The typical standardized test, something like ISTEP, is a formative kind of assessment because it is used to assess not only the students, but how well the teachers do their job. It is also used to help teachers know how to grow in their own teaching and focus on areas that their students are lacking in. This is the case only when teachers have access to the specific results of standardized testing and which areas were weak and which were strong. This type of assessment is also very formal because it is an individual process that is very quiet and structured.
An assessment can give you information that is consistent with what you believe the level of skills the student being assessed actually has. This kind of assessment would also keep results consistent across all students of the same level and in this way be a very reliable assessment. But this kind of assessment might not measure everything you really want to make sure your students learned and so it might not be a valid assessment. An example of this might be asking questions on a test that are misleading or trying to trick students with questions. This might help separate the students that take things seriously from those who do not, but it will not help get an accurate assessment of what the students know. Another example would be asking questions that have not been discussed in class.
Standardized tests are not always as 'standard' as they claim to be. Students with disabilities are obviously at a disadvantage because they are usually behind developmentally and academically and so they might feel inadequate as a student upon seeing the results of their test. Students who do not have English as their first language will also be at a disadvantage because the test is not in their primary language so they might take longer to answer questions that would be easy for students proficient in English.
I agree with you, there is such a diversity in the classroom for one test to be considered "standard".
ReplyDeleteI can see how you're describing it as a formative assessment, but do you think it is often used in that way? (to help teachers shape their strategy) While the tests are being used to evaluate teacher performance (and often teacher pay), I think it would be most accurate to call it formative assessment only if it is used by teachers and students themselves. I do get your point, though!
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of reasons why the tests might not be 'standard'. How do you think students from one state or another might be compared to assess instruction (if the tests aren't doing it accurately)?