As I stated
in my previous blog (Questions 14.1), assessment is a major aspect of one’s
educational experience. If we did not
have assessments, it would be extremely difficult to determine what students
know and what they don’t know. In
addition, assessments allow educators to make changes to their lesson plans and
identify students with specific disabilities.
According
to the textbook, a norm-referenced test “reveals how well each student’s
performance compares with the performance of their peers, classmates, or
age-mates across the nation.” Like all
tests, there are advantages and disadvantages to taking this type of test. For example, the NRT’s scoring system is not
subjective or biased. They are easy to
adopt and implement into the education system, and teachers do not have to
spend nearly as much time grading their students’ scores. NRTs provide good external validity,
longitudinal comparisons, and make it easy to test large numbers of
students. Finally, norm-referenced
assessments make it easy for educators to identify students with
disabilities. One disadvantage to this
type of testing is that it is more product-based rather than
process-based. Next, NRTs do not take
student diversity into account. For
example, a student from a lower socioeconomic background might not know what
regatta. Therefore, it is not fair to
test students from different backgrounds on these types of questions. Also, every student learns differently, and a
norm-referenced assessment is not a good across-nation representation. NRTs test more superficial knowledge and
measure broad-ranged skills. They are
not good indicators of one’s overall achievement, and they are summative, which
makes it harder to see what changes need to be made. Finally, they are costly, and it takes a
while to get the scores back.
Criterion-related
tests are another type of assessment, and according to the textbook, they are
“designed to tell us exactly what students have and have not accomplished
relative to predetermined standards or criteria.” One advantage to this type of evaluation is
that CRTs are more suitable for tracking students’ progress within the
curriculum. Next, they are good
indicators of how well students can answer the questions on the material that
is being studied. In addition, they take
into account where the students are in the classroom, which makes it easier for
teachers identify what changes need to be made.
Finally, a CRT is a better indicator of overall achievement, allow
teachers to identify students with special needs, and provide quick
results. One disadvantage to this type
of assessment is that creating valid and reliable tests require more extensive
time and effort. Next, the results
cannot be generalized beyond the particular course, program, or institution. Finally, the assessment of complex skills is difficult
to determine with just one test score.
Madelyne, you make a really good point about the difficulty of creating valid and reliable criterion refrenced assessments. I hadn't really thought of that. Nothing is more frustrating than being in a class where you REALLY have learned a lot, yet when you take the test your scores do not reflect it. Since we all must attend to GPA's this can be really frustrating.
ReplyDeleteMadelyne,
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you mentioned the backgrounds of students in relation to norm referenced testing. I think this is an important factor to consider that seems overlooked by policy makers and test makers alike. There are many articles that relate socioeconomic class to the way students perform in school. Students from every background imaginable bring their perspectives into the classroom, but the test is the same for every student. Also, norm referenced testing doesn't cater to the different types or learners or test takers that can be found within schools and classrooms. You made some interesting points about assessment. Since norm referenced testing is something that is inevitable in the educational scope today, I guess that all we as teachers can do is embrace the fact that it is going to be around for a while and teach our students to the best of our ability.
I really like what you said about taking a student's background into consideration. How can we use the same assessments to test every child when every student brings a different set of skills to the table and every student does not necessarily interpret the same question in the same way.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about CRT was important...that teachers can use them to determine mastery of certain things within the curriculum, but that they can be difficult to create
As the last three girls have noted, I think it is crucial to understand that comparing students may not always be an ADVANTAGE. All students are different and have different strengths and weaknesses. Not only that but we know that students have different experiences, socioeconomic backgrounds, families, interests, ect. The NRTs don't account for these differences.
ReplyDelete