Test Standardization
Submitted to: Sir Munawar Hussain Qureshi
Submitted By: Kainat Ahmed
Roll No, FA18-MEA-011
The Purpose of Testing
Tests are a familiar part of classroom instruction. Each week,
teachers use a wide variety of tests, such as spelling tests,
mathematics pop quizzes, and essay tests.
Despite this variety, tests generally share some common goals:
• measuring what students know and can do
• improving instruction
• helping students achieve higher standards
Why standardized test
are needed?
Most of the tests taken by students in classrooms are “teacher-
made,” designed or selected at the teacher’s initiative and
custom-made to unique classroom circumstances and daily
instructional needs. These instructional tests provide the teacher
with immediate feedback about a student’s mastery of a subject
area or specific skill.
• However, because classroom circumstances vary, these
teacher-made tests differ considerably from teacher to teacher.
For Example: A spelling test developed by a teacher for a
particular third-grade class will not provide any useful
information if it is given to a different third-grade class
studying a different set of words.
• Similarly, a pop quiz given to one algebra class may be
unsuitable for a class covering the same material at a different
pace or in an alternate sequence.
• While undeniably useful at the classroom level, results from
instructional tests are unlikely to be comparable across
classrooms or schools districts.
The New Era of Testing
• Due to the standards-based accountability required by the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), tests results will be
used to hold school districts accountable for raising student
academic achievement and identifying schools in need of
improvement. NCLB requires each state to establish standards
for reading, mathematics, and science.
NCLB requires each state to establish standards for
reading, mathematics, and science.
• States must develop or select tests aligned to their academic standards
and set performance levels to identify each student as having reached
basic, proficient, or advanced achievement in a subject
• State school systems will be held accountable if increasing numbers of
students do not obtain proficiency in each subject area (reading,
mathematics, and science).
• The state is also responsible for demonstrating the achievement of the
widest possible range of student populations.
Standards for reading, mathematics, and science
• Students must demonstrate proficiency in reading and mathematics
once per year in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school (grades
10 through 12). Additionally, beginning with the 2007-2008 school
years, students must be tested three times in science
• Once in grades 3 through 5
• Once in grades 6 through 9
• Once in grades 10 through 12
The results of these tests must be reported widely to the public and used
by states to demonstrate whether students are making adequate yearly
progress (AYP).
Qualities of an Effective
Test
• Reliable – The test must produce consistent results.
• Valid – The test must be shown to measure what it is intended
to measure.
• Unbiased – The test should not place students at a disadvantage
because of gender, ethnicity, language, or disability.
Standardized Tests
• A Standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or
“standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have
consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring
procedures.
Henry (2007) suggests
• “An examination made up of uniform items which can be
replicated across an entire domain of students, typically by
asking short multiple choice questions which can be easily and
cheaply scored by machine”
Test Question Formats
• Multiple-choice Questions
• Short-answer Questions
Standardized Testing
Frameworks
• Norm-referenced Testing (NRT)
• Criterion-referenced Testing (CRT),
• Standards-based Testing.
Uses
• For class analysis and diagnosis.
• To gather advance information about proficiency of his class in
certain subjects.
• To identify weaknesses and strengths in certain areas.
• To ascertain the background of pupils in terms of general
competencies and for mastery of specific knowledge outcomes.
• To check progress from time to time if the class moves together or
that certain groups of pupil need special attention.
• To furnish justifiable basis for dividing the class into sections for
remedial treatment
• To make diagnostic use of test results, as basis for remedial
teaching and basis for preventive work
Advantages and disadvantages of
standardized testing
Advantages Disadvantages
• A ready-made previously validated
product that frees the teacher from • The possibility of an
having to spend hours creating a test.
• Administration to large groups
inappropriate use of these
(large-scale testing) can be done tests.
within reasonable time limits.
• If MC in format, scoring procedures • The potential
are streamlined for fast turnaround
time. misunderstanding of the
• There is an air of face validity to
such authoritative-looking difference between direct and
instruments.
indirect testing.
Conclusion
• Standardized tests being developed today provide increasingly useful
and sophisticated information with applications potentially beyond
NCLB accountability. Because of the precise degree to which
standardized tests can be customized to the needs of a state educational
agency, teachers will find increased value in using standardized test
results to guide instruction. Traditional teacher made tests will continue
to play an important role in the classroom, while standardized tests will
play a vital role in measuring students’ progress, improving instruction,
and helping students achieve higher standards.
References
• American Educational Research Association (AERA),
American Psychological Association (APA), & National
Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). (1999).
Standards for educational and psychological testing.
Washington, DC: AERA.
