Standardized Tests

6 Pages 1387 Words

A standardized test is a test that is consistent and controlled in its administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures. These tests are scored by comparing a student’s score on a specific test with scores made by a very large number of similar students who have taken the same test. The two major distinctions of standardized tests are aptitude tests and achievement tests. An aptitude test measures a student’s general potential to learn. An achievement test measures what a student knows in a subject area. There are five standardized test that are generally in use: California Achievement Test, Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and Stanford Achievement Tests.
Standardized testing first began in the United States in the 1800’s. Their first use was to ensure that all students were receiving the same standard of education. Even then, there was much criticism about the tests but they quickly took hold in the United States. The tests were then being used “to sort and classify students, reflecting education’s lingering elitism, as well as educators failure to address the problems of low achievers” (Haladyna, 1998, pg 263). Today, standardized tests are still used because people believe that test scores are valid indicators of children’s learning.
Standardized tests were developed to be used as an assessment tool to evaluate the knowledge and/or skills a student has in a particular subject area. Standardized tests are norm-referenced, which means that a student’s knowledge and/or skills are compared with a national sample of students of the same age or grade level. An advantage of using standardized testing is that the information given, if interpreted properly, can “illuminates a child’s strengths and weaknesses, can be helpful not only in dealing with their child’s teacher, but also in determining at-home assistance” (Popham, 1999, pg 9). ...