Standards-Based Assessment
Across the nation, states are setting tough new education standards, defining what students should know and be able to do. To help students meet these standards -- and to measure their progress in doing so -- states are also designing and implementing new standards-based assessment systems.States and districts use two types of interrelated standards: those that specify the content (what students should know or be able to do at different points in their education), and those that specify the academic achievement standards (how well they should be able to do it). Ideally, academic achievement standards indicate what is required to meet content standards (for example, essay, mathematical proof, scientific experiment, project or exam), as well as the quality of achievement that is deemed acceptable (for example, achieving a certain level of proficiency). This report will discusses standards-based assessments, along with the grading criteria, reporting tools, and report forms used by the colleges.
Grading criteria
Standards-based assessments compare student accomplishment to pre-established achievement goals, rather than to the achievement of other students. The standard is supposed to be absolute, independent of the proportion of students who meet it. Norm-referenced tests, in contrast, describe what students can do relative to other students. The fact that a student scores at the 60th percentile in mathematics, for example, tells us only that she fares as well as or better than 60% of her peers -- not how many mathematical skills she has mastered.. Performance is measured againt state and national standard sets.. Standard sets are sets of skill standards against which student performance is measured. For example, in the NCTM Number And Operations 9-12, a standard skill would be " develop fluency in operations with real numbers, vectors, and matrices, using mental computation or paper-and-pencil calculations for simple cases and technology for more-complicated cases."
The current focus on standards mirrors an earlier emphasis on "minimum competency,"a reform movement popular in the 1970s and '80s. Then, as now, reformers sought to improve education...
In contrast to today's reformers, who emphasize high, rigorous standards, the earlier group targeted only basic skills. And unlike the multilevel proficiency categories used in standards-based assessments, minimum-competency tests typically employed multiple choice items on a pass-fail basis.
Reporting tools
Classroom-based assessments can generate vast amounts of data that need to be compiled. There are reporting tools that will allow teachers to record student performance on a variety of assessment tasks, and tabulate that information over multiple years. Once the data is entered and performance criteria are set, a click of a button can generate multiple reports to show how each student has performed on their classroom based assessments. An example of such a tool is Virtu Software Objective Analyst.
Reporting forms
Here are some standard reports that would be displayed by a standards assessment installment program:
Standard Set Report. Displays the contents of a Standard Set, including both Standards and associated Objectives
Assignment Report. This report involves no long-term calculations. It simply displays the standards and objectives tested on an individual assignment, along with the student's assessment
Student Performance Report. Long-term report provides a cummulative assessment on all objectives in the specified Standard Set.
Student Gap Report. This report is very helpful when you need to know which standards and objectives are not being tested.
Ways that you might improve on your current practices
Here are some ways that you might improve upon your current practice in standards-based eduction.
1. Use multiple measures for progress monitoring. Commitment to just one measure can derail a well intentioned effort and may cause harm. Ensure the consistent use of monitoring devices over time.
2. Commit necessary resources to build skills and knowledge of all staff on how progress monitoring is…
