Assessment of Student Achievement

This text is a balanced, concise, and practical guide for testing and performance assessment linked to effective classroom instruction and learning. Assessment of Student Achievement, Seventh Edition, emphasizes that assessment is a broad term that includes testing and performance assessment, each used where it is most appropriate. Valid assessment is necessary for effective instruction with a goal of improved student learning. A portion of the text is devoted to each of the following topics: how to prepare and use classroom tests and performance assessments and how to assign grades and interpret standardized test scores to students and parents. The material is presented in a simple, direct, and understandable manner.

Table of Contents:
Each chapter concludes with “Summary of Points” and “Additional Reading.” 1. Achievement Assessment and Instruction. Relation Between Instruction and Assessment. Assessment in the Instructional Process. Other Ways Assessment Can Aid Learning. 2. Nature of Student Assessment. Major Types of Assessment Methods. Guidelines for Effective Student Assessment. Validity and Reliability in Assessment Planning. Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Assessment. 3. Planning the Achievement Test. Identifying and Defining the Intended Learning Outcomes. Preparing the Test Specifications. Considerations in Constructing Relevant Test Items. General Guidelines for Item Writing. 4. Writing Selection Items: Multiple-Choice. Nature of Multiple-Choice Items. Uses of Multiple-Choice Items. Rules for Writing Multiple-Choice Items. 5. Writing Selection Items: True-False, Matching, and Interpretive Exercise. True-False Items. Matching Items. The Interpretive Exercise. 6. Writing Supply Items: Short Answer and Essay. Short-Answer Items. Essay Questions. 7. Traditional Performance Assessments of Skills and Products. Reviewing and Editing the Items. Arranging the Items in the Test. Preparing Directions. Reproducing the Test. Administering and Scoring the Test. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Test Items. Item Analysis of Criterion-Referenced Tests. Using a Test Item File. Computer Use in Testing. 8. Expanded Performance Assessment. Need for Performance Assessment. Specifying the Performance Outcomes. Selecting the Focus of the Assessment. Selecting an Appropriate Degree of Realism. Selecting the Performance Situation. Selecting the Method of Observing, Recording, and Scoring. Portfolios. Improving Performance Assessment. 9. Portfolio Assessment. 10. Grading and Reporting. Selecting the Basis for Grading. Combining Data for Grading. Guidelines for Effective and Fair Grading. 11. Interpreting Standardized Achievement Test Scores. Features of Standardized Achievement Test Scores. Interpreting Norm-Referenced Scores. Percentile Ranks. Grade Equivalent Scores. Standard Scores. Criterion-Referenced Interpretation. 12. Validity and Reliability. Validity. Reliability. Estimating the Reliability of Test Scores. Estimating the Reliability of Performance Assessments. Glossary. Index.