Using standardized tests to assess a person’s cognitive and learning ability is a common practice in all kinds of institutions and has been debated for years. The primary purpose of such tests is to screen out large number of applications that don’t meet the minimum requirements. The key to correct use of such tests is to ensure the content, format and process of taking the test matches with the requirements of the job.…
a) A brief explanation of the key features for each of the following types of assessment…
The authors of the Woodcock-Johnson III battery, created the assessment to determine an individual’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, the nature of any impairments, and to aid in diagnosis (Child-trends, 2004). However, it has also been used to make decisions concerning educational achievement and scholastic aptitude for school aged individuals (Riverside publishing, 2012). It is a full battery assessment, which consists of two separate tests; the test of cognitive abilities and the test of achievement (Riverside, 2012). The Test of cognitive abilities measures both general and specific cognitive functions, and the test of achievement is used to determine and describe one’s academic strengths and weaknesses (Child-trends, 2004). There are extended versions of each test (Child-trends, 2004). The authors of the WJIII are Richard Woodcock, Kevin McGrew, Nancy Mather, and Fredrick Schrank. The test is published by Riverside Publishing Company (Riverside publishing, 2012). It is designed to measures general and specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude,…
Interpolation and extrapolation is the process used to derive AE scores. This is not an accurate representation of scores. It is an educated manipulation of numbers based on examinees and applied into a CA score graph. The scorers plot the AE scores into a graph developed by estimating information and not collecting data from those given the test. This leads to a further concern of scores not representing a standard to compare examinee’s results. The lack of a standardization does not give equal intervals to compare progress or a mean between…
References: Burger, J.M., & Krueger, M. (2003) A balanced approach to high-stakes achievement testing: An analysis of the literature with policy implications. International Electronic Journal in Learning, Online at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~iejll.…
When administered the WIAT-III Achievement test over three class period one to one, Ania's level of conversational proficiency, cooperation, self-confidence, and attention and concentration was typical for her age. Ania was aware of her strengths and academic weaknesses. Ania was conscientious and attentive to the task at hand but she did share with the examiner that reading was a difficult task for her to complete. During the reading and writing subtests Ania needed to be encouraged to continue to respond when the task became more difficult. , Ania would begin to appear restless. Sometimes, Ania responded too quickly without giving test items her full attention. During the math subtests Ania was conscientious and attentive to the task…
The search terms I used were “accommodations on high-stakes testing students with disabilities”. The database I used was the UNF Library, I performed a general search and narrowed the results by peer reviewed and full-test availability. I chose this study because I was familiar with the group of researchers and found their previous work interesting and very informative. The subject matter speaks to me and directly affects me since I am currently teaching special needs students. Fletcher, Jack M.; Francis, David J.; Boudosquie, Amy; Copeland, Kim; Young, Victoria; Kalinowski, Sharon; Vaughn, Sharon (2006). Effects of accommodations on high-stakes testing for students with reading disabilities. Exceptional Children, 72 (2), 136-151.…
Assessment enables an assessor to establish whether learning has taken place. To certain if the…
One of the potential misuses of the WISC-IV is assigning children to rigid categories of performance without periodic re-evaluation. This may become a self-fulfilling prophecy for children and may lead them to think that there is nothing they can do move beyond their current placement. I think it is important for the test administrator to also explain to children the areas where they performed well and encourage them to continue striving for high achievement. Another potential misuse is to rely solely on a score provided by the WISC-IV to make a diagnosis. Although a low score on an intelligence test is necessary for diagnosis of a cognitive disability, it is by no means sufficient to determine that a child is cognitively impaired. The test manual encourages professionals to use multiple sources of data, including home and school assessments, to determine a child’s level of…
References: Kubiszyn, T., & Borich, G. (2010). Educational Testing & Measurement (9th ed.). Danvers, MA:…
However, even after more than 25 years after the inception of MI theory by Howard Gardner, and the huge amount of attention the theory has received from educators and schools from around the world, current tests conducted at schools still heavily rely on linguistic and logical-mathematical skills (Davis, Christodoulou, Seider, Gardner, 2011). For that reason Gardner has suggested multiple ways of evaluating performance and in addition to that ecologically valid testing environments and tasks. (Davis, Christodoulou, Seider, Gardner, 2011). As one way to realize this aim, Project Spectrum, a large initiative for preschool and early primary education children has been founded. Project Spectrum is a collaborative research and development project offering an alternative approach to assessment and curriculum development for preschool and early primary education in the US.…
Scoring of the test is also quite simple in that determining right from wrong answers is clear. Like most achievement tests, the WRAT 4 increases in difficulty throughout the subtests in order to determine academic ability. With the four subtests, word reading, sentence comprehension, spelling, and math computation, basic academic skills appear to be measured by looking at the items, however, after having difficulty combing through the validity in the tests’ manual, and reading others’ test review comments about validity, I believe that validity needs to be studied further to fully determine whether this test is measuring what it claims to. I also agree that this test should refrain from being used to make any life changing decisions for an individual, and should continue to be used in psychological research and aids to other assessment tools with stronger…
The pressure of succeeding in school is always bearing in a student's mind. Schools today utilize standardized testing to determine whether a student is promoted. For instance, ACT and SAT are examples of how educators view a student’s ability. With that being said, the majority of a student's diligent work is dedicated to one evaluation on a test. In some classes, a majority of classroom instruction is centered around testing. A standardized test score should not hinder a student from furthering their education. Use of standardized testing is not an effective measure of a student’s ability.…
Task links to learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3, assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.…
Task 3 - links to learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4.…
