Why Use Standardized Tests?

Accountability

Grade ambiguity

Public perception
What Are Standardized Tests?
Achievement tests that are
standard in…
 Format
 Questions
 Instructions
 Time Allotment
Types of Standardized Tests

Aptitude

designed to
predict a student’s
potential
acquisition of
knowledge/skills

InView

Achievement
 measures a
student’s current
acquired
knowledge/skills in
one or more content
areas

Terra Nova, Third
Edition

Terra Nova,
Common Core Edition
InView

Five subtests






Sequences
Analogies
Quantitative Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning – Words
Verbal Reasoning – Context
Cognitive Skills Index (CSI)

indicator of school-related aptitude
 average CSI = 100
 anticipated achievement score for TerraNova
InView Content: Sequences
Level 1 Sequences Sample Item
Level 2 Sequences Sample Item
InView Content: Analogies

Measures ability to identify diverse
relations among picture pairs and
infer relations between incomplete
picture pairs

Action

Common element

Opposites

Part/Whole

Phrase-mediated

Visual rule
InView Content: Analogies
Level 1
Analogies
Sample Item
Level 3
Analogies
Sample Item

InView Content:
Quantitative Reasoning
Measures facility for thinking with
numbers and applying quantitative
reasoning processes rather than
learned mathematics





Number operations puzzle &
flowchart
Grid comparison & inference
Algebraic substitution—equations
and balances
Number equivalence, substitution
Functions and grid fractions
InView Content:
Quantitative Reasoning
(spoken instructions)
Level 1
Quantitative
Reasoning
Sample Item
InView Content:
Verbal Reasoning—Words

Measures ability to solve verbal
problems by reasoning
deductively, analyzing category
attributes, and identifying
relationships and patterns
 Necessary part
 Category inclusion and
exclusion
 Analogous sets
InView Content:
Verbal Reasoning—Words
Level 1 Verbal Reasoning–Words
Sample Item
Level 4 Verbal Reasoning–Words Sample Item
InView Content:
Verbal Reasoning—Context

Measures ability to solve verbal
problems by drawing logical
conclusions from context

Deductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning
InView Content:
Verbal Reasoning—Context
Level 1 Verbal
Reasoning–Context
Sample Item
Level 3 Verbal
Reasoning–Context
Sample Item
Next Generation
Assessments
Performance Assessments
Terra Nova
Goal of Next Generation
Assessment (NGA)
To develop assessments that don’t
simply measure whether students
can fill in a bubble on a test, but
whether they possess 21st century
skills like problem-solving and critical
thinking and entrepreneurship and
creativity.
16
Characteristics of Performance
Assessment
1.
Students are asked to construct their own
understanding rather that select from choices
presented.
2.
The task replicates challenges faced in the real
world.
3.
Performance assessment often asks a student
to analyze, synthesize and apply what they
have learned.
17
TerraNova Test Content
Reading
 Language
 Mathematics
 Science
 Social Studies



Arianna's father gave her $200. She spent
$15.50 on gas for her car and $4.25 for lunch.
With the remaining money Arianna needs to
buy a gift for each of her 5 brothers. How much
money can Arianna spend on each gift?
A. $43.95
 B. $180.25
 C. $36.05
 D. $1081.5
Quadrant D questioning
How can the error in the following
sentence be fixed?
Interestingly, Clementina owns three horses,
I've ridden them all before.
A. Add the word "wild" after the word "three."
B. Add the word "and" after the second
comma.
C. Remove the word "Interestingly."
D. Remove the word "Clementina."
Complete the number pattern.
11, 9, 7, 5, _____
Find the missing number in the
pattern.
36, 31, 27, 22, 18, _____, 9, 4
Read the topic sentence.
Serena is deciding which instrument she
would like to play in the school band.
Choose the details that support the topic sentence. Write the
sentences on the lines below. Be sure to use correct capitalization
and punctuation.
1. Serena’s mother will decide for her.
2. Serena will play a few notes on each instrument.
3. Band class is right after lunch.
4. Serena may try out for the track team.
5. Before Serena decides, she will talk to the band
teacher
A community has frogs, grasshoppers, grasses, and snakes.
A. Use the boxes below to make a food chain that includes
frogs, grasshoppers, grasses, and snakes. Connect each
box with an arrow. The arrows should show the direction
that energy flows through the food chain.
B. If the frogs are removed from this community, make a
prediction of how the grasshoppers will be affected.

If the grasshoppers were all
eliminated, what would happen to the
food chain?
Factors that will influence scores:

When the same form is administered for
several years, it is not uncommon to see a
score drop when a new form is introduced.

Score changes that may occur in response to
the transition to Terra Nova, Common Core
may take place in the first year of
implementation.

It is important that teachers and parents are aware of
this.
Performance Interpretation

Normreferenced

Criterionreferenced

relative ranking
of student
among students

description of
knowledge/skills
each student
demonstrates

“He is third
highest in class
of thirty-five
students.”

“She can identify
all six parts of
the microscope.”
Norm-Referenced Information
• Shows how the student’s performance compares to the performance
of a specified norm group that took the test under specified
(standard) conditions
• Provides a comparison score
National Percentile vs. Local Percentile
National Percentile Scale

norm – 50th percentile
1
5 10
20 30
40
50
60 70
80
90 95
99
White = Top Quarter of Nation
Gray =
Middle
50% of
Nation
White = Bottom Quarter of Nation
30

In general, this child’s performance in most areas
was average or slightly above average compared
to other students at this grade in the spring of
the school year.

Reading was about 15% higher than the national
average.This child scored higher than 65% of students
in the national comparison group.

Math was the highest performance area. This child scored
higher than 82% of students in the national comparison
group. This is in the top quarter nationally for this grade
in the spring of the school year.
31
Criterion Referenced
• fixed level of achievement that can be interpreted in
terms of what students know and are able to do on a
specific skill in a specific subject
• e.g. 2nd GR Math – Score of Proficient
Place value to hundreds
Count by twos
Measure to nearest inch and centimeter
Measure length in nonstandard units
Read time to the half-hour
Describe and classify common shapes
Have 3-D spatial sense
Combine pattern blocks to form given shapes
Complete tally charts and bar graphs
Use data to solve problems
Extend numerical and geometric patterns
Changes in Testing this Year

New edition of test
 Involves
greater capacity to
respond in depth.
New Edition of Test
Terra Nova, Third Edition
2008 norms
Selected response items
Constructed response items
Terra Nova, Common Core
2011 Norms
Selected response items
Constructed response items
Higher-level thinking items
Why???
Change happens!!!
Include Kindergarten

Purpose:

Not to assess the skills of
individual children
 To assess the effectiveness of our
Kindergarten programs
 To strengthen our Early Childhood
programs.
IMPORTANT!!!

Interpret scores correctly—


Focus on the future—not the past.


A score of 75 does not mean that the student scored
75% of the items correctly. It means that the student
performed at a level equal to or better than 75% of
the students who took the test.
Work at making progress in skills that were the
weakest.
Praise your child for the successes he/she has
had.
 Thank your child’s teachers for the help they
have given them.
The CIA of Test Results
 Curriculum
 Instruction
 Assessment