ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT1 Test Preparation

ASSESSMENT L ITERACY PROJECT

Kansas State Department of Education

ASSESSMENT L ITERACY PROJECT 1

Test Preparation




Guidelines

Professional Ethics:

No test-preparation practice should violate the ethical norms of the education profession.

Educational Defensibility:

No test-preparation practice should increase students’ test scores without simultaneously increasing mastery of the curricular aim tested.

Appropriate Test-Preparation Practices -- Dr. James Popham




Good Test Preparation Practices

• Classroom Instruction uses Formative Assessment Processes to Prepare Students for the Test

• Apple Tree

• Learning Progressions are used in Classroom Instruction




Teaching to the Test

• Cherry Pick the items so that you select what is to be tested rather than what is instructionally sound.

• Learning progressions are ignored.

• The best apple!




Intended Learning Outcomes

Meeting the Standards




1. Understand

Utility Knife–

that sound and appropriate test preparation directly depends on the purpose of the test for which the student is being prepared




2. Review and construct

Pro and Con List




3. Establish criteria

Unsound Sound

Questionable?

for deciding what is sound, questionable, and unsound test preparation practice.




4. Create a continuum

Of test preparation practices from sound and appropriate to unsound and inappropriate.




Popham: Never, Never Say

Say:

“Teaching to the test’s items.”

Or Say:

“Teaching to the curricular aim presented by the test.”

“Teaching to the Test”




Beneficial Effects for Test-Preparation




Beneficial Effects

1. The standard or benchmark being tested is aligned to the test and clearly understood by teacher and student.

2. The criterion for successful performance is clearly understood by teacher and student.




Beneficial Effects

3. Students have a variety of ways in which to demonstrate proficiency on the standard.

4. Teacher teaches concepts rather than drills students on applications.




Harmful Effects




Harmful Effects

1. Test is not aligned to standard or benchmark being taught.

2. Criterion for success on the standard is not clear to student.




Harmful Effects

3. Teacher teaches the actual items on the test itself.

4. On a math test teacher creates “clones” of actual test items by keeping the question and answer choices but substituting different numbers.




Harmful Effects

5. Teacher limits ways students can demonstrate competency.




The Theory of “Successive Approximations”




Students do best when they have opportunities to try what they know and are able to do against a clearly understood standard or criterion




Students do best when they receive meaningful feedback about their performance.




Students use meaningful feedback to improve their performance on successive administrations of the test.

They continually move closer (“approximate”) to the standard or criterion.




Summary

Dr. Popham reminds teachers:

Creators of high-stakes tests need to supply curricular aim descriptions from which sound instructional decisions can be made!




Activity One

Briefly respond to the following questions:

1.What does the phrase “teaching to the test” mean to you?

2.Do you believe that “teaching to the test” is helpful or harmful to students? Why ?

Share your responses with a partner. On what points do you

agree or disagree?

1




Activity Two

2Please read Dr. Popham’s handout on the Five Test-Preparation Practices. Individually or in small groups discuss how you use the following preparations:1. Previous-form2. Current-form 3. Generalized test-taking 4. Same-format5. Varied-form

Documents

ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT Kansas State Department of Education ASSESSMENT LITERACY PROJECT1 Test Preparation