High Stakes Testing and Other Traditional School Assessments

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

Illinois Standards Achievement Test

Reading and Math: 3-8Science 4 & 7Writing 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