Ocr_Diploma_Assessment_Vocabulary

OCR Diploma Level 7 Joanne Hayward Assessment is a complex and emotive area of study. There are many reasons for assessment and much debate about the need for it. These ideas aside, it is essential that when using the tools of assessment explored upon this course that we clearly understand the types of assessment we use and the ‘language of assessment’. This will not only inform the assessor of their students’ strengths and weaknesses but will enable the assessor to make informed judgements when selecting assessments and reporting to a variety of audiences. Ellington (1999) and Race (1995) both advocate that the most important thing that teachers do for their students is assess their performance. Many of the assessments that are available are derived from the United States of America. The adage of, ‘two nations divided by a common language ‘ can at times ring true in this area. Assessment Vocabulary Bias in testing The content of the test should represent the experiences and values of all groups taking the test (a test should not contain vocabulary, pictures or stories that are unfamiliar to certain populations taking the test) Scores on norm referenced tests Scores on a norm referenced test indicate how an individual student has performed compared to students of the same academic year or age levels who are in the norm sample. Raw scores represent the number correct on the test Raw scores are then converted into derived scores which can be used for interpreting the student's performance Derived scores can be reported as standard scores, reading grade scores, percentiles, normal curve equivalents, and stanines. Many scores are based on a normal curve distribution of scores (the hump or where most of the scores fall) The highest point on the curve is the mean or average point Validity Validity refers to whether a test measures what it is supposed to measure There are two types of validity: content validity and criterion validity Content validity involves inspecting the test to see whether the items are valid for testing purposes. For example, a valid reading comprehension test would probably contain passages with questions. A comprehension test that asked students to match words would have questionable validity Criterion validity refers to how the test compares with some other aspects of achievement such as grade point average. The comparison is done with a statistical correlation (high positive: +1.0 to low: -1.0) For acceptable criterion validity, the correlation should be positive and high Reliability: This means, if the same individual does the same test again, they would get a similar or identical score. Conversely, if 2 different people assessed an individual on the same task, a reliable assessment would give you the same mark for both. Intrinsic This relates to the innate ability of the individual. Extrinsic This relates to external influences upon the subject. Ipsative Ipsative assessment, which is assessment against yourself, or more particularly against your own "personal best" performance. It is more relevant to performance coaching, special needs education and therapy than to most mainstream teaching. Norm Referenced There are statistics or norms for comparing the performance of a student to a large sample of similar students (the norm sample). The norm sample represents the general population Each student in the norm sample takes the test and norms are established for how well, for example a year six student does on the test Procedures for test administration have to strictly adhered to in order to compare students in your classroom to the norm sample accurately. Standard scores Standard scores refer to scores in which the mean and the standard deviation (which is a measure of variations) have been assigned preset values. For example, in the WISC III, the mean is set at 100 and the standard deviation at 15. Stanines The stanine score ranks pupils from 1 to 9. The lowest score is 1, the median is 5 and the highest is 9 Stanine scores represent a normal distribution. Thus, in an average class, most students will receive stanine scores of 4, 5, or 6 and a few will receive stanines of 1 or 9. The word stanine is a contraction of standard nine and is based on the fact that the score runs from 1 to 9. Criterion referenced A student's performance is compared to a specific standard or criterion rather than to the norm sample . This test determines whether a student has mastered certain competencies or skills (Can the student recognize ing endings or find the main idea in a paragraph) These tests measure mastery rather than grade level, or they describe rather than compare Standardised To standardize a test, it is given to a large number of students (the norm sample) Based on data derived from the norm sample, inferences are made about other students who take the test. Look at the norm sample and consider whether the norm was large enough to establish performance norms. Does the norm sample include students who are being tested. Percentile Percentiles can be understood as a rank within 100, expressed in numbers from 1 to 99. A percentile rank is the percentage of students that scored lower than the student being tested. For example, a percentile score of 57 indicates that this student scored higher than 57 percent of the comparison group and lower than 42 percent. The 50th percentile indicates the median (or middle) score. The highest percentile is 99; the lowest is 1 Equal distances in percentiles do not indicate equal difference in raw score (the correct number on the test) points. Since many scores group towards the middle, the difference between the 50th and the 60th may be only a few raw score points. However, the difference between the 99th and the 80th represents a great many raw score points.