by Linda Clark, Ph.D.

Most educators today would agree that the mission of our profession has become more complex and much more challenging than ever before. Changes in district demographics, societal pressures that require more personalized student attention, evermore stringent governmental demands, and constant budgetary concerns all have an impact on our daily routines. As director of student achievement for the Meridian School District in Idaho, I've seen firsthand how these and other issues, while controversial at times and always challenging, have forced all of us to find new and creative ways to reach what we consider the ultimate goal of education: fostering continuous growth in every student to prepare him or her for the future.

Community Support

The Meridian School District experiences steady growth across the full spectrum of its students - from highly gifted children to kids with special needs. While we benefit from unusually strong community support and a nationally recognized reputation for high student achievement, a large part of our success is due to the quality and amount of data that guides us.

One reason we're successful is that our testing methods assure more effective teaching, more substantive learning, and better-prepared students. Our initial search in this area, which began seven years ago, led us to partner with the Portland, Ore.-based Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA, www.nwea.org) to initiate an achievement-level test - first in paper-and-pencil form and later via computer.

Uniquely adaptive, this computerized test automatically presents each student with different items based on ability level and prior responses. When the student answers a question correctly, subsequent questions become more difficult, while incorrect answers lead to easier questions. The tests help eliminate student frustration and boredom, and offer results that provide a solid foundation of quality data delivered in days, not months.

Unlike traditional standardized tests that measure a student's status compared to others, computerized adaptive tests (CATs) enable us to track the growth of each student in specific subjects over time. This allows us to see and foster ongoing individualized improvement. Besides years of strong, continuous growth, the testing system has found unanimous support from teachers, administrators, parents and even students. The test was so successful in our district and many others statewide that Idaho contracted with NWEA to develop our state test, the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). This test is a blended solution of a CAT and a fixed-form test designed to meet No Child Left Behind mandates.

A test is completely reliable if you would get exactly the same results the second time you administered it. All existing tests have "measurement error." This means an individual's score may vary from day to day due to testing conditions or the test-taker's mental or emotional state. As a result, many individual's scores are frequently wrong. Test scores of young children and scores on sub-sections of tests are much less reliable than test scores on adults or whole tests.

Do test scores reflect real differences among people?

Not necessarily. To construct a norm-referenced test (a test on which half the test-takers score above average, the other half below), test makers must make small differences among people appear large. Because item content differs from one test to another, even tests that claim to measure the same thing often produce very different results. Because of measurement error, two people with very different scores on one test administration might get the same scores on a second administration. On the SAT, for example, the test-makers admit that two students' scores must differ by at least 144 points (out of 1600) before they are willing to say the students' measured abilities really differ.

Don't test-makers remove bias from tests?

Most test-makers review items for obvious biases, such as offensive words. But this is inadequate, since many forms of bias are not superficial. Some test-makers also use statistical bias-reduction techniques. However, these techniques cannot detect underlying bias in the test's form or content. As a result, biased cultural assumptions built into the test as a whole are not exposed or removed by test-makers.

Do IQ tests measure intelligence?

IQ tests assume that intelligence is one thing that can be easily measured and put on a scale, rather than a variety of abilities. They also assume intelligence is fixed and permanent. However, psychologists cannot agree whether there is one thing that can be called intelligence, or whether it is fixed, let alone meaningfully measure "it." Studies have shown that IQ scores can be changed by training, nutrition, or simply by having more friendly people administer the test. In reality, IQ tests are nothing more than a type of achievement test which primarily measures knowledge of standard English and exposure to the cultural experiences of middle class whites.

Do tests reflect what we know about how students learn?

No. Standardized tests are based in behaviorist psychological theories from the nineteenth century. While our understanding of the brain and how people learn and think has progressed enormously, tests have remained the same. Behaviorism assumed that knowledge could be broken into separate bits and that people learned by passively absorbing these bits. Today, cognitive and developmental psychologists understand that knowledge is not separable bits and that people (including children) learn by connecting what they already know with what they are trying to learn. If they cannot actively make meaning out of what they are doing, they do not learn or remember. But most standardized tests do not incorporate the modern theories and are still based on recall of isolated facts and narrow skills.

Do multiple-choice tests measure important student achievement?

Multiple-choice tests are a very poor yardstick of student performance. They do not measure the ability to write, to use math, to make meaning from text when reading, to understand scientific methods or reasoning, or to grasp social science concepts. Nor do these tests adequately measure thinking skills or assess what people can do on real-world tasks.

Are test scores helpful to teachers?

Standardized, multiple choice tests were not originally designed to provide help to teachers. Classroom surveys show teachers do not find scores from standardized tests very helpful, so they rarely use them. The tests do not provide information that can help a teacher understand what to do next in working with a student because they do not indicate how the student learns or thinks. Good evaluation would provide helpful information to teachers.

Are readiness or screening tests helpful?

Readiness tests, used to determine if a child is ready for school, are very inaccurate and unsound. They encourage overly academic, developmentally inappropriate primary schooling. Screening tests for disabilities are often not adequately validated; they also promote a view of children as having deficits to be corrected, rather than having individual differences and strengths on which to build.

Are there better ways to evaluate student achievement or ability?

Yes. Good teacher observation, documentation of student work, and performance-based assessment, all of which involve the direct evaluation of student effort on real learning tasks, provide useful material for teachers, parents, the community and the government.

What should I bring to the test?
Be sure to bring a photo ID (driver’s license, passport, or student ID card). All placement exams are computer-based. You can bring a dictionary to the English exam. A calculator is provided for you at the mathematics exam. Scrap paper is provided, but you should bring a pen and pencil to work out math problems. 

How do I study?
Placement exams are not pass-fail tests, and you do not need to study for them since they are designed to measure your current knowledge and abilities. Sample questions are available at the testing company's site.

How long is the test?
The NYIT COMPASS placement test is computer-based and not timed. The math portion is divided into five areas: pre-algebra, algebra, college algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Your answers throughout the test will determine how many questions you will receive and the areas in which you will be tested.

Even though the test is not timed, please allow at least two hours to complete it. The exam will stop on its own once it has determined the appropriate placement for you based on your answers. You must complete the test to receive a score.

Assessments can be classified in many different ways. The most important distinctions are: (1) formative and summative; (2) objective and subjective; (3) referencing (criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, and ipsative); and (4) informal and formal.

Formative and summative

There are two main types of assessment:

 * Summative assessment - Summative assessment is generally carried out at the end of a course or project. In an educational setting, summative assessments are typically used to assign students a course grade.

 * Formative assessment - Formative assessment is generally carried out throughout a course or project. Formative assessment, also referred to as educative assessment, is used to aid learning. In an educational setting, formative assessment might be a teacher (or peer) or the learner, providing feedback on a student's work, and would not necessarily be used for grading purposes.

Summative and formative assessment are referred to in a learning context as "assessment of learning" and "assessment for learning" respectively.

A common form of formative assessment is diagnostic assessment. Diagnostic assessment measures a student's current knowledge and skills for the purpose of identifying a suitable program of learning. Self-assessment is a form of diagnostic assessment which involves students assessing themselves. Forward-looking assessment asks those being assessed to consider themselves in hypothetical future situations. Assessments can also be done on pieces of legislation.

Performance-based assessment is similar to formative assessment, as it focuses on achievement. It is often aligned with the standards-based education reform and outcomes-based education movement. Though ideally they are significantly different from a traditional multiple choice test, they are most commonly associated with standards-based assessment which use free-form responses to standard questions scored by human scorers on a standards-based scale, meeting, falling below, or exceeding a performance standard rather than being ranked on a curve.

A well-defined task is identified and students are asked to create, produce, or do something, often in settings that involve real-world application of knowledge and skills. Proficiency is demonstrated by providing an extended response. Performance formats are further differentiated into products and performances. The performance may result in a product, such as a painting, portfolio, paper, or exhibition, or it may consist of a performance, such as a speech, athletic skill, musical recital, or reading.

Objective and subjective

Assessment (either summative or formative) can be subjective. Objective assessment is a form of questioning which has a single correct answer. Subjective assessment is a form of questioning which may have more than one correct answer (or more than one way of expressing the correct answer). There are various types of objective and subjective questions. Objective question types include true/false answers, multiple choice, multiple-response and matching questions. Subjective questions include extended-response questions and essays. Objective assessment is becoming more popular[citation needed] due to the increased use of online assessment (e-assessment) since this form of questioning is well-suited to computerisation.

Informal and formal

Assessment can be either formal or informal. Formal assessment usually implicates a written document, such as a test, quiz, or paper. A formal assessment is given a numerical score or grade based on student performance, whereas an informal assessment does not contribute to a student's final grade. An informal assessment usually occurs in a more casual manner and may include observation, inventories, checklists, rating scales, rubrics, performance and portfolio assessments, participation, peer and self evaluation, and discussion.

Internal and external

Internal assessment is set and marked by the school (i.e. teachers). Students get the mark and feedback regarding the assessment. External assessment is set by the governing body, and is marked by non-biased personnel. With external assessment, students only receive a mark. Therefore, they have no idea how they actually performed (i.e. what bits they answered correctly.)