Chapter Outline, Learning Objectives, and Summary

Chapter Outline

• Functions of Standardized Tests
• Types of Standardized Tests
• Evaluating Standardized Tests: Validity Revisited
• The Teacher's Role in Standardized Testing: Instructional Principles

• Descriptive Statistics
• Interpreting Standardized Test Results

• Standards-Based Education and Accountability
• Testing Teachers

• Student Diversity and Test Bias
• Eliminating Bias in Standardized Testing: Instructional Principles
• Issues in Standardized Testing: Implications for Teachers

Learning Objectives

1. Identify functions and types of standardized tests and the forms of validity associated with the tests.
2. Explain standardized test results using statistics and standard scores.
3. Describe the relationships between standards-based education, accountability, and high-stakes testing.
4. Describe potential types of testing bias and strategies teachers can use to minimize bias in the use of standardized tests with their students.

Summary

1. Identify functions and types of standardized tests forms of validity associated with the tests.
   • Educators can use standardized tests to assess student academic progress, diagnose strengths and weaknesses, and place students in appropriate programs. These tests can also provide information for program evaluation and improvement.
   • Achievement tests provide information about student learning; diagnostic tests provide in-depth analysis of specific student strengths and weaknesses; intelligence tests measure students' ability to acquire knowledge, capacity to think and reason in the abstract, and ability to solve novel problems; and aptitude tests predict potential for future learning.
   • Validity measures the appropriateness of a test for a specific purpose and includes content, predictive, and construct validity.
   • Teachers play a central role in standardized testing. They are integral in test selection, student preparation, test administration, and interpreting and communicating results to students and their caregivers.
   
   
2. Explain standardized test results using statistics and standard scores.
   • Educators interpret standardized test scores by using descriptive statistics to compare an individual's performance to the performance of a norming group.
   • The mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency, and the range and standard deviation are measures of variability.
   • Percentiles, stanines, grade equivalents, and standard scores all allow educators to compare a student's score with the scores of comparable students in a norming group.
   
   
3. Describe the relationships between standards-based education, accountability, and high-stakes testing.
   • Standards-based education has made teachers more accountable for their students' learning. Standards establish learning goals that all students are expected to attain. Administrators use minimum competency tests to hold both students and teachers accountable for performance on these tests. Tests are called high-stakes if educators use test results in making decisions about promotion to the next grade level or graduation from high school.
   • Advocates of accountability argue that standardized tests efficiently assess the educational achievements of large numbers of students. Critics counter that misuse of standardized tests discourages innovation, and encourages teaching to low-level skills.
   • The accountability movement is also targeting teachers. Prospective teachers are now expected to demonstrate competency in basic skills, content area knowledge, and pedagogy.
   
   
4. Describe potential types of testing bias and strategies teachers can use to minimize bias in the use of standardized tests with their students.
   • The accountability movement raises questions about validity with respect to testing members of cultural minorities. Content bias occurs when incidental information in items discriminates against certain cultural groups. Bias in testing procedures occurs when groups don't fully understand testing procedures and the implications of time limits. Bias in the use of test results occurs when educators use test results alone to make important decisions about students.
   • Teachers play an essential role in ensuring that standardized test results are unbiased. They examine test content before and test results after testing to ensure that both accurately reflect what their students have learned. They also ensure uniform testing conditions.