Chapter 2: Methods of Assessment and Testing Considerations

Assessment and Testing Considerations

Purpose

• Helps evaluate the special education student.
• The student varies from each individual.
• The assessment method helps determines from a case by case basis to help the student find placement to execute proper learning and success.
• Examples: Formal testing, Informal Testing, and Norm-reformed tests (NRT).

What are these Tests?

• Formal: expectations of students to come preapared to help with scoring and interpretation of their knowledge.
• Informal: used as techniques that can be indicated in the classroom and turned into class routines and activited in learning.
• Norm-reference test: looks into scoring the students performance and comparing their score with another group of students

NRT

• These tests have a comparison group that are considered the norm group.
• The norm group is viewed as the large number of children who represent the age group of these set children for testing.
• The children vary in gender and ethnic backgrounds from each students geogrpahic location.
• The test can measure a students performance that helps indentify how various children perform on the tests

Basal and Ceiling levels

• These are included in NRT, which prevents the examinrer from having to administer each items from ther various tests.
• Basal: This is the starting point which helps test the mastery of the task given. The students would be assumed to correctly answer all of the questions on the test. A example would be an examiner for a IQ test would give the test to the studen based on his/her given age.
• Ceiling: This is the mark point where the student has reached a specific amount of errors and the test has automatically stopped. This is also known as the ending point. This another measurement of mastering a task based on the amount of items the student missed on the test.

Intended Purpose of NRT

• Compare scores with the scores of other groups of students.
• Designed to rank order of students.
• Highlight the achievement among different students from ranking high to low achievers.
• Helps classifies students placement in the school, whether to place the student in remdial or gifted programs.
• Helps educators selct students for instructional groups based on their different abilities in reading or mathematics.

Standardization

• Refers to structure testing materials,admin. procedures,methods of scoring, and seeing results through interpretation techniques.
• Standardized Tests are detailed exams that have proceudres for timing,scoring, and interpreting for valid and reliable results.
• Plays a large part in the education scene with a wide array of tests to see different skillsets.

Concerns with Standardize Test

• These tests recieve a great deal of critcisms based on the purpose which these exams are used for.
• The educators and administrators have their jobs on the line based on the performance of the students success or failure.
• Some tests are viewed as bias based on the students ethnic background due to the language proficiency and style of learning the student faces.
• Other issues are the students are becoming passive learners, too much focus of the test materials that being taught, no proper understanding or reflecting of whats being taught, and lack of consistency and reliability.

Informal Assessment

• Criterion-Referenced Tests
• Standards Reference Tests
• Ecological Assessment
• Curriculum Based Assessment
• Curriculum Based Measurement
• Dynamic Assessment
• Portfolio Assessment
• Authentic/Naturalistic/Performance Based Assessment
• Task Analysis
• Outcome-Based Assessment
• Learning Styles Assessment

Criterion-Referenced Tests (CRT's)

• These test report how the student is doing based on how they're achieving with the learning goals based on the school, district, or state curriculum.
• The tests can help gauge how well the students are understanding what is being taught or develop the skills that are expected to be mastered.
• This helps see how well the curriculum is being taught to the students and how well they're learning the curriculum.
• The scoring for these test are called criterion, this is set by the educators or publishers of the tests to set a certain level of mastery.

Standard-Reference Tests

• This test is has requirements for what the students should already know and be able to perform in different subjects and different grade levels.
• Defines the students performance of knowledge through assessment of reaching a basic, proficient, or advanced level in various subject contents.
• There has been a steady increase of what students have to know to meet at the same level of knowledge.
• Some criticisms have been that these tests have been either too vague, too much, or too difficult for students attempting to reach proper learning goals

Ecological Assessment

• Bascially assesses how well the student learn in various enviornments through observation.
• The purpose is to assess how various environments influences the students performance in the classroom
• Examples could be which enviornment makes the student perform excellent or poorly, are the students functioning properly, culture of the students, teaching styles, effective use of time in the classroom, etc.

Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA)

• Links instruction with assessment.
• Has three purposes which are eligibility determination,developing goals for teaching, and evaluate the students success within the curriculum.
• Helps instructors change the curriculum if the students arent grasping the material.

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM)

• This method times the students performance of the task then records the time.
• This is to show how quickly the student and perform and achieve the task.
• This works by testing the student weekly and the test generally lasts 1-5 minutes. Once the student is done with the task, the teacher then counts how many were correct and incorrect.
• This is collected to show the students performance for the school year and helps the teacher see if they should change their method of instruction or not.

Dynamic Asssessment

• Has several different approaches that are similar when evaluating the student.
• One major characteristic is the interaction between the student and the test examiner. This helps the examiner draw conclusions about how the student processes thinking and how they response to a learning situation.
• The approach helps test the student, then retrain them if there is difficulties, and retest to recieve a better result.
• This aspect is greatly used for students from minority backgrounds who may not have encountered these tasks previously

Portfolio Assessment

• This the collected work of the student to show progress of the students capabilities in the classroom.
• There a various types of portfolios where teachers and parents can contribute to the portfolio (Working Portfolio), the student can show their best work and manages what they want to put in it (Showcase Portfolio), and storage of test papers and samples kept by the teacher without student selection (Teacher Portfolio)
• These allow teachers to assess progress overtime and helps the instructors communicate with the parents about their child's progress.
• Though, there has been controversy about what should be in the porfolios based on the future of the students academic status. Educators are urged to help students make future decisions based on what they should put in their portfolio
• The portfolio approach is better used in the special education setting, but additional research still needs to be done.

Authentic/Naturalistic/Performance Assessment

• This technique uses knowledge of applying the use of real-world activities or settings and creating a simulation for assessment.
• This can help by asking students to create or perform something,apply real world applications, or generate new roles for teachers for instructional and assessment purposes.

Task Analysis

• A very detailed procedure that breaks down a task and uses multiple steps to accomplish the task.
• The purpose is to indentify subskills and behaviors to require a task to be completed.
• The approach has many advantages such as,identifying what needs to be done to accomplish the task.
• Helps teachers understand whether or not the student can perform the task and what they need to be taught to master the task.

Outcome-Based Assessment

• Teaches and evaluates the skill of the student that can be used in real life situations.
• These skills will help students become an effective adult.
• The assessment can help view what is desired for the student and identify what sub skills the student has mastered that will be effective for their future and what still needs to be leared.

Learning Styles Assessment

• This assessment is the various ways students learn either how the class conditions are or the way materials are presented.
• Other aspects are the how the child is perceived while engaging in the classroom or the type of thinking the child is doing while problem sollving.
• Teachers should identify the positive factors in the students learning and can be of value when developing a strategy for intervention.

Implement in the classroom
For my future students in special education, the assessment approach I would like to use for them to be effective in the classroom is the authentic/ naturalistic/ performance assessment. This would help better engage the students learning environment by having them perform or create something that they're interested in and apply this to their learning. I want to apply real world application so they would understand the materials better and would help me refurbish my instructional and assessment skills.