Using Test Results to Refine Teaching

Nikki YeeAugust 25, 2011

Outline

•Interpreting Test Results▫Stanines, Standard Scores & Percentile

Ranks▫What’s wrong with using grade-equivalents

and age-equivalents?•Test Results in Your Lesson Plan

▫In the classroom▫In the Response to Intervention Model

How do we know if the kids are on track?

• Classroom observation▫Allows us to observe different aspects of student

behaviour▫Compares a person to other students the observer

has known• Classroom (curriculum-based) assessment

▫Gives us the first indication of difficulties▫Compares a person to his classmates

• Standardized testing▫Shows trends that may be problematic in the long

run▫Compares a person to the developmental ‘norm’

How do test-makers know what is normal (typically developing)?

• A large sample of students (N=1,000 – 5,000) is taken based on varied gender, geographic, racial, and SES factors.

• The test is administered to the students and it is determined that (for example) at age 9.1 most students will score 7. This will be the score for a typically developing student.

• A Bell curve can be established based on this data in order to convert raw scores into standardized scores.

Bell Curve - Grades

What are some kinds of scores we can get from standardized tests?Stanines• Scale of 1-10• Gives a general idea of how the student is doing

Percentile Ranks• 50% is the average• Shows that a student is doing as well or better than 50% of

his peers

Standard Scores• Scale of 1-100

Age or Grade-Equivalents• Shows what level the student is functioning at

Bell Curve

What kinds of scores am I looking for?

CAT – 4

Woodcock-Johnson III (Achievement or Cognitive)

WISC 4

**Without a standard score, percentile rank, or at least a stanine, we cannot know if a student is experiencing a serious challenge.

• Stanines

• Standard Scores, Percentile Ranks

• Standard Scores, Percentile Ranks

What are typically developing scores?

• Stanines: 3 – 7

• Standard Scores: 85 – 115

• Percentile Ranks: 16 – 84

• Age or Grade Equivalent: ???

What’s wrong with age- or grade-equivalents?• There is no defined “typically developing” range.

• These scores will naturally increase with age so they are not a good indication of improvement.

• An improvement of one grade level means something different depending on the grade.

• They tend to be demeaning & disrespectful to the student and people who care about the student.

• BUT they give us some indication as to where we can begin instruction.

How does this fit with RtI?

Tier 1• All students start off in Tier 1 – those in the typically developing

range will stay in Tier 1 (68.2%)▫ If students are struggling in Tier 1, test results can refine teaching.

Tier 2• Students who are a struggling should be in Tier 2 (27.2%)

▫ Testing should point the way for intervention in Tier 2, and show whether or not improvements are taking place.

Tier 3• Students who have major difficulties should be in Tier 3 (4.4%)

▫ If students need to be placed in Tier 3, testing should indicate precise areas of intensive intervention.

▫ The Educational Psychologist should be called in to determine whether or not there is a more severe cognitive impairment.

Bell Curve

What kind of assessment do we use for RtI?•Qualitative tests (e.g., Qualitative Reading

Inventory) can be used yearly to see if improvements are occurring.

•Standardized tests can only be repeated every 3 years, so the results should be used to hone in on areas of need.

How can we use test results in the classroom?

•How can we use strengths to build up weaknesses?

•Note that despite a poor academic performance the student may have strengths that he is NOT ABLE to show

Bell Curve

Specific Strategies for Specific Struggles

• Math fluency

• Math word problems

• Reading comprehension

• Decoding

• Memory

Monopoly, cribbage, blackjack, any board game with 2 dice

Community outings

Questions & inferences, visualization

Grapho-syllabic intervention

Memory games, add-a-word sentences, memorize passages, add kinesthetic cues

Questions???