For instance, “high stakes” test scores may be used to decide punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity for districts and schools), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade promotion or graduation decisions for learners), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for administrators and educators).

Because the pros and cons are tied to cut-off scores, the scores can become the object of debate, particularly if they are perceived to be flawed, or unfair.

Cut-off scores can diverge significantly from system to system, state to state, test to test, school to school, course to course, or year to year when changes are made to learning standards and accompanying assessment.

Proficiency levels are modified in direct relation to the methods used to decide cut-off scores. For example, it is possible to alter the perception of learner “proficiency” by raising or lowering cut-off scores on tests or by changing the process or criteria used to decide them.

Some states have been accused of manipulating learner proficiency by lowering cut-off scores or creating tests based on low standards—e.g., an eleventh-grade test that assesses learner performance based on content knowledge skills they should have learned in eighth grade. For these reasons, proficiency determinations based on cut-off scores may become a source of confusion, debate, controversy, and even deception.

Psychometricians, researchers, and other specialists may also debate the specific standards-setting processes used to decide cut-off scores on standardized tests, but these debates rarely extend beyond academia.

Should we be using cut off scores? In some cases yes, and in some cases no. We have to handle the use of cut off scores on a case by case basis.

What did we miss?

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Intelligence encompasses the capability to think, resolve problems, evaluate situations, and understand customs, social values, and norms. Two major categories of intelligence typically assessed by most intelligence assessments are:

•         Verbal intelligence: It’s the ability to understand and solve language-based problems.
•         Nonverbal intelligence: It’s the ability to comprehend and solve spatial and sequential problems.

Intelligence tests are conducted to understand better how well a student can be anticipated to perform academically and to evaluate a student’s learning needs. In the past, such tests have been used to rule out or substantiate the presence of learning disabilities and ascertain IQ to identify an intellectual disability.

Based on the type of intelligence test administered, important information can be gathered on how students handle problem-solving. When interpreted appropriately, such tests may also help teachers create suitable, specially designed educational strategies and instructions for the development of the individual educational plan (IEP).

There are different types of intelligence tests. IQ tests are one of the well-known forms of normed testing, which compare “normal” skill levels among students from the same age group. Some other types of intelligence tests are:

•         Individual intelligence tests: These could include different forms of tasks like puzzles and game-like assignments, easel test books with pointing-response formats, and question and answer sessions. An example is the WISC test that includes symbol-, language-, and performance-based questions.
•         Computerized assessments: They are ideal for reaction time tests. A computer can run tests, score them, and produce preliminary interpretations much faster than manual tests. For instance, computer-based Slosson Intelligence Test (CB-SIT) and computer-administered Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children found that compared to the traditional models of these tests, the ones run by computers gave feasible, valid, and acceptable results.
•         Verbal intelligence tests: These tests are created to determine the extent to which the student has mastered the reading materials intended for the subject in line with his learning level. The responses to these test questions are typically expressed in terms of symbol cross, words, check, and circling or underlying the right response. An example is the Army Alpha Test on Intelligence.
•         Nonverbal intelligence tests: These are used to evaluate students with limited English proficiency or language processing problems. Such tests usually include tasks designed to take out verbal intelligence from the assessment of a student’s reasoning abilities and isolate and evaluate a student’s analogical thinking, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving skills. An example is the CTONI (Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence).

Intelligence tests have created a lot of controversy about what types of mental abilities make up intelligence and if the results of such tests effectively signify these abilities, with disputes primarily focused on cultural bias in standardization processes and test construction. According to critics, intelligence tests favor students from wealthy backgrounds and discriminate against those belonging to the less privileged social, ethnic, or racial groups.

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Throughout school, students will come across a wide range of aptitude tests as they try to decide what they might be inclined to study in college or take up as a career. Typically, high school students take a number of aptitude tests that are intended to help them decide what they might want to study in college or which career would suit them the best.

Often, aptitude tests give students a general idea of what might trigger their interest or could be a good future career. For instance, if Jill’s aptitude test result suggests that she’s good with data and numbers, it might indicate that she’s likely to thrive in a career as a banker, an accountant, or a stockbroker. Since all these career options would be good for Jill, she can take her pick based on what she prefers.

Unlike achievement tests, which look at a student’s level of skill or knowledge at any given point, aptitude tests focus on determining how competent a student might be in performing a particular task.

For elementary school students, such tests are usually used to determine students’ fitness for special programs, such as special education or classes for the gifted and talented. For instance, these students can take the MLAT (Modern Language Aptitude Test) for foreign language talent.

For middle school students, aptitude tests can be taken to qualify for special or gifted education programs, just like elementary students. These students may also take such tests to identify their career aptitudes. One test they can take is the Differential Aptitude Test that examines students on numerical ability, verbal reasoning, mechanical reasoning, abstract reasoning, clerical accuracy and speed, language usage, spelling, and space relations. Another test worth considering for middle school students is the OASIS (Occupational Aptitude Survey and Interest Schedule) test.

High school students can take OASIS and other aptitude tests to decide career interests and potential career paths for post-secondary education. For instance, the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) can be taken by those having an inclination towards the armed services. Students studying in grades 7 to 12 may also take the DAT (Differential Aptitude Test) and BMCT (Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test).

Aptitude tests are important for students. For one, they help reveal their strengths and weaknesses, thus offering a better understanding of their personality. Such tests may also draw attention to their hidden talents, which can be nurtured further or considered a career. Students who’re unsure about their future career choices can get ideas and options after analyzing their test results. Often, the results may reveal or indicate options they hadn’t even considered before. Thus, aptitude tests help align the students’ skills and aptitudes to increase their chances of success in their chosen domain of study or career.

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Additionally, children develop at varying rates in different domains (cognitive, physical, emotional, and social). These are dependent upon and influenced by the opportunities children get. This is why children need diverse experiences and evaluations that aren’t confined to just their academic skills that lead to didactic teaching methods, which are mainly ‘drill and kill.’ Play-based assessment not just evaluates children’s literacy and mathematics but even takes into account their cognitive skills like problem-solving and language; social-emotional skills such as self-regulation, negotiation, empathy, and curiosity; and motor skills.

Play-based assessments are fit for children and young people belonging to a broad age group and possessing a wide range of needs and abilities. Such assessments can be useful for children and young people who:

•         Have low language abilities
•         Are pre-verbal
•         Have gone through a traumatic experience
•         Have English as an additional language
•         Find it difficult to express feelings in words
•         Have emotional, social, and mental health difficulties

Play-based assessment doesn’t need any unusual or special equipment. The materials children use as their common play equipment, such as toys, puzzles, crayons, and dolls, can serve the purpose well and make it convenient to get the evaluation done without much cost. Such assessment can be carried out at any place, but it’s preferable to use a play area or other space that the children are familiar with. Play-based assessment can be successful if an adequate variety of toys and other relevant playing materials are available to elicit the needed range of childhood behaviors. 

The diversity in the objects used for play is particularly crucial for play-based assessment, as it helps evaluate how children respond to different environments – be it solo play, role play, or pretend-play with other children. For instance, when children play with blocks, a teacher can ask questions that promote prediction, problem-solving, and hypothesizing. The teacher can also bring the children’s awareness towards science, mathematics, and literacy concepts with questions like

•         Can the blocks be blown down?
•         How tall can the stack of blocks get?
•         How many blocks will they need to make it that taller?

These questions will elevate the simple act of stacking blocks to the application of learning and help assess children on various parameters, such as cognitive and social skills, emotional maturity, and self-confidence, which are necessary for them to engage in new environments and experiences.

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This is followed by formulating an intervention plan and steps that teachers can implement and test to improve the student’s situation. Thus, with functional behavior assessment, a teaching plan can be developed that facilitates a more acceptable substitute behavior for the student, which would no longer hinder the student’s education.

For instance, Harry cracking jokes in the middle of his 4th-grade teacher’s lessons is extremely disruptive. The teacher runs an FBA and identifies the reason for Harry’s problematic behavior (getting the social approval of his peers). To replace his problematic behavior with acceptable behavior, the teacher decides to have a 5-minute break in the class, where Harry is allowed to say some of his jokes (that the teacher approves). This way, he can get the social acceptance and approval he desires without disrupting the teacher’s day.

Though FBA was initially designed for children with special needs like autism, it has been found useful with any child who shows a problem behavior that requires to be fixed. When a functional behavior assessment should be done is tricky as there’s no precise formula that indicates the right time for it. This assessment can be a useful tool whenever students display behaviors that inhibit or limit their ability to learn within a class or school framework. Thus, such assessments can be conducted when student behavior triggers concerns for teachers, parents, and other educational professionals and indicates some underlying emotional or behavioral issues. 

However, the problems and difficulties displayed by the students must be severe and not playful, such as behaviors that adversely affect their ability to learn. When combined with other interventional and corrective efforts, a functional behavior assessment can help understand the student’s circumstances. Such an assessment can be part of the SAT Process, the Individual Learning Plan, and as corroboration of a disability.

The functional behavior assessment can also be part of the IEP (Individual Education Plan). Such assessment can help to find or confirm a disability. The assessment information could be combined with other facts obtained by reports, observations, and discussions among teachers, parents, and learning specialists. The determination or verification of a disability is a decisive step for making suitable financial support and educational access available to the student. 

Under the IDEA – the country’s special education law for individuals with disabilities, federal rules offer local and state agencies federal funds to assure access to special education and related services to disabled children. The rules entail a written plan, known as the IEP plan. A similar segment of the law is the Rehabilitation Act’s section 504, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Both laws seek to place children with disabilities in an educationally productive setting with the least restrictive learning structure.

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For instance, in traditional teaching, the focus is on the attempt to deliver knowledge. Thus, traditional grading for a mathematics class could mean students scoring 90% to 95% and achieving grade A, while others scoring 80% to 85% get grade B. However, Standards-based Grading (SBG) works differently as it also evaluates student learning to understand the effectiveness of the teacher’s instruction. 

Thus, unlike traditional grading, where a single overall grade is used for certain percentage ranges, SBG breaks down the subject matter into smaller chunks or “learning targets.” Each of these chunks is a teachable concept that students need to master by their course’s end. Throughout the course’s duration, student learning on each chunk or “learning target” is recorded. The teachers track students’ progress and even provide them with appropriate feedback and adapt their teaching instructions to meet students’ needs.

If the same mathematics class (discussed earlier for traditional grading) had SBG, the grading could have used a scale of 1-4, where the teacher will assess the students’ output and select the suitable mastery level they demonstrated. For instance, standards-aligned activities like solving number sentences with brackets could mean scoring 3, defining a number sentence could mean scoring 2, etc. When the students begin with a new target, most don’t have any prior knowledge and begin at score 1. As they learn, they start showing partial mastery and score 2. After they meet a learning target, they score 3. Usually, 4’s are awarded to students who exceed targets.

Even though the 1-4 scale is popular, SBG grading scales can differ extensively. Some other scales commonly used are 0-4, 1-5, half-point scales, and those that use letters instead of numbers. SBG grading scales can even vary across learning communities. Since there’s no standard way to use SBG, discussing what would best serve everyone involved is vital. For schools trying to get started with SBG, such communication can be decisive for the success of SBG in the long run. However, when moving to SBG from a traditional grading scale, schools should avoid having vague or too many categories. It’s important to set the scale with specific and clearly defined categories to convey student performance easily.

In SBG, teaching is receptive to learning. When beginning a new target, teachers present introductory lessons. As students move forward, they are introduced to more complex material. They continue learning and working until they reach the target. Thus, Standards-based Grading can be considered a ladder, where students climb up – one step at a time, to finally reach the top.

After receiving the teacher’s instruction, some students progress right away, while most tend to be confused and can just partially finish an activity. Teachers regularly re-teach them, offer feedback, and provide additional opportunities to help them reach the next level. This process needs practice and patience and is repeated until students attain the planned learning target.

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Before teachers design assessments to evaluate their students’ learning, they should define the learning goals and map them to the curriculum. They should also determine and find information to help them judge if the students are meeting the planned and stated learning goals. 

Determining the criteria they’ll use to evaluate the program’s success or efficiency and the methods or instruments they’ll need to find or develop are other steps they should complete. The next step is to prepare assessment questions based on what mode(s) they feel fit to use. For instance, teachers could try gathering direct evidence of their students’ learning via course-embedded quizzes and assignments, capstone projects (like creative essays, exhibits, etc.), or student presentations. 

They may also use indirect evidence of learning, such as through student opinions, self-assessments, perceptions, and attitudes, which will let them make inferences about how well the students have learned what they were expected to. They could also use a blend of these two methods to design their assessments.

Here are some guidelines teachers can use for developing tests:

•         Recognize the test’s purpose at the outset and design it to meet this purpose
•         Prepare questions that relate to the students’ interests as this will help make the test relevant and motivating for them
•         Begin with some easy questions that all the students can answer, which will let them overcome their fear and feel confident about succeeding
•         Have at least two types of problems in the tests because including just one type will make the students quickly pick up on the pattern, which will discourage them from reading the succeeding problems and thinking about solving them
•         Vary the test questions to evaluate the students’ reasoning skills behind their answers and the approach they employ

Letting teachers design and administer their own tests is an effective way to counter the criticism about “overtesting” and give teachers better data to improve their teaching instructions. Commercially prepared or generic online tests often fail to give teachers useful, timely, or actionable data that can drive student improvement. On the contrary, assessments developed by classroom teachers can reflect what’s taught in class better and give them the flexibility to select the best format like essay, presentation, multiple-choice questions, or oral examination to evaluate students’ mastery. 

However, it’s crucial to ensure that teachers are prepared to develop and understand assessments before going ahead with teacher-designed tasks and tests. If the teachers are clueless about what they need to assess, how to design high-quality assessments, what tools and strategies they can use for the purpose, or how to use the data derived from such assessments, the entire process would be futile. In other words, teachers should be trained to become assessment-literate before they’re given the task of designing and implementing their own tests and tasks.  

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Progress reports can help teachers, students, and parents in the following ways:

Teachers

They can use these reports to track how well their students learn the materials intended for them and perform in class. Progress reports also help teachers review their students’ strengths and weaknesses regularly, which can facilitate spotting academic problem areas and trends that need to be addressed. For example, progress reports of a class may suggest that the majority of students aren’t doing well in mathematics. 

This will make the teacher review the teaching process and decide if some minor tweaks are necessary or the key concepts of all the lessons should be taught again to the class. As teachers need to meet certain classroom standards, progress reports can help them notice if the class is meeting those educational expectations and what changes in their teaching process may be necessary to bring if the class isn’t meeting them.

Students

Progress reports help students stay more well-versed and actively engaged in their learning. They can also use progress reports to spot problem areas, correct them, modify their study habits, and make other necessary changes to keep themselves on a positive academic course. Thus, such reports let them understand how well they’re doing in class and what their teacher’s perception of them is. This way, they can keep track of their academic progress, identify the problems, and make the required improvements as well as changes to pull up their grades before they get hold of their final report cards released at the end of the quarter or year.

Parents

Parents’ involvement in their children’s education is crucial for teaching them how important school is. Such involvement also goes a long way in ensuring the child does well at school. To keep parents involved in their children’s education, teachers can send home progress reports for the parents to go through, review, and sign. 

Doing this will help parents know how their children’s academic life is going and where they stand in terms of their in-class behaviors and academic achievements. The insights offered by such reports can also help parents appreciate and reward their children for doing well or make necessary changes to the home study routine by setting aside more study time to get their children back on track academically.

Progress reports also act as a communication link between students, parents, and teachers. Through these reports, everyone involved can be on the same page by having the same understanding and information of the students’ advancement in school. This will help ensure all parties have consistent information among them, which will pave the way for communication between students and teachers, parents and teachers, and parents and students to the advantage of the students’ education.

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At the commencement of a course, an academic benchmark may be set for the group of concepts that students should be familiar with by the end of the term. Since benchmarks let educators recognize students’ weaknesses and strengths, they are useful in assessing their progress towards year-end goals, which can then let the educators mold their future instruction. Such benchmarks designed for academic evaluations can also allow teachers, institutions, and relevant educational agencies to see if the assessed students are on par with the existing grade standards.

In schools, students’ attainment is often assessed against a benchmark that’s suitable to their age and year group. For instance, a child aged two years and another aged four years will display different levels of attainment. As a result, their progress will be considered against a benchmark that states what’s expected of a child of that age.

As they age, children are anticipated to reach different educational milestones at various stages. These may include understanding a particular mathematical concept or the development of handwriting and vocabulary. Each of these milestones serves as a different benchmark for positive development.

Students who struggle with their lessons and are more likely to fall behind can also be spotted through benchmark assessments and offered additional assistance. When correct and timely intervention systems are used this way, struggling students are far less prone to fall behind in class.

Benchmarks can help evaluate success on a group and individual level. They also play a crucial role in parent-teacher communication. Teachers can share relevant information about the student’s academic progress with parents, which keeps them informed and better equipped to help the students achieve their academic goals. 

Before schools or other educational institutions set benchmarks, they should try answering the following questions:

•         What purposes are the benchmarks expected to serve?
•         What criteria should be employed to create the benchmarks?
•         What organizational capacity should the school or educational institution have to support a benchmark evaluation successfully?

Typically, benchmarks serve four interconnected but distinctive purposes. They communicate the learning expectations, help plan the curriculum and necessary instructions, monitor and assess the effectiveness of the instructional program, and predict the students’ future performance.

Benchmark-driven regular and structured assessments can lead to noticeable student growth. Such evaluations should be done regularly throughout a given school year. If possible, making such assessments timed with the given curriculum’s content would be a good choice. Regular student assessment will provide vital feedback concerning student learning, which can help craft and execute any necessary intervention plan. Such information even facilitates easy tracking of individual growth while concurrently focusing on the school’s or institution’s incremental improvement.

Benchmark-driven assessments shouldn’t just focus on easy multiple-choice questions. Instead, they should include other testing techniques like essays, experiments, multi-part questions, and more. Together, all these testing methods can provide useful insight into a student’s actual thoughts and comprehension surrounding the evaluated skills.

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Teachers with strong efficacy typically display an enhanced level of enthusiasm for teaching. They also possess a strong commitment to their profession, positively impact student achievement, and show an augmented level of persistence. For these teachers, new situations aren’t roadblocks. Rather, they are taken as challenges and handled head-on without giving up.

Different factors influence teacher efficacy positively. For one, teachers who hold multiple roles in the school have an enhanced sense of self-efficacy, which is attributed to their commitment to the school and improved job satisfaction. Second, teachers who hold factors within their control (such as collaborating with colleagues, considering alternative teaching strategies, helping students visualize themselves as competent learners, etc.) responsible for their students’ success typically have much higher efficacy levels than those who hold factors beyond their control (like class size, family situation, and student effort, among others) responsible. 

Third, learning and implementing new teaching practices boost teacher efficacy and benefit students. In other words, when teachers get better, their students too become more proficient. When teachers come to know, think, understand, and practice in a different way in a verifiable area of student learning requirements, they end up impacting student achievement positively.

It’s possible to boost teacher efficacy. Most efforts aiming to achieve this goal are based on Albert Bandura’s social learning theory that proposed four chief sources of efficacy perceptions, namely vicarious experiences, mastery experiences, physiological and emotional states, and social and verbal persuasion. 

The most dominant among these for teacher efficacy was found to be mastery experiences. To put it differently, teachers’ personal experiences of success or lack of it strongly form their efficacy beliefs. In contrast, efficacy beliefs are merely modestly altered by logical persuasion, watching others, or emotional situations. Actual change happens through what teachers experience in their classrooms with their students.

When a group of teachers has faith in their ability to affect students positively, it’s called collective teacher efficacy. In schools that have collective teacher efficacy, teachers are more focused on academic pursuits, display more optimistic attitudes toward professional development, and experience enhanced levels of relationship satisfaction, motivation, and intent to stick to their profession.

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