Deck 12: How Are Tests Used in Educational Settings

Question 1

According to your textbook, what popular assessment tool is used as an alternative for making admission selection decisions and evaluating performance and potential?

A) traditional interviews
B) video assessments
C) portfolios
D) group interviews

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What are tests we use to determine whether students have mastered the learning objectives for a course and to determine what grade each student has earned?

A) diagnostic assessments
B) formative assessments
C) placement assessments
D) summative assessments

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What type of decisions are classroom teachers in educational settings making when they use the results of psychological tests to understand student strengths and difficulties?

A) instructional
B) diagnostic
C) grading
D) placement

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Who is most likely to use psychological tests in an educational setting to make program and curriculum decisions?

A) administrators at the school level
B) administrators at the state level
C) administrators at the district level
D) administrators at the national level

Question 5

When do teachers and professors use formative assessments?

A) during the first week of the class
B) at the end of the class
C) sometime after the class is finished
D) anytime while the class is in session

Question 6

What type of assessment is a standardized achievement test administered to elementary and secondary students near the end of the school year?

A) placement assessment
B) formative assessment
C) summative assessment
D) diagnostic assessment

Question 7

When educational administrators use test scores for accountability purposes, they are using test scores to ______.

A) inform public policy and evaluation programs
B) determine positive or negative consequences for individuals
C) substantiate initiating, continuing, modifying, terminating, or expanding programs
D) provide benchmark data and monitor student progress over time

Question 8

Which one of the following is the best example of high-stakes testing?

A) A teacher uses test scores from the students in her class to make decisions about what content she will teach during the second semester.
B) A teacher awards over 50% of the students in his class an "F" based on their scores on a midterm exam.
C) An administrator uses student test scores from one school to better understand student achievement and make a teaching style recommendation to teachers.
D) An administrator uses test scores from a sample of students to draw conclusions about district-level teacher performance and make a recommendation to change teacher pay.

Question 9

If we use a test to determine what information students are and are not learning during the instructional process, we are conducting a ______.

A) diagnostic assessment
B) formative assessment
C) placement assessment
D) summative assessment

Question 10

When is it appropriate for teachers and professors to use summative assessments?

A) at the beginning of the school year or semester
B) at specific intervals during the school year or semester
C) any time during the school year or semester
D) upon concluding the school year or semester

Question 11

Professor Gonzalez always gives students in her Tests and Measurements class a test that measures their knowledge of statistics on the first day of class. What type of assessment is she conducting?

A) diagnostic assessment
B) formative assessment
C) placement assessment
D) summative assessment

Question 12

Professor Washington asks the students in his class to take a short quiz at the end of every 2-week period during the semester. He assures the students that the quiz results are for him to better understand what they are and are not learning--not for grading purposes. He is using the test results as what type of assessment?

A) diagnostic
B) formative
C) placement
D) summative

Question 13

What is a portfolio?

A) letters of reference and other external judgments about an individual's work
B) a compilation of an individual's test scores and other performance data for a specific purpose
C) an assortment of an individual's work completed for a specific time period
D) an objective catalog of information about an individual

Question 14

According to your textbook, which two resources contain professional practice standards most relevant and specific to using tests in educational settings?

A) Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the NASP Professional Standards
B) Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the Code of Fair Testing Practices
C) the Code of Fair Testing Practices and the Ethical Principles of the APA
D) the Ethical Principles of the APA and the NASP Professional Standards

Question 15

Who is most likely to use psychological tests in an educational setting to make instructional, grading, and diagnostic decision-making?

A) test takers
B) specialists at the state level
C) administrators at the district level
D) classroom teachers

Question 16

What do we call tests used to determine whether students have the skills or knowledge necessary to understand new material and how much of the new material students already know?

A) formative assessments
B) diagnostic assessments
C) placement assessments
D) summative assessments

Question 17

If an educational administrator at the state level uses student test results to make decisions about what programs should be implemented in the state's public schools to improve student achievement scores, what type of decision is the administrator making?

A) counseling and guidance
B) instructional
C) program and curriculum
D) administrative policy

Question 18

Which one of the following four documents that communicate the National Association of School Psychologist's position on the qualifications and expected practices of school psychologists is most relevant to test use?

A) Standards for Graduate Preparation of School Psychologists
B) Standards for the Credentialing of School Psychologists
C) Principles for Professional Ethics
D) Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services

Question 19

What type of decisions are specialists in educational settings making when they use the results of psychological tests to ensure students are registered for the most appropriate math course?

A) grading
B) diagnostic
C) placement
D) program and curriculum

Question 20

Diagnostic assessments are most appropriate when a ______.

A) student enters a new school or program
B) student outperforms all other students in the class
C) teacher wishes to know how much knowledge a student is retaining
D) student continues to experience problems with the same material

Question 21

Another term we could use for the norm group is the ______.

A) respondents
B) testing participants
C) comparison group
D) test taker group

Question 22

Which one of the following types of tests will you take to obtain your driver's license?

A) norm-referenced
B) criterion-referenced
C) objective
D) subjective

Question 23

For which one of the following does assessment drive curriculum?

A) portfolios
B) authentic assessment
C) norm-referenced tests
D) criterion-referenced tests

Question 24

Which one of the following is FALSE about authentic assessments?

A) They are focused on performing a task, not selecting a response.
B) They are more real life than contrived means of assessment.
C) They are more student-structured than teacher-structured.
D) They are more focused on gathering indirect versus direct evidence of knowledge.

Question 25

What is authentic assessment?

A) assessments where test takers apply learnings in real-world settings
B) assessment requiring that test takers respond to complex essay or calculation questions
C) assessment using a test with evidence of reliability and validity
D) assessment requiring that test takers respond to a thorough battery of objective tests

Question 26

What are criterion-referenced tests?

A) tests with evidence of validity based on relations with other variables
B) tests where scores are interpreted by comparing a score with an objectively stated standard of achievement
C) tests where scores are interpreted by comparing a score with a large group of test takers
D) tests that distinguish between high and low achievers

Question 27

Whereas ______ tests measure broad knowledge and skills that come from academic textbooks and teacher syllabi and that are based on the judgments of curriculum subject matter experts, ______ tests measure narrow knowledge and skills taught in a specific educational curriculum or unit of instruction as defined by specific instructional objectives.

A) norm-referenced; portfolio
B) portfolio; criterion-referenced
C) norm-referenced; criterion-referenced
D) criterion-referenced; norm-referenced

Question 28

What type of test would you design if you wanted to determine whether individuals could demonstrate specific skills according to a predetermined standard?

A) norm-referenced
B) criterion-referenced
C) objective
D) subjective

Question 29

What are norm-referenced tests?

A) tests that are used to create norms for reference purposes
B) tests interpreted by comparing one test taker's score with the scores of other test takers
C) tests developed on the assumption that each individual is unique
D) tests that contain subjective questions requiring test takers' answers to be compared

Question 30

An authentic assessment would be ______.

A) norm-referenced
B) criterion-referenced
C) scored numerically
D) interpreted objectively

Question 31

According to your textbook, which one of the following would be least likely to have scoring key or scoring guidelines?

A) a portfolio
B) an authentic assessment
C) an essay question
D) a classroom test

Question 32

Which one of the following is TRUE about traditional assessments?

A) They focus more on performing a task than authentic assessment.
B) They are more real life than authentic assessment.
C) They are more teacher-structured than authentic assessment.
D) They are more focused on application than authentic assessment.

Question 33

What type of tests allows us to say things like "John scored better than or equal to 40% of college-bound seniors?"

A) population-referenced
B) norm-referenced
C) criterion-referenced
D) sample-referenced

Question 34

What type of tests allows us to say things like "Salina learned 80% of the material she must know to demonstrate proficiency in math?"

A) population-referenced
B) norm-referenced
C) criterion-referenced
D) sample-referenced

Question 35

Which one of the following is TRUE about authentic assessments?

A) They focus more on selecting a response than traditional assessment.
B) They are more contrived than traditional assessment.
C) They are more student-structured than traditional assessment.
D) They are more focused on recall and recognition than traditional assessment.

Question 36

What type of test would you design if the items were constructed to distinguish high from low performers?

A) norm-referenced
B) criterion-referenced
C) portfolio assessment
D) authentic assessment

Question 37

Twyla's score report for the SAT included an interpretation of her performance using percentiles. Which one of the following types of tests did she take?

A) norm-referenced
B) criterion-referenced
C) formative assessment
D) diagnostic assessment

Question 38

Mariana takes a test 4 times a year to understand the learning objectives she has mastered. Which one of the following types of tests is Mariana taking?

A) criterion-referenced
B) norm-referenced
C) diagnostic referenced
D) objective referenced

Question 39

Despite their numerous advantages, portfolios are ______ assessment tools, making them time-consuming to maintain and evaluate.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) overused
D) underused

Question 40

If a testing professional interpreted your performance on a test by comparing your test score to the scores of a previously tested group of test takers, the testing professional likely administered what type of test to you?

A) population-referenced
B) sample-referenced
C) criterion-referenced
D) norm-referenced

Question 41

Explain in what resources you would find professional standards specific to educational professionals as test users.

Question 42

Describe how teachers use tests for making decisions in the classroom. Include discussion of how tests are used at the beginning of instruction, during instruction, and at the end of instruction. Provide examples.

Question 43

Which one of the following statements about the self-directed search is FALSE?

A) The SDS can be extremely useful to individuals who might wonder what career path to follow.
B) The SDS provides individuals with insights about themselves and careers that reflect their interests and abilities.
C) The SDS identifies an individual's strongest skills and uses that information to suggest careers.
D) The SDS identifies personality types and suggests occupation drawn from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Question 44

Which one of the following is TRUE about authentic assessment?

A) It is most valuable for measuring application of learning.
B) It is a norm-referenced test.
C) It is more reliable than criterion-referenced and norm-referenced tests.
D) It often includes more than one measure of performance.

Question 45

Explain why educational professionals are test users and why it is so important for most educators to follow professional practice standards. Include discussion of when it might be difficult to follow all professional practice standards.

Question 46

Discuss four types of decisions educational professionals make based on the results of psychological tests. Include the type of decision, who makes the decision, and the type of test used to make the decision. Provide an example of each type of decision.

Question 47

What is the self-directed search?

A) a test that identifies personality types, likes and dislikes, and work skills to help students choose their careers
B) a widely used career interest inventory that helps students and adults to explore careers
C) a well-known skills test that provides information for career counselors helping students choose careers
D) a self-report, self-scoring test that provides students with information on their skill level for various careers

Question 48

Explain the potential drawbacks of traditional norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests and how both differ from authentic assessment.

Question 49

Which one of the following questions is a teacher most likely to ask during instruction?

A) What skills are my students learning?
B) What skills do my students already possess?
C) What skills have my students learned?
D) What grade have my students earned?