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This module will cover test purposes.
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In this module, we’ll concentrate on test purposes and start by considering the types of decisions that educa<onal professionals need to make and what informa<on is needed to support and inform those decisions.
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A variety of tests are developed and used in order to help educa<onal professionals make a wide range of educa<onal decisions. These tests can differ in a number of dimensions, such as whether they have been designed to make a forma,ve or a summa,ve decision, to provide norm-‐referenced or criterion-‐referenced informa<on, or to result in an achievement score or a classifica<on category.
The various types of tests can support various types of test purposes. A thorough considera<on of test types, and the informa<on needed to make good educa<onal decisions, can help you as you design, develop, and use educa<onal tests.
Why do we need tests or to conduct tes<ng?
To answer this ques<on, let us think about the real situa<ons in the classroom first. As a teacher, you actually make decisions everyday. John is ready for the level-‐7 reading or Mary has difficulty subtrac<ng frac<ons.
Behind their decision-‐making, teachers always rely on relevant informa<on.
There are many decisions about students that need to be made at the classroom, grade, school, district, and even na<onal levels.
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Tes<ng is a way to collect useful informa<on. In the text the authors men<on that “Tests represent an aLempt to provide objec<ve data that can be used with subjec<ve impressions to make beLer, more defensible decisions.” This is the general purpose of tes<ng, or WHY we test.
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For this use of tests to work, there is something that should be no<ced.
First, the measurement data we collect or use must be valid.
Second, the educa<onal individuals must understand how to use test data and the limita<ons of test data. Keep in mind that scores from tests are ESTIMATES of student behaviors and never 100% accurate.
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Educa<onal professionals need a good working knowledge of tes<ng and measurement in addi<on to a full understanding of the uses and limita<ons of tes<ng and measurement data.
Only then will you be able to provide appropriate informa<on to students, parents, administrators, academic review commiLees, and even the court.
One of the first steps toward acquiring the ability to interpret test data is to understand the different types of educa<onal decisions that are made based on tes<ng data.
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Generally speaking, educa<onal decisions range from specific, everyday, in-‐class decisions (those made by the individual classroom teacher) to less frequent, administra<ve decisions (those made by the U.S. Department of Educa<on).
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Some decisions are made by classroom teachers. The informa<on to support these decisions is primarily provided by teacher-‐made tests, and secondly by standardized tests.
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Teacher-‐made decisions include instruc<onal decisions, grading decisions, and diagnos<c decisions.
Instruc<onal decisions relate to instruc<onal ac<vi<es, such as course pacing. In fact, these are the most frequently made decisions in educa<on.
Here is an example of instruc<onal decisions: Teacher Annie decides to spend more <me in math class on addi<on with regrouping.
Grading decisions relate to summa<ve ac<vity of assignment mark, such as A, B, C. These decisions are made much less frequently than instruc<onal decisions. In addi<on to teacher-‐made tests (such as objec<ve tests and performance assessments), grading decisions can also be informed by aLendance, aatude, and effort.
Diagnos<c decisions relate to determina<on of students’ strengths and weaknesses as well as causes for students’ strengths and weaknesses. Diagnos<c decisions may be based on teacher observa<ons of student performance in class, teacher-‐made informal tests, or standardized tests.
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Other types of decisions are made by other educa<onal professionals or commiLees. Teachers may or may not par<cipate in the decision-‐making process. These decisions are primarily based on summa<ve, standardized tests rather than teacher-‐made tests.
Other types of decisions include selec<on decisions, placement decisions, counseling and guidance decisions, program or curriculum decisions, and administra<ve policy decisions.
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Selec<on decisions involve test data in part for accep<ng or rejec<ng applicants for admission into a group, program, or ins<tu<on. For example, SAT or ACT scores are used in part for undergraduate admissions and GRE scores are for graduate admissions.
Placement decisions involve determining where someone is best suited to begin work in a program. For example, you may have had to take an English test prior to freshman college registra<on.
Counseling and guidance decisions involve the use of test data to help recommend programs of study that are likely to be appropriate for a student. You may have taken the ap<tude test in your senior year in high school.
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Program or curriculum decisions are usually made at the school district level ader an evalua<on study comparing two or more programs has been completed. Your district’s decision to abandon a tradi<onal math program is an example.
Administra<ve policy decisions may be made at the school, district, state, or na<onal level. These decisions may determine the usage of money, special funding, and school improvement plans. For instance, Hillsborough county in Florida obtained hundred million dollars from the Bill Gates Founda<on in 2009. They must have many administra<ve policy decisions to make in order to determine how to use the money effec<vely.
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Program or curriculum decisions are usually made at the school district level ader an evalua<on study comparing two or more programs has been completed. Your district’s decision to abandon a tradi<onal math program is an example.
Administra<ve policy decisions may be made at the school, district, state, or na<onal level. These decisions may determine the usage of money, special funding, and school improvement plans. For instance, Hillsborough county in Florida obtained hundred million dollars from the Bill Gates Founda<on in 2009. They must have many administra<ve policy decisions to make in order to determine how to use the money effec<vely.
So far we have considered the purposes of tes<ng and discussed the categories of educa<onal decisions. To make good decisions to achieve the purposes of tes<ng, we need to further consider two aspects of educa<onal measurement: “What to measure,” and “How to measure it.”
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A clear defini<on of “what to measure” is important for making a good decision. It represents that you know what you want to measure.
In other words, how you define the construct of interest in a clear, unambiguous way is very crucial for the use of educa<onal measurement.
What pieces or elements should be included in the test score or grade? These factors all related to the test validity.
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Once you know what to measure, another important aspect of educa<onal measurement is “how to measure.” There are a variety of assessment techniques that can be used in educa<on, such as wriLen tests or performance and porgolio assessments. You need to select the test types and item formats that provide the best match to your test purposes. Using an appropriate way to measure improves the reliability of test scores which yields the consistency of the scores over <me.
The next module will discuss more about different test types.
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