The World of Assessment

Consider the options!

Scores based on developmental levels of academic achievement

Age-Equivalent scores

Includes standardized or norm-referenced tests such as intelligence tests

Formal Assessment

The time when children are actually understanding and succeeding at the learning task

Academic Learning Time

The fairness of the test

Test Bias

An alternative assessment method based on a students’

performance on a skill based on a real-life situation.

Performance-based assessments

The careful watching and recording of events or behavior for later reflection and analysis

Observations

Includes such items as work samples, portfolios, and projects, or oral questioning as well as other traditional

and nontraditional ways of measuring students’ understanding and progress.

Informal Assessment

Use absolute standards (criteria) to answer specific questions about student achievement or mastery (PPR, TAKS). Passing requires answering a pre-determined

percentage of items correctly.

Criterion-referenced tests

Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

A measurement process that is on-going, developmentally appropriate,

and dynamic.

Assessment

The truthfulness of the assessment information; does the score report really measure what it purports to

measure?

Validity

Formal assessment measure in which an individual’s performance is compared with others in the test-

norming sample

Standardized test

ACT ~ ACT

An authentic assessment tool used to assess student progress; consists of a collection of the

student’s work

Portfolio

Typically refers to all means used in schools to formally measure student performance or behavior and make judgments based on the results of the programs and

procedures implemented

Evaluation

Demonstrating a specific skill by constructing a product or solving a problem that could be generated by a real-

life situation

Authentic

An umbrella term that describes an area of the curriculum, such

as basic math skills

Domain

A test-taker’s performance is reported in relationship to other test takers in the same age or grade sample. Results are reported in standards scores, percentile

ranks, or t and z scores.

Norm-referenced tests

Data collected by teacher through careful watching and charting of specific student behaviors

Observation data

Assessment data that show a student’s progress or lack of progress toward curricular objectives during the

process of instruction.

Formative assessment

Based on developmental norms, reporting such scores assumes that all children or all children in certain grades

have received uniform instruction.

Grade-equivalent scores

2.0 or 6.0 or 8.0 or 10.0

A process where students reflect on their achievement and progress; student interviews and portfolios are often used as student self-

assessments.

Self-assessment

Standardized scores that compare an individual with other test takers and report scores as well as or better

than a certain percentage of the norm sample.

Percentile rank

% %

Informal measures of student progress based on the objectives of the curriculum and classroom instruction.

Teacher-made test

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The World of Assessment

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