WEEK 10 - Education Testing

• What are the 4 roles of education testing?

  1. assessing how much learning has occured and to what degree it has been mastered

  2. assessing of how knowledge acquired by a given students compared to that acquired by various groups of students/ similar education level

  3. to form part of assessment in testing whether a child is having difficulties learning material, and why and what might be done to alleviate difficulty

  4. to what degree does a person have prerequisites for learning e.g. entry exams/ requirements
• What are the types of referral questions for educational assessment?

  1. does my child/infant have developmental delay?

  2. is my child ready to begin primary school?

  3. does my child have a learning difficulty?

  4. has information taught in class been learned by the student?
• What is the impact of a learning disorder?


  affect individual's ability to perceive and process information efficiently and accurately
• What type of referral question normally triggers a referral for assessment of learning disorders?


  "something is wrong, im not learning the way im supposed to"

  poor academic achievement
• How are learning disorders diagnosed in DSM-5?


  1 single overalls diagnosis incorporating deficits impacting academic achievement (how that specifically manifests e.g. reading, writing, maths)
• What is a specifier?


  reading, writing, maths - specific way to describe deficit in individuals diagnosed with learning disorders
• What is the discrepancy model?


  A model used in special education to determine if a student has a learning disability by comparing their cognitive assessment score with their academic achievement

  e.g. for people with intellectual disability with cognitive ability score of 70 below with expected academic achievement of 70 or below
• How do we use discrepancy model to assess gifted children?


  for someone who is gifted, their IQ is 2SD above average, their academic may be at average level due to compensation but BECAUSE their academic achievement is not as high as IQ, they can be diagnosed with SLD
• What is battery assessment?


  instead of using a single test to assess one single thing, we use many tests and put it altogether and use combined information to understand what is going on
• What type of disorder is dyslexia?

  auditory processing disorder
• Why is dyslexia an auditory processing disorder?


  when we learn to read, we take the skill of talking and transform this to symbols on the page. Thus to do this we need to be able to hear the sounds in the words to match them to letters we learn about
• Why might people with SLD's in reading score poorly on phonological tests?

  have trouble hearing the sounds and putting those sounds into a word making it difficult to read
• What are the 3 different types of SLDs?

  1.SLD in reading (most common)

  2. SLD in written expression

  3. SLD in mathematics
• Describe an SLD in reading?

  word reading accuracy, reading rate/ fluency, reading comprehension

  a specific pattern of difficulties can be called dyslexia (trouble with decoding words - reading and spelling but not comprehension)
• Describe an SLD in written expression?

  spelling accuracy, grammar and punctuation accuracy, clarity or organisation of written expression - can you write a meaninful sentence?

  alternative term = dysgraphia, although this term also encompass difficulty with motor skill of writing
• Describe an SLD in mathematics?

  number sense, memorisation of arithmetic facts, accurate or fluent calculation, accurate math reasoing

  specific pattern of difficulties can be called dyscalculia - trouble with calculation but are ok with math problem solving and reasoning
• Why do dyslexia people describe words as jumping out from the page?

  looking at a page of letters that dont have meaning so there is not focus on one particular word. eye-tracking studies show irregular eye-tracking patterns
• What is the Response to Intervention Model?

  multi-tier approach to early identification + support of students with learning and behavioural needs - going through tier to identify early on
• What are the tiers of Response to Intervention Model?

  a)teachers provide evidence-based instruction - most kids respond to this well

  b) all student's learning of that instruction is regularly evaluated

  c) struggling learners provided with interventions to aid rate of learning

  d) progress is closely monitored and students re-evaluated to gauge efficacy of interventions

  e) re-evaluation, intervention and reassessment occur as necessary
• Why is response to intervention model more functional for dyslexia and dyscalculia?


  primary schools better at giving reading and numeracy support
• What are the response to intervention tiers split into 3?


  Tier 1 - supplemental instructions with usual classroom routine

  Tier 2 - targeted more engaging interventions in small groups

  Tier 3 - intensive one-on-one interventions
• what are the pros and cons of individual tests vs group tests?

  
• what are 2 types of educational tests?

  1.Achievement tests

  2. aptitude tests
• What is an achievement test?


  evaluates what a person has learned as result of exposure to a relatively defined learning experience e.g. a uni course

  testing how much an individuals has learned in the past

  assessing crystalised ability
• What is an aptitude test?


  measures what an individual has learned informally

  general and specific aptitude tests

  tests for an individual's probable future ability to perform a task e.g. future potential

  assessing fluid ability
• What are 2 types of achievemnt tests?

  1.Formative

  2.Summative
• What is a summative achievement test?


  designed to evaluate student's learning e.g. final exam - no feedback given, only a grade
• What are fact-based test items?

  require rote learning - state facts
• What is the main purpose of achievement tests?

  • assess students progress toward instructional objectives
  • gauge the quality of instruction
  • comparison between student's progress
  • decision making regarding placement of student
  • screening for learning difficulties
• what are conceptual test items?

  require both knowledge of facts and sufficient understanding of application
• what are conceptual test items?


  require both knowledge of the facts and sufficient understanding for application
• Examples of group administered achievement tests?


  NAPLAN - standardised to permit comparison of scores among test-takers and schools
• What is the purpose of individually administered achievement tests?

  constructed to provide norm-referenced and criterion referenced analyses of performance - receiving a standard score compared to where they sit with others of expected range

  assessing basic academic skills - reading, written expression, comprehension e.g.

  Wechsler individual achievement test WIAT-III

  woodcock-johnson tests of achievement WJ IV ACH

  wide range achievement test - WRAT 4
• Wechsler Individual Achievement test advantages:

  most common achievement test due to being co-normed to same group of people for WISC and WAIT

  scores can be compared to age norms or grade norms (up to 90yrs)

  assessing reading, mathematics, writing and oral language

  not limited to psychologist, special ed teachers can also administer
• what is measures of achievement specific subject are?

  often teacher-made tests e.g. quiz/ final exam for 3041
• what are advantages to teacher-made measurement of achievement in specific subject areas?

  tailored to specific program or instruction or training
• what are disadvantages of teacher-made measures of achievement in specific subject areas tests?


  not standardised i.e. no norms

  may lack objectivity, content validity etc.
• What is an aptitude?


  combination of characteristics indicative of individual's capacity to acquire some specific knowledge, skill or set of organised responses e.g. ability to speak a language, become musician
• What do aptitude tests focus on?


  informal learning and measure the potential for learning rather than assessing how much they have already learned
• what are the 2 types of aptitude tests?


  general and specific