Assessment Overview

Types of assessment Purposes of assessment Quality criteria Assessment in California The STAR program High School Exit Exam English Language Development Additional standardized testing programs Questions & Issues For more information In recent years, the issue of testing students has become increasingly complex and controversial. Long-standing debates about the purpose and role of testing have taken on new fervor as policy makers have raised the stakes associated with test results. This growing emphasis on assessment in the United States was born out of the effort to improve schools by setting high and consistent standards for student achievement. Integral to this standards-based approach is the need to measure whether students and schools are successfully meeting these higher expectations. Assessments are also integral to the new accountability systems in many states. These systems call for positive and negative consequences for students, educators, and schools based on test performance. One result of these reforms has been a rise in the use of large-scale assessments of students at the state and national levels. This, in turn, has prompted increased interest in the quality of the tests that are being used and their relationship to what schools should teach and what students need to learn. Ideally, well-crafted, standards-based assessments of student performance also help leverage change in classroom practice. Policymakers can use assessments to communicate what is important for students to learn and to motivate schools and teachers to focus on these areas of learning. Types of assessment Current ideas about student assessment reflect a broadening perspective on the ways that students’ knowledge and ability can be systematically evaluated and the uses for that evaluation information. Tests can actually take many forms, and test developers emphasize that different test methods are appropriate for different purposes. Every test has three important aspects: the testing format, the scoring of responses, and the interpretation of the performance. Some purposes of assessment Student assessments serve several different purposes. Ideally, the purpose for which a test will be used determines the choice of a testing format and the manner in which the results are scored, interpreted, and reported. The purposes of testing generally include: Evaluating and improving the instructional program in general; Diagnosing individual student abilities/knowledge and adapting instruction accordingly; Determining individual student placement or eligibility for promotion/graduation, college admission, or special honors; and Measuring and comparing school, school district, statewide, and national performance for broad public accountability. Often a test that was designed and is appropriate for one use does not provide meaningful information for another purpose. Click here for more on the purposes of testing. Quality criteria The use of a given assessment tool for a particular purpose can be a contentious issue, particularly when assessments are used to make high-stakes decisions about students and schools—whether it be public comparisons, funding, or student placement. When tests are used for such purposes, testing experts stress that the testing instrument should be of high quality and validated for the intended purpose. Traditionally, the determination of a test’s quality revolves around three questions: Is the test valid? This is the overarching concern, and it involves asking whether a test provides accurate information for the purposes for which it is being used. If a test is used to determine how well students master standards, does it do a good job of covering those standards? If we use a test such as the SAT I for the purpose of college admissions, does it in fact predict something about a student’s college performance? In other words, are the consequences of the testing—or inferences made from the results—reasonable given the particular test that was conducted? Is the test fair? Is it free of built-in biases that create advantages or disadvantages based on individual student characteristics such as racial background? Have students had an opportunity to learn what is being tested? Is the test reliable? If a student took the test on two different occasions, would that student's scores remain fairly consistent both times? And do similar students yield the same results time after time? Policymakers raise the stakes around student assessments when they use them to increase accountability and leverage instructional improvement, as is happening with standards-based reform. In this context, testing experts are stressing an additional criterion for a high-quality test: its alignment with the most important standards or goals for student learning. Finally, because no test is perfect, testing experts stress the importance of using multiple measures of performance, particularly for high-stakes purposes. Assessment in California Since 1997, state policymakers in California have acted aggressively to create and implement new high-stakes tests. Their goal has been to create measures by which both students and schools can be held accountable for academic performance as defined by the state’s new academic content standards. The STAR program The cornerstone of California’s effort is the Standardized Testing and Reporting or STAR program. Each summer, the state releases results for testing completed the previous spring. State, county, school district, and school results are available from many sources online. A good place to start is the California Department of Education's STAR web page. California students in grades 2–11 participate in STAR. The centerpiece of the STAR program is the California Standards Tests (CSTs). These criterion-referenced tests are based on the state’s academic content standards—what students are supposed to learn. The state has set performance levels for student results. Test scores are described as: far below basic, below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced. Additional tests that are part of STAR include: California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6), a norm-referenced test of basic skills. A student’s scores are national percentile rankings, which indicate the performance of each student relative to a national sample. Beginning in 2005, only 3rd and 7th graders take the CAT/6. Aprenda: La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3), an additional norm-referenced test in Spanish administered to Spanish-speaking English learners who have been in school in the United States fewer than 12 months when tested or who are receiving instruction in Spanish regardless of how long they have been in U.S. schools. Standards-based tests in Spanish are gradually replacing the Aprenda 3. Based on their student test results, schools are given an Academic Performance Index (API) score and ranked. The API for elementary and middle schools is primarily composed of CST test results in English, math, science, and social science. The high school API is made up of primarily CST and California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) results. CST and CAHSEE results are also used to determine whether schools have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Testing of Special Education students Most Special Education students participate in STAR. In many cases, however, their individualized education programs (IEPs) call for students to receive some extra assistance based on their disability. That may mean accommodations, such as a large-print version of an exam, that do not alter the test. Or it may require modifications, such as allowing the use of a calculator, which do alter the test. Students who are unable to participate in the STAR program because of severe disabilities are tested with the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA). Teachers observe and record student performance on tasks that are the building blocks of California’s academic content standards. History of the STAR program During the first three years of the STAR program, the focus was on a basic-skills, nationally normed, multiple-choice test. Initially the state used the Stanford-9 basic-skills test but switched to the CAT/6 in 2003. These tests were given to virtually all California public school students in grades 2 to 11, and the results formed the basis for the state's school accountability program until 2002. But because it is developed for national use, a nationally normed test does not fully match the academic content standards adopted to guide school curriculum in California. (See standards.) In 1999 the state began the second portion of the STAR program by creating additional ("augmented") test questions to measure student and school performance against the state’s new standards initially in English and mathematics and later in science and social science. By 2002, the California Standards Tests (CSTs) dominated the state’s testing system. In 2000 the State Board of Education (SBE) developed the five performance levels (far below basic, below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced) for reporting the results of the CSTs, beginning with the 2001 standards test in English/language arts. High School Exit Exam Following the lead of many other states, California has instituted a single, statewide high school exit exam. The test was piloted in the spring and fall of 2000. Its first administration to high school freshmen occurred in March 2001. Passing this test is required for high school graduation beginning with the class of 2006. For more background about this exam, see Q&A: The California High School Exit Exam and the California Department of Education (CDE) CAHSEE web page. For exam results and press releases from CDE go to CAHSEE.cde.ca.gov. English Language Development During the 2000–01 school year, California implemented a new statewide assessment to test the English proficiency and progress of students whose home language is not English. This test is based on California’s standards for English Language Development, which were adopted by the State Board of Education in 1999. The test includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English for grades 3 through 12; it is to be administered to all English learners (ELs). These students also still take the STAR tests and—if applicable—the Aprenda 3 or Standards-based Test in Spanish (STS). To learn more about the English Language Development test, see the California Department of Education (CDE) CELDT web page. Additional standardized testing programs California students also take standardized tests in physical education. In addition, after students are accepted for admission at a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campus, they are generally required to take proficiency tests that measure their preparedness for college curriculum and determine course placement. Beginning in 2004, high school juniors whose schools participate in an Early Assessment Program (EAP) can choose to take expanded versions of California Standards Tests in English language arts (including an essay) and math (Algebra II or Summative High School Mathematics) to determine college readiness. The results are used by the CSU system to exempt students from college placement tests or let students know that they need additional preparation during their senior year. California students also participate in some nationally administered tests. These include college admissions (e.g., SAT, ACT) and placement tests for individual students. Some tests, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), provide national and international comparisons of overall student achievement. Increasingly, California lawmakers have also focused on Advanced Placement (AP) courses and testing. Beginning in 2000–01 they provided extra funding and incentives to encourage the state's high schools to offer these courses. Questions & Issues Currently there is growing debate around the issue of high-stakes testing as part of standards-based reform. Much of this concerns the match—or mismatch—between the types of tests being given and the purposes for which the results are being used. When a key concern is improving instruction, critics warn that excessive focus on a single test may limit teaching and learning in undesirable and unintended ways. Conversely, when comparisons of performance are paramount, the reliability of test scores across time and student populations is of particular concern. And while policymakers and the public want a simple, straightforward way to gauge student and school performance, many educators and researchers worry that oversimplification will in fact hurt rather than help the learning process. As is the case in many states, California’s state assessment system is a work in progress. Many Californians are pleased to get nationally comparable results for students and schools. They also praise the intensified attention being paid to student achievement. However, the state testing system has been criticized for causing an over-emphasis on math and English and taking more time from regular classroom instruction than is desirable or necessary. The question of valid, fair, and reliable methods for testing non-English speaking students is particularly difficult and emotionally charged. With about one-fourth of its public school students in this category, California faces unique challenges in this regard. Critics have voiced concerns about the reliability of scores of California's non-English speaking students on nationally-normed tests both because of the language barrier and because of the small proportion of English learners (2%) in the national sample against which California students are compared. For more information For a thorough and easy-to-understand explanation of assessment terminology and related issues, see: Thinking About Tests and Testing: A Short Primer in "Assessment Literacy" by Gerald Bracey. This primer, which includes some commentary from its sometimes controversial author, provides valuable and readable information about assessment methods and terminology. For related issues in California, please see our sections on accountability and standards.