E-411 PRMA

Lecture 15 Assessments in Education

Christopher David Desjardins

What is the purpose of school and education?

In the United States, historically, the purpose of education has evolved according to the needs of society. Education's primary purpose has ranged from instructing youth in religious doctrine, to preparing them to live in a democracy, to assimilating immigrants into mainstream society, to preparing workers for the industrialized 20th century workplace.
I think that my view, and most people's view, is that the purpose of education is to support children in developing the skills, the knowledge, and the dispositions that will allow them to be responsible, contributing members of their community—their democratically-informed community. Meaning, to be a good friend, to be a good mate, to be able to work, and to contribute to the well-being of the community.

Diagnostic tests

  • May consists of multiple subtests
  • Designed to identify the missing knowledge/skill
  • Typically, easier than evaluative tests
  • Doesn't answer why
  • Often focus on reading and mathematics

What would an item on a reading diagnostic test look like?

What would an item on a mathematics diagnostic test look like?

Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised

measures: reading readiness, achievement, and difficulties

norm: 3,300 USA nationally representative.

target: 4.5 to 80 year olds

subtests include letter identification, word identification, word attack, word comprehension, passage comprehension, phonological awareness, listening comphrension, oral reading fluency

Stanford Diagnostic Reading Tests

Instead: GRADE

Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test

Instead: GMADE

KeyMath3

Psychoeducational batteries

  • Measure abilities related to success
  • Measure educational achievement
  • Used for normative comparision and to plan interventions

How would an item here differ from those for a diagnostic test?

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

  • Measures intelligence and achievement
  • Kaufmans focus on information-processing aspect of intelligence
    • Simultaneous - all at once
    • Sequential - processing in a series
  • Table 11 - 3
  • Unclear factor structure
  • Also can be used with the CHC model ... but how?

Woodcock-Johnson IV

Performance

  • Performance task - a work sample design to elicit representative knowledge, skills, and values from a domain of study
  • Performance assessment - evaluation of these tasks
  • How might we use performance assessment in class? HR?

Portfolio

  • What is a portfolio and what are some examples of a portfolio?

  • A sample of your work

  • How might we use a portfolio in class? HR?

  • What are some ways you use a portfolio?

  • Major issue, potential subjectivity in scoring

Authentic Assessment

  • A form of performance assessment is authentic assessment
  • A task that evaluates your ability to transfer knowledge from the classroom to the real-world

  • What have we done in class that is this type of an assessment?

  • Major issue, could be affected by what you already know

Peer appraisal and other measurements in education

peers assign a score or ranking to you

"Which student would you rather work on a class project with?"

"Which student is the most popular"

these are often dynamic

Other inventories measure study habits, interests, and attitudes

Personality Assessments

What is personality?

Personality is ...

An individual's unique assemblage of psychological traits over time

Just like intelligence, there is no consensus

Personality is defined by the particular empiricial concepts which are a part of the theory of personality employed by the observer

So ... what is a trait?

Personality trait

  • Any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from other
  • Tend to be stable
  • Traits are relative
  • A characteristic of someone

Personality types

  • A type is a similar pattern of traits to a pre-exisiting suite of personalities
  • These are descriptions of someone
  • Test consits of subtests will results in a profile (personality profile)
  • Could then use profile analysis - interpreting both the pattern and the level effect
  • Ex. Type A vs. Type B personality

Which one are you?

[click the above]

Personality state

Refers to a short-term, ephemeral trait

How do you feel during a test? At the doctor's?

How can we use personality assessments?

Self-reporting

Often the person supplies information about their personality (self-reporting)

May be from diaries or an interview and can elicit very private information

Self-report measures self-concept (e.g. Beck Self-Concept Test)

What are some measurement issues with this?

Another person

  • May want/need a spouse, parent, teacher, boss, friend,or trained observer as the informant
  • Informant may know the subject being studied very well, perhaps better than themself
  • Lots of measurement issues though!!!

    • Biased leading to be too generous or severe

    • May want to rate person as "normal", i.e. in the middle

    • Something may overshadow (the halo effect)

    • Context important

    • Other problems?