performance Information

• Inview Scores:– Cognitive Scores

Norm-Referenced Test Scores• Norm-referenced

– Test questions are primarily selected based on their ability to distinguish specific performance levels matching the “Bell Curve”

– The test is given to a nationally representative group of students of all performance levels

– “Norms” provide a way to understand how a student’s test performance ranks/compares to similar students nationwide

• Common Score Types– Grade Equivalent (GE)– Scale Score (SS) – National Percentile (NP)– Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE)– National Stanine

Scale Scores (SS) Designed to measure student achievement from

elementary school through high school Expected to increase with grade level TerraNova content forms a developmental continuum

through which students move as they develop new capabilities

Scale score shows where the students are on this continuum

492 535 571 606 627 645

K 1 2 3 4 5

Math Scale Scores

National Percentile Scores (NP)• Represents the percentage of students in the national norm

group whose score was at or below a student’s score• A student whose NP is 65 performed better than 65% of those

students who took the test when it was normed• Important Reminders:

– NP scores range from 1 to 99– The national norm of NP is 50; i.e., 50% of students scored

at or below a given student’s score – NP scores are NOT percent correct scores– NP scores SHOULD NOT be added or subtracted because

they are not an equal-interval scale score

National Percentile Scale – NP Scale50th NP is where national middle is

Half the Nation is below 50

Half the Nation is above 50

Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) Scores

• NCEs were developed to evaluate student growth

• NCE scores indicate the relative ranking in comparison to the national group used to establish norm scores on a test

• NCE scores:– denote relative ranking (1-99)– have an average or norm of 50– are NOT percent correct scores– can be confused with NP scores– are on an equal interval scale (equal distance between score points)– can be compared and averaged for group comparison or measure

growth/gain

National Stanines

• Standard scores based on a scale of nine equal units that range from a high of 9 to a low of 1

– Stanines 1-3: Below Average– Stanines 4-6: Average– Stanines 7-9: Above Average

Comparing the Scales

Source: Page 292 of Teacher’s Guide

Q1

Q2 Q3

Q4

Harder to grow

Focus on Q3 FirstNP = 50-75

How are Data Related?

√

Stanine Description

National Percentile Rank Range

Percent of students in the nation.

9 Highest level 96 - 99 4%

8 High level 89 - 95 7%

7 Well above average 77 - 88 12%

6 Slightly above average 60 - 76 17%

5 Average 40 - 59 20%

4 Slightly below average 23 - 39 17%

3 Well below average 11 - 22 12%

2 Low 4 - 10 7%

1 Very Low 1 - 3 4%

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

1. Q1 = NP 1-252. Q2 = NP 26-503. Q3 = NP 51-754. Q4 = NP 76-99

NationalQuartileDistribution

If a student is in the 50th National Percentile each year – he is still

growing!

492 535 571 606 627 645

K 1 2 3 4 5

What Does Average Growth Look Like?

Norm-Referenced Data

• Grade Equivalent Scores (GE)– Created to provide meaningful interpretation

• First Number represents the grade• Second number represents the month• 5.3=Fifth-grade, third month

– Does not reflect student progression in grade• GE scores are rank-order scores only

– Advantages• Easy to understand

– Disadvantages• Easily misunderstood and frequently misinterpreted.

How would you interpret a GE score of 4.8 obtained by a second grade student on a second grade reading test?

Criterion-Referenced Testing• Describes the student’s acquisition of specific

skills and areas of knowledge. • TerraNova is organized in terms of commonly

taught curriculum objectives• Scores based on content knowledge of specific

“sub-skills”– Score Type: Objective Performance Index (OPI)

Mastery Scores – OPI An Objective Performance Index (OPI) is an estimate of the number of items the student could be expected to answer correctly if he/she had taken 100 items measuring that objective.

Scores based on content knowledge of specific “sub-skills”

Diagnoses strengths/weaknesses

High Mastery (Above 75)(Strong grasp of the concept)

Moderate Mastery (50-75)(Moderate grasp of concept; not yet at grade level expectations)

Low Mastery (Below 49)

Understanding OPI Scores

• Position on the Moderate Mastery Range

– Farther to the right = approaching Mastery• Curriculum and instruction are supporting near grade level performance (on average)• Polish/refine curriculum and instruction

– Left or middle = needs more work and support• Curriculum and/or instruction needs review and possibly revision

What is the line through the circle mean?

•Confidence band:• Takes into consideration the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)• Compensates for variations in performance if the student was to take

the test again and again• If the student took the test again, it is highly likely that his/her score

would be somewhere on this line

OPI Mastery -Grade 5

Performance Level Information

• Pathway to Proficiency– Level 1: “Starting Out” (Grades 1-2) “Step 1” (Grades 3-12)– Level 2: “Progressing”– Level 3: “Nearing Proficiency”– Level 4: “Proficient”– Level 5: “Advanced”

• Performance Level Groupings:– Grades 1-2 (Primary)– Grades 3-5 (Elementary)– Grades 6-8 (Middle School)– Grades 9-12 (High School)

Scores based on the demonstration of ability compared to a set of standards

(Standard Setting: Bookmarking Procedure)

OPI Mastery

Inview Testing (Cognitive Abilities)• Based on students’ performance on InView

• Age-dependent standardized score– Students’ grade levels are not considered

• CSI considers overall cognitive ability– No subscores per se– Mean (average) score for the group– Range identifies high/low score in the group

• CSI scale– Mean = 100– Standard Deviation = 16– “Average Range” = 84 to 116

Guide to Interpreting the Cognitive Skills Index (CSI)

• Do not treat CSI as an IQ score– True full scale IQ scores are

• based on individual tests with multiple subtests • administered by a highly qualified person

• Relate to the Anticipated Achievement scores– Are students working within/above/below their CSI?– Can be useful in identifying students who need more support

Using Inview Anticipated Achievement Scores

• Look for a difference between the Obtained Normal Curve and the Anticipated Normal Curve– If Positive, students overachieved– If Negative, students underachieved

Obtained = 75Anticipated = 70Difference = +5

Obtained = 75Anticipated = 80Difference = - 5

Look at what type of learner this student is: Verbal? Non-verbal?

Instructional Strategy is working for this type of learner

What data do we get from TerraNova 3 and InView?

Score Type Measure Growth Rank Mastery

Anticipate Achievement

Student

1. Scale Score (SS)2. Norm Curve

Equivalent (NCE)3. National Stanine

(NS)

1. National Percentile Rank (NP)

2. National Percentile Grade/Age (NPG, NPA)

3. Grade Equivalent (GE)4. Quartiles5. Local Quartiles

1. Objective Performance Index (OPI)

2. Mastery Category

1. Anticipated Scale Score

2. Anticipated NCE3. Anticipated NP4. Anticipated GE5. Anticipated NS

SummaryGrade, Class, School

1. Mean Scale Score (MSS)

2. Mean NCE (MNCE)

1. Median National Percentile (MDNP)

2. NP of the Mean Norm Curve Equivalent (NP of the Mean NCE)

Measuring Growth Score Type Definition Purpose Notes

SS Scale Score1. Measure Growth over time2. Used as basis for all Norm

Referenced scores (NCE, NP, GE)

1. Equal Interval 0-9992. All students have one3. SS can be averaged

NCE Norm Curve Equivalent

1. Measure Growth over time2. Compare performance between

subtests on same test3. Comparing growth between

tests from different publishers

1. Equal Interval 1-992. All students have one3. NCE can be averaged

and converted into stanines or percentiles

Stanine National Stanine

1. Measures growth 2. Less precise as SS or NCE

1. Equal interval 1-92. Convert to NCE for more

precise growth

Ranking Students Score Type Definition Purpose Notes

NP National Percentile Rank

1. Ranks student performance against the national norm (nation).

1. Scale is bell curve – not equal interval

2. Cannot compare NP across subject areas

3. It is not % correct

NP of the MNCE

National Percentile of the Mean Norm Curve Equivalent

1. Shows where the average student is ranked

MDNPMedian National Percentile

1. Shows where my middle student is

Quartile National Quartile

1. Shows where students are ranked vs. national distribution of 25% in each Quartile

1. Q1 = NP 1-252. Q2 = NP 26-503. Q3 = NP 51-754. Q4 = NP 76-99

What will we do with this data?• Examine data to determine areas of strengths and

weakness

• Relate those areas to Standards

• Determine what to do instructionally to address areas of student weakness in our daily/weekly/monthly instruction – May need to enhance or change your current instructional

plan– May need to work with groups of students differently

Action Steps:• Analyze strengths and needs by objectives (student, class, or by

school)– High Mastery: (Enrichment activities)– Moderate Mastery: (Instruction needed—if majority of class is in moderate

and low---need more whole group instruction)– Low Mastery: (Remediation and extra support)

• Use data to open instructional conversations (parents, teachers, school dialogue)

• Utilize Resources:– Worksheets/handouts– Teacher’s Guides to TerraNova (item analysis, content descriptions, sample

test examples)– www.ctb.com

How do I use this information in my classroom?

• Read the full descriptions of the objectives so you understand the skill that was assessed

• Use them in conjunction with other data you have about students to focus your classroom instruction on what students do not know and what they cannot do

• If you teach in a subject area in which the skills are utilized, try to focus on developing the skill through your specialized content

Teacher’s Guide to TerraNova, The Third Edition

Example for Math:• “Computation and Numerical

Estimation” means students demonstrate that they:

– know and use correct computation procedures

– solve real-world problems • e.g. dealing with money

– apply estimation strategies – determine (evaluate) reasonableness of

results

How can you help students develop these skills in the context of what you teach?• Computation• Computation in context• Estimation• Computation with money• Recognize when to estimate• Determine reasonableness• Estimation with money

Sample Items-Computation and Numerical Estimation

Focus on “Best Practices” for a Standards-Based learning classroom

• Clearly communicate standards to students and parents

• Clearly align your assessments and instruction to the standards

• Use assessment results to adjust/focus your instruction

• Re-think your grading and other management structures

• Plan for intervention, for different learning styles, and for transfer of learning

Handout/Resources

Tips for Communicating Data with Parents

• Our Attitude: Parents…..– Want what is best for their child– Are the child’s first and most important teachers– Are equal partners and collaborate with the school

• Our Information at a Parent-Teacher Conference:– Clear and straight forward– Supported by samples of classroom work or tests

• Steps:– (1) Share strengths—positive statements (student’s strengths as a learner)– (2) Share challenges---constructive information (where improvements can be made; why

improvement is needed—share work samples and expectations for the grade level– (3) Create action plan---specific next steps:

• What will the school and teacher do• How the parents can help at home• What the student can do

Sample Template for a Home Report

Need Additional Help?• Utilize your TerraNova Resources:

– Norms Book– Technical Manual– Beyond the Numbers booklet– Teacher’s Guide to TerraNova– Scoring Guides– Test Directions for Teachers– Test Coordinator’s Handbook– Classroom Connections to TerraNova– Guidelines for Inclusive Test Administrations– Your local assessment consultant– www.ctb.com

Thank You!Christi Linton

clinton@datarecognitioncorp.com(301)-865-9859