Assessment Strategies

What is a correlation coefficient?

A correlation coefficient provides a numerical summary of the degree of relationship between the two sets of scores. For example, the relationship between a tenth grade math final and SAT math scores could be used to determine a correlation coefficient.

Define diagnostic assessment and give examples.

A diagnostic assessment determines causes (intellectual, physical, emotional, or environmental) of persistent learning difficulties. Examples include published diagnostic tests, teacher-made diagnostic tests, or observational techniques.

What is the difference between fixed-choice and complex-performance assessment?

A fixed-choice assessment's function is to provide efficient measurement of knowledge and skills. It is an indirect indicator, such as a standardized multiple choice test. A complex-performance test provides measurement of performance in context and on problems valued in their own right. Illustrative examples include projects, essays, and oral reports.

What is reliability?

Reliability refers to the consistency of measurement, that is how consistent test scores or other assessment results are from one measurement to another. It provides consistency that makes validity possible and indicates the degree to which various kinds of generalizations are justifiable.

What are the procedures and meanings for construct considerations?

Construct considerations establish the meaning of the assessment results by controlling the development of the assessment, evaluating the cognitive processes used by the students to perform tasks, evaluating the relationships of the scores with other relevant measures, and determining what factors influence performance. Construct considerations means how well performance on the assessment can be interpreted as a meaningful measure of some characteristic or quality.

What is the difference between content and construct validity?

Construct validity refers to the process of determining the degree to which performance on an assessment can be interpreted in terms of one or more constructs. Content validity, however, refers to the extent to which an assessment represents all facets of tasks within the domain being assessed.

Answer the procedure and meaning for content considerations.

Content considerations compare the assessment tasks to the specifications describing the task domain under consideration. This means, content considerations show how well the sample of assessment tasks represents the domain of tasks to be measured and how it emphasizes the most important content.

Define formative assessment and give examples of illustrative instruments.

Formative assessments determine learning progress, provide feedback to reinforce learning, and correct learning errors. Examples include teacher-made tests, custom made tests from textbook publishers, and observational techniques.

Pick 2 forms/methods of estimating reliability measure and its procedure in your own words.

My first method is the test-retest form of measuring reliability. It measures the stability of an assessment. Teachers test students twice, then correlate the scores. The catch is that there has to be a time interval between tests. My favorite method is the test-retest with equivalent forms. I like it because teachers give two tests that are different, but measure the same thing. Then they place a time interval between the tests. This way they measure stability and equivalence.

What is interrater consistency or reliability?

Two scorers have to independently score the performances obtained for an appropriately selected sample of students. This is essentially a way to "average out" the true score between two different viewpoints.

What is validity?

Validity is an evaluation of the adequacy and appropriateness of the interpretations and uses of assessment results. It answers the questions (1) to what extent will the interpretations of the scores be appropriate, meaningful and useful for the intended application of the results? and (2) what are the consequences of the particular uses and interpretations that are made of the results?

Define summative assessment and give examples.

Summative assessments determine end-of-course achievement for assigning grades, or certifying mastery of objectives. This could be a final exam or final project. Illustrative examples include teacher-made survey tests, performance rating scales, or product scales.

What is a placement assessment?

A placement assessment determines prerequisite skills, degree of mastery of course goals, and/or best mode of learning. Illustrative examples used are readiness tests, aptitude tests, pretests on course objectives, self-report inventories, and observational techniques.

What is a scatterplot?

A scatterplot illustrates the different degrees of positive relationship between a predictor and a criterion.

What is the difference between assessment, test, and measurement?

Assessment is a broad term that refers to the wide range of procedures used to gain information about student learning. A test is a specific type of assessment that usually consists of a fixed amount of questions given during a fixed period of time. Measurement is a purely numerical term. It is the assigning of numbers to the results of a test according to a specific rule.

What is the difference between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced methods of interpreting results?

When scores are criterion referenced, they describe student performance according to a specified domain of clearly defined learning tasks. For instance, could the student multiply two-digit whole numbers? However, when scores are norm-referenced, they describe student performance according to the relative position in some known group For instance, the student ranks 8 in a class of 22 students.