By
Dr Rosa Padilla de Casamayor
Chapter II
Frames of Reference
Interpreting Test Scores
Introduction
The objective of this chapter is to learn how to interpret test scores. Did the student perform well, about average, or poorly on that instrument? Was the student’s score acceptable?, for answer these questions we need to learn as teachers several frames of reference that you can use to interpret test scores.
According to Van, 2009 in
his book “Measurement
and statistics for teacher” say: to exist four frames of
Four Frames of References - Definition
1. Ability-Referenced is to interpret the student’s performance when
compared to what we believe the student should be able to do based on his or her ability.
2. With Growth-Referenced interpretations we compare the student’s test score after instruction with the score of a similar test given prior to instruction.
3. Norm-Referenced Standardized test compare student’s performance to that of a norming or sample group who are in the same grade or are of the same age. Each individual’s test score is compared to the average score of a group of individuals, called the norm group or peer group. (generally use: Z score, percentile-ranks, normal curve-equivalents, stanine score, etc)
4. With Criterion-Referenced interpretations a student’s test score is
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F ames of efe ence fo inte p eting Test Sco es
Interpretation provided by this reference
Condition that must be present for this reference to
be useful
Ability-Referenced
How are student performing relative it what they are capable of doing?
Requires good measures of what students are capable of doing; their maximum possible performance
Growth-Referenced
How much have student changed or improved relative to what they were doing earlier?
Requires pre-post- measures of performance that are highly reliable
Norm-Referenced
How well are students doing with respect to what is typical or reasonable?
To whom students are being compared must be clearly understood
Criterion-referenced What can or cannot student do?
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No m- efe ence Test
Norm referenced assessment is the process of evaluating (and grading) the learning of students by judging (and ranking) them against the performance of their peer group.
PURPOSES:
Classification of student in this way that they can be placed in remedial or gifted program. To help teachers select students for different ability level.
TEST INTERPRETATION
• Frequently used norms: mean “Ẋ”, standard deviation “s”
• Standardized test: based on a fixed or standard content, standard procedures for administering and scoring the test, and has been thoroughly tried out.
The Normal Curve
•Represents the ideal normal distribution of test scores
•The scores are distributed in a bell-shaped frequency polygon, with most scores clustered toward the center of the curve
• Standard deviations are used to calculate how an individual scored, compared with the scores of the total group. A small standard deviation means that the group has small variability or relatively homogeneous.
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C ite ion- efe ence Test
An approach which focuses on whether a student’s performance meets a predetermined standard level, usually reflecting mastery of skills being tested.
PURPOSES
To determine what test taker can do and what they know, not how they compare to others. To see how well the students have learned the knowledge and skills. To determine how well the student is learning the desired curriculum and how well the school is teaching that curriculum. To determine whether each student has achieved specific skills or concepts.
TEST INTERPRETATION
A comparison of Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Interpretations
Norm-Referenced Approach
Advantages Disadvantages
•Students are not disadvantaged (at least in terms of their grades) by poor instruction
•If everyone in the class gets a low score because the material was not taught well, students can still earn reasonable grades.
• Easy for instructors to use.
•Scoring procedures are simple. •Compare results to others in peer group
• Provide reference group measures • Can test large numbers of students
•Individual grade is determined not only by his or her
achievements but also by the achievement of others.
•It promotes competition rather than cooperation
• Provides only “average” results • Measures relatively superficial knowledge or learning
• Norm-referenced data may be less useful than
criterion-referenced.
Advantages
Disadvantages
•Feeling of cooperation among
students.
•A student grade is not influenced by
the caliber of the class.
•When it is applied appropriately a
student’s grade is highly reflective of
the student’s level of mastery of the
material
•Is that the students typically have a
better sense of how they are
performing in the class
•These instruments evaluate the
“quality” of a person’s performance
•Compares and individual to
him/herself over time.
• It is difficult to set a
reasonable standard for
students without a fair
amount of teaching
experience.
• Most experience
faculty set criteria based
on their knowledge of
how students usually
performs.
• Is that it cannot be
applied to all testing
situation
Criterion- Referenced Test
Purposes
• To determine whether each student has achieved specific skills or concept
Item characteristics
•Each skill is tested by at least four items in order to obtain an adequate sample of student performance and to minimize the effect of guessing
Test Development
•Content includes items passed or failed by nearly all
examinees.
Norm-Referenced Tests
Purposes
• It compares a student’s
performance with the performance of other students in the class
• To discriminate between high and low achievers
Item characteristics
• Each skill is usually tested by less than four items.
Test Development
• Items are selected that
discriminate between high and low achievers.
• Use of item statics difficulty and discriminate indexes serves in item selection.
Criterion- Referenced Test
Test score generalability
• Generalize domains to large domains of content defining the competencies.
• Each individual is compared with a preset standard for acceptable achievement .
•The performance of other examinees is irrelevant.
•Student achievement is reported for individual skills
• These instruments evaluate the “quality” of a person’s performance •It serves to identify on what extent the individual’s performance has met in a given criterion.
Norm-Referenced Tests
Test score generalability • Generally do not make
generalizations from norm referenced achievement test score.
• Each individual is compared with other examinees and assign a score usually
expressed as a percentile, a grade equivalent score.
• Student achievement is reported for broad skill areas, although some norm referenced test do report student achievement for individual skills.
• It uses the normal curve in distributing grades of students by placing them either above or
Assignment 2
1. Name the type of reference being used in the following examples. Choose from ability, growth, norm, or criterion
a.Synthia’s parents were concerned about how well she was doing in biology class. When they contacted her teacher, Mr. John, he reported that she had done better than 70% of her classmates on their last exam.
b.Mrs. Nadine gave her students a pre-test before she began teaching a unit on fractions. Two week later ,at the end of the unit, she had given her students the same test to see what they had learned.
c.Mr. Damascene has a rule in his classroom that every student must score at least 90%on a spelling test or the student has to retake it the next day.
d.Because her students learned about the planets last year, Miss Gates expects them to do very well on the solar system exam.
Assignment 2
f. Eustache score 552 on the math section of the SATs. With that score, he is placed in the 58th percentile, which means that he did
better than 58% of all the students who took the SATs at that time
2. Write your own example of each type of interpretation for a grade or content area that you plan to teach:
Four Commonly-used References for Classroom Interpretation
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Refe ence Inte p etation P ovi er r r d d
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Con ition that must Be
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P esent
Ability
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Refe ence
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How a e stu ents pe fo ming
relative to what they a e r d
capable of oing?
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G oo m e a s u e s of th e
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stu ents’ maximum possible
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pe fo mance
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G owth
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Refe ence
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How much have stu ents
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change o imp ove elative
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to what they we e oing
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ea lie ?
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P e- an Post- measu es of
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pe fo mance that a e highly
reliable
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No
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Refe ence
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How well a e stu ents oing
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with espect to what is typical
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o easonable?
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Clea un e stan ing of whom
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stu ents a e being compa e to
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C ite ion
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Refe ence
d d d
What can stu ents o an not
do?
d d d
Well- efine content omain
d
