Educational Assessment Concepts

A teacher-constructed list of characteristics used as criteria for ranking the quality of students' work, along with some type of guide for scoring or grading.

• Rubric

• Assessment

• Evaluation

• Criterion-Referenced

Information and data gathered along the way that is used to improve, modify, or revise a program, curriculum, or unit of instruction to enhance student learning. This type of evaluation helps guide ongoing classroom instruction.

• Aptitude Test

• Summative Evaluation

• Formative Evaluation

• Diagnostic Test

The middle number; the point where there is one-half above and one-half below, thus dividing the group into two equal parts: the 50th percentile…..

• Mean

• Median

• Mode

• Range

A collection and evaluation of student products and performances selected for inclusion based on agreed-upon criteria. These generally illustrate a range of abilities and special talents showing growth, self-reflection, and achievement. They may be composed of the student's best work or work that shows improvement over time.

• Summative Evaluation

• Performance Assessment

• Mastery Test

• Portfolio Assessment

Process of gathering and using qualitative and quantitative data to make a judgment of value, worth, merit, or effectiveness. This can be for an individual student, group, class, grade level, department, school, school district, or program.

• Evaluation

• Assessment

• Mastery Test

• Achievement Test

The extent to which scores, tests, programs, or assessments are accurate, dependable, stable, consistent, and free from error over a period of time. This includes the way they are administered, implemented, and scored.

• Validity

• Bias

• Non-biased

• Reliability

A relationship, correspondence, or connection between two things. This is not a cause-and-effect relationship; two items may be strongly "connected" without one causing the other.

• Validity

• Correlation

• Accountability

• Consistency

The difference between the highest and lowest scores plus 1.

• Mean

• Range

• Variability

• Standard Deviation

An assessment that measures progress toward mastery of a given set of objectives, outcomes, or skills. This measurement does not compare one person's score to the scores of the rest of the group. Instead, this objective measure of mastery is tied to specific skills and objectives based on predetermined standards or criteria. Each individual is judged on how well he achieves the criteria, emphasizing performance relative to an absolute standard.

• Standardized Tests

• Benchmarks

• Norm-referenced

• Criterion-referenced

Theoretically, an average score at a given grade level. This score relates a student's raw score to the average scores obtained by norming groups at different grade levels. This score is often greatly distorted because there are so many variations in what is actually taught at each grade level.

• Stanine

• Norm-referenced

• Grade Equivalent

• Likert Scale