High Stakes Testing and Other Traditional School Assessments Gary L. Cates, Ph.D., N.C.S.P.

High Stakes Testing and Other Traditional School Assessments

Gary L. Cates, Ph.D., N.C.S.P

Illinois Standards Achievement Test

Reading and Math: 3-8

Science 4 & 7

Writing 3, 5, 6, & 8

Prairie Sate Achievement Examination (PSAE)

• 11th graders relative to standards• ISBE: Science test• ACT: English, math, reading, science• “Work Keys”: Reading for information and

Applied mathematics (work place focus)

Illinois Consumer Education Proficiency Test (ICEPT)

• 9-12th grade before graduation. Pass or take a course

Illinois Alternative Assessment (IAA)

• Students with the severest of cognitive impairment

• Different tools same standards

Explore Plan

• provide data to help pinpoint student strengths and weaknesses, aligned to college and career ready expectations,

• provide data regarding student preferences for post-high school activities,  

• provide the school with information on program effectiveness,

• provide valid and reliable data on student achievement at grades not currently assessed by PSAE.

ISBE 2013

Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

• International test of 8th graders in 95, 99, and 2003.

• http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/TIMSS.htm

National Assessment of Educational Progress

• Grades 4 & 8 Reading Assessment• Nations Report Card (NCLB)• Latest Results: Cates Stop Slide Show

Here• http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states

Adequate Yearly Progress

• At least 95% of the students must be tested in reading and mathematics for the All group and subgroups. If the current year’s participation rate is less than 95%, the participation rate for AYP will be considered sufficient if the average of the current year and the preceding year is at least 95% or if the average of the current year and the two preceding years is at least 95%.

Adequate Yearly Progress

• Students in the All group and each subgroup must have performance levels of at least 85% Meeting/Exceeding standards for reading and mathematics. For any group (including the All group) with less than 85% Meeting/Exceeding standards, a 95% confidence interval will be applied, which may enable the group to meet AYP.

Adequate Yearly Progress

• For subgroups that do not meet their Safe Harbor targets, a 95% confidence interval will be applied, which may enable the subgroup to meet AYP.

Adequate Yearly Progress

• For 2011, non-high schools must achieve an attendance rate of at least 91%, and high schools must achieve a graduation rate of at least 82%.

Common Core Assessment

• Scrambling by test publishers and organizations

• 45 States & 4 territories adopted(AL, TX, NE, MN, VA, PR)

PARCC

• Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) – 23 states– Create high-quality assessments – Build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students

– Support educators in the classroom– Develop 21st century, technology-based assessments– Advance accountability at all levels

2014-2015:2 Summative Assessments

• Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) administered as close to the end of the school year as possible. – Literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text.– Mathematics PBA will focus on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to

solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools.

• End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) administered after approx. 90% of the school year.– Literacy EOY will focus on reading comprehension.– Mathematics EOY will be comprised of innovative, machine-scorable items

ISBE, 2013

2014-2015:2 Interim Assessment Components• Early Assessment designed to be an indicator

of student knowledge and skills so that instruction, supports and professional development can be tailored to meet student needs

Mid-Year Assessment comprised of performance-based items and tasks, with an emphasis on hard-to-measure standards.  After study, individual states may consider including as a summative component

ISBE, 2013

Norm Referenced Achievement Testing

Why do it?

• That’s what is referred• Make comparisons between target child

and sample• Diagnosis specific content area

deficiencies• INFORM DECISION MAKING (i.e.

Intervention)!

Problems with it?

• Not tied to the curriculum (Shapiro & Derr 1987)– Basal Readers & Commercial test– Bell et al (1992): Test-Content overlap bias– Commercial Test Scores across each other

(Jastak & Jastak, 1978; WRAT/MAT).• Not sensitive to change• Not prescriptive

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Why use them?

• Screening• Program Evaluation• Meet, not meet, exceed (identification)

Problems with them?

• Sensitive to change• Some lack normative sample• Test/Curriculum overlap? (ISAT-Good)• Limited range of sub-skills• Learning Rate not assessed• Influence of the environment not assessed