Interpreting Standardized Test Scores

Preface SECTION ONE: OVERVIEW OF STANDARDIZED TESTING: CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY 1. What Is "Standardized" Testing? What Makes a Test "Standardized"? A Brief History of Standardized Testing in American Education How Standardized Tests Are Developed Test Bias Types of Standardized Tests Based on Purpose Types of Standardized Tests Based on Scores Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 2. The Importance of Standardized Testing Appropriate Uses of Standardized Testing in Education Misuses of Standardized Testing in Education Why Educators Dislike Standardized Testing Why Educators (Should) Like Standardized Testing Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 3. Standardized Test Administration and Preparation Standardized Administration Procedures Testwiseness Skills Do's and Dont's of Test Preparation "Teaching to the Test" Versus "Teaching to the Standards"- A Final Word Summary Activities for Application and Reflection SECTION TWO: STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES AND THEIR INTERPRETATIONS 4. Test Reports Overview of Test Reports Individual Student Reports Class Reports Building- and District-Level Reports Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 5. Criterion-Referenced Test Scores and Their Interpretations What Do Criterion-Referenced Test Scores Tell Us? Selected-Response Test Items Constructed-Response Test Items The Nature of Cut Scores Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 6. Norm-Referenced Test Scores and Their Interpretations What Do Norm-Referenced Scores Tell Us? The Nature of Norm Groups Types of Norm-Referenced Scores Standard Error of Measurement and Confidence Intervals Summary Activities for Application and Reflection SECTION THREE: USING STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES IN INSTRUCTIONAL DECISION MAKING 7. Group-Level Decision Making Data-Driven Decision Making A Process for Focusing on Group Instruction Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 8. Student-Level Decision Making A Process for Focusing on Individual Instruction (Intervention) Summary Activities for Application and Reflection 9. Value-Added Analysis and Interpretation What Is "Value-Added" Analysis? A Process for Value-Added Decision Making Summary Activities for Application and Reflection SECTION FOUR: CASE STUDIES: INTERVIEWS WITH TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS District and School Profiles Interview Transcripts: Teachers Interview Transcripts: Administrators Glossary References Index About the Author