Scenario 1: Show and Tell

Mr. Garrett teaches second grade. For the past two weeks, he and his students have worked on a geography unit, studying the earth's layers, tectonic plates, volcanoes, and general characteristics of the earth. His students exhibit a wide range of reading and writing abilities. Mr. Garrett believes that many students were unable to adequately communicate what they had learned during the last two unit tests. Mr. Garrett decides to use a different assessment approach for the geography unit, putting more emphasis on a variety of learning styles. To evaluate his students' learning, he assigns a performance assessment. Students use clay and other materials to create a model of one of the components of the earth.

On the white board, Mr. Garrett writes the following:

Students' geography models are displayed around the perimeter of the room, perched on tables and countertops. The room is abuzz with excitement. Mr. Garrett says, "First, I want to congratulate each of you on your fine work. The projects turned out very well and you should be very proud."

Mr. Garrett walks to his desk and picks up a packet of papers. "Today we will evaluate, or grade, your models," he says. "Your projects will be scored three times. First, you will grade your own model, then a classmate will grade it, and finally, I will grade it." The students look confused. "How are we supposed to grade the models?" Terrence asks. "Good question," answers Mr. Garrett.

The teacher points to the chart on the white board. "This chart shows you what to look for when you grade the models." "Hey! That's the same chart you gave us when we made the models," Kim An says. "That's correct," Mr. Garrett answers. "I gave you the criterion before you started the project. I identified each part of the project that must be included. To get a good grade, you should have included each part that's listed in the chart." Mr. Garrett distributes the paper packets to the students. "Each page has a copy of the chart on the board," he says. "You'll grade your own model using the chart on the first page. A classmate will use the chart on the second page, and I'll use the third."

Mr. Garrett calls on Kim An to read the items in the list. "Why does this box say Notes?" asks Kim An. "I want you to write at least two comments in the Notes box," answers Mr. Garrett. "Write a sentence about something you liked or learned from the project. You could also write about how you or a classmate could have improved the project. Who can give me an example?" Sara raises her hand and says, "I liked the way Lauren put a small Hawaiian doll next to her volcano. I learned about the legend of Pélé, the Hawaiian goddess of fire." "That's a good example. What else could you write?" Matthew raises his hand and says, "I like the way Tyler put gray, curled pipe cleaners in the top of his volcano for the steam and smoke." "Another good example," says Mr. Garrett.

Mr. Garrett says they will have ten minutes to evaluate their own models. Then they will rotate one model to the left and evaluate a classmate's model.

1			The geography project is an example of a _________ assessment. Mr. Garrett uses a ____________ as a scoring method for the project.
			A)	performance, checklist
			B)	performance, rating scale
			C)	paper-and-pencil, checklist
			D)	paper-and-pencil, rating scale
2			Which of the following statements does not provide a good reason for why Mr. Garrett asks students to grade their own and a classmate's projects?
			A)	Grading the projects three times will result in fair and accurate grades.
			B)	Students will use higher-order thinking skills when evaluating the projects.
			C)	Mr. Garrett wants to shift the burden and responsibility of grading onto the students.
			D)	Students will gain skills in objective observation and judgment.
3			Grading requires that teachers make judgments about the quality of students' progress or learning compared to some standard or criterion. Mr. Garrett uses which of the following grading systems in the scenario?
			A)	Norm-referenced assessment
			B)	Criterion-referenced assessment
			C)	Self-referenced grading system
			D)	None of the above.

Scenario 2: High-Stakes Testing

Ms. Doherty is a second grade teacher in California. Within her lesson planning, she ensures that she includes activities that prepare her students for standardized testing after the winter break. In addition to giving students the practice test supplied by the testing company, she also creates paper-and-pencil tests that include similar selected-response items. Ms. Doherty even administers a few tests that include "fill-in bubbles" in the same format as standardized tests.

Ms. Doherty's school is located in a middle class neighborhood. Her students represent a wide range of ethnicities, and most come from stable, supportive families. Over the years, Ms. Doherty has listened to the debates over standardized testing. One word that frequently enters the discussion is "bias" or "culturally-biased tests." Ms. Doherty feels that she has done a good job preparing her students for the test and is doubtful it will be biased against them.

Ms. Doherty slowly and carefully reads the instructions for the standardized test aloud. Her classroom is not arranged in its characteristic clusters of desks. Rather, desks are lined up in long rows, facing forward, with ample space between each desk. Each student has two sharpened pencils and a piece of "scratch paper" for computing problems or making notes. Ms. Doherty says that she will not be able to answer any questions about the test. "You will have twenty minutes to complete this portion of the test. When you are finished, you may read a book. Ready? Begin."

Ms. Doherty walks slowly around the room, monitoring her students as they complete the test. She sees one of her high-achieving students make a mistake on a low-level reading problem. "That's too bad," she thinks to herself. "I know he knows how to do that!" After five minutes have passed, Ms. Doherty announces that there are fifteen minutes remaining for this portion of the test.

Ms. Doherty looks over the shoulder of Ravi, an Indian student with excellent verbal skills. He seems to be stuck on a problem that asks about a basement. "Oh no!" Ms. Doherty thinks to herself. "Probably most of these students don't know what a basement is." Most of her students were born and raised in California, a state that does not build houses with basements due to earthquakes. Three of her students are from Mexico, another locale unfamiliar with the concept of basements. Ms. Doherty is reminded of cultural bias in testing.

Five minutes before the end of the test, Ms. Doherty watches another student spending a lot of time on one problem. She slowly walks over to the student and glances at the problem. The short paragraph talks about an interstate highway. For the native Californians who say freeway instead, the question is confusing. "Few students probably know what interstate means," Ms. Doherty thinks to herself. She recalls her childhood in the Midwest, where road signs everywhere say "Interstate 70" or "Interstate 405" and shakes her head. "It's not the same everywhere," she thinks.

Ms. Doherty circulates around her classroom one more time and sees her students demonstrating good test taking skills. They show mastery of the selected-response format and correctly bubble in their names and answers. She feels good about how well prepared the students are for the test. "But I'll have to figure out a way to overcome the interstate bias in testing!" she thinks to herself.

4			Which of the following aspects of standardized testing upsets Ms. Doherty?
			A)	She feels students are not given enough time to finish the tests.
			B)	Her students don't demonstrate test sophistication.
			C)	Question content can be culturally biased.
			D)	She wants to be able to answer her students' questions during the test.
5			Teachers have several important responsibilities as the administrator of a standardized test. Ms. Doherty fulfills which of the following responsibilities during the scenario?
			A)	Give each student the necessary materials, desk space, and time.
			B)	Carefully read the instructions so that all students can hear.
			C)	Monitor students as they complete the exam, making sure they begin and end at the appropriate times.
			D)	All of the above.
6			Imagine that one of Ms. Doherty's students received a score of 18/20 on the portion of the test described in the scenario. The score of 18 is as good as or better than 73 percent of the students in her district, as good as or better than 62 percent of students in her state, and as good as or better than 55 percent of students nationwide. Which type of score does the number 18 illustrate?
			A)	state percentile score
			B)	raw score
			C)	stanine score
			D)	grade equivalent score