Standardized Tests and Standards Based Assessments

Standardized Tests and Standards Based Assessments

Standardized: Norm-referenced tests

• scores compared to other students in order to determine the level of achievement (i.e. rank, or percentile according to a bell curve)

• usually multiple choice format

• content and optimal results are based on national standards

• high-stakes

Standardized: Criterion-referenced tests

• designed to measure student performance against predetermined criteria or learning standards

• created by individual teachers or experts from large companies

• can be high-stakes

• various ways of reporting results

Standards Based Assessments

• meaningful feedback

• high student engagement

• standards are translated into learning objectives in order to be as student friendly as possible

• expectations are clear and concise at each stage of the learning process

My thoughts ...

If I had to choose between criterion and norm-referenced, I would surely choose criterion.  I don't believe its ethical (from an educational standpoint) to evaluate one student against another.  Its scary to think that if a whole class performs excellent on a test, that some may still fail due to being at the 'low-end' of excellent grades (i.e. an unfavorable bell curve).  Would a result like that be the fault of the student, who overachieved on the test, or the fault of the test creator who may have not made the test challenging enough?  This is messy! And in my opinion, if norm-referenced tests can be avoided, then it should, for the simple fact that students are not being appreciated/rewarded for their own individual merits.  If a test has to be standardized, the criterion-referenced tests should be used in order to affirm students are being graded against learning standards for the level of education in question (The picture below provides a quick snapshot of the differences).  The optimal path is standards based assessments, which are quite similar to criterion-referenced tests, but differ in the fact that they tend not to be high stakes tests and they allow for more student engagement (i.e. more washback).