Standardized
test are a summative assessment that is used to measure the students knowledge
up to that point. They are summative because they are used to gauge where the
student is in different subject areas against the curriculum and other
students. Standardized test can be reliable, in the fact that all students are
taking the same test at the same time in third grade English class. Though, the
test itself may have inconsistencies throughout the language or references that
different ethnic groups, or minority groups have been exposed to leading them
to get the answer wrong. If students in these minority or ethnic groups have a
disadvantage because the test is targeted to middle class white Indiana, it is
not fair to the students who miss questions due to how it addresses the
question. Therefore, it is not equitable for all students to take the “standardized”
test if is not equal for all students to take the exam. Students that move from
state to state because of poverty may not have had the same standards from
another state there for it would not be fair to test them against students who
have not.
I'm having some trouble figuring out why standardized tests are summative. Is it just because they are over information that should have already been learned? I always look at summative as being over one topic, chapter, or unit. I feel like standardized tests are broader than that.
ReplyDeleteI think Angie is saying they're summative because their purpose is to gauge students' knowledge at a particular moment in time (their purpose isn't to shape future learning). The purpose of the test is probably the best way to determine which is which (the purpose, or how it is actually used). Each can cover different amounts of material. TYPICALLY, tests can be summative if they are at the end of a topic or year, but not because they include more material, but because they are at the end, and there isn't time left to learn from the results of the test. The fact that it's at the end also is the reason it includes more material....
ReplyDeleteYou all are making great points on why tests aren't perfectly standard. However, how might one student be compared to another across states? How might schools be compared accurately, if the tests aren't doing it?