Summarizing Student Achievement

Raw Score

Number or point value of correctly answered items.

Criterion-Referenced Score

Specifically indicates what a student knows or can do.

Norm-Referenced Score

Score that indicates how a student’s performance compared with the performance of others.

Age-Equivalent Score

Test score matching a particular student’s performance with the average performance of students of a certain age.

Derived or Transformed Scores

Scores that have been adjusted from raw scores to provide more meaningful interpretations.

Percentile Ranks

Percentage of students in a norm group that scored lower than a particular score.

Grade Equivalents

Scores that relate students’ raw scores to average scores obtained by a norm group at different grade levels.

Standard Scores

Derived scores based on their position on the normal curve.

Normal curve/distribution

Symmetrical distribution of scores where the majority fall near the mean, with fewer scores away from it.

Standardized Tests

Achievement tests that are standardized, norm-referenced, and administered individually or in groups.

General Scholastic Aptitude and Intelligence Tests

Intelligence tests that measure a person's capacity to learn.

Specific Aptitude and Ability Tests

Standardized achievement tests for a particular subject area.

School Readiness Test

Designed to determine whether children have acquired cognitive skills important for success in kindergarten or 1st grade.

Portfolios

A systematic collection of a student’s work compiled over a lengthy period of time.

NCLB (2001)

Mandates regular assessments of basic skills to determine if students are making adequate yearly progress toward state standards.

High Stakes Tests

Single tests used to make important decisions regarding student performance and/or school personnel.

What are the issues with School Readiness Tests?

Problems in regard to reliability, validity, and treatment utility