Standardized Testing Essays (Examples)

There were none with limited English proficiency; those with Non-Limited English Proficiency ranked 50, there were no free or reduced lunch scores, those at non-poverty scored 57-64, while those at Poverty scored 42-46.

In a graph showing the Stanford Achievement Test 10th Edition results in eading for the entire system in ussellville City, Alabama, the males rank 48-60 and females rank49-52, the blacks rank at 29-40, the Hispanic at 16-40, and the whites far outstrip either of these at 61-63. Those with limited English proficiency scored 11-32, those with Non-Limited English Proficiency ranked 55-58, those with free lunches scored 41, those with reduced lunch scored 54, those at non-poverty scored 65, while those in Poverty scored 37-43.

In a graph showing the Stanford Achievement Test 10th Edition results in eading for the Alabama School of Fine Arts, males ranked 88 and females ranked 91 (52), the blacks rank at 85,…

Standardized Testing Investigation

Academic success has been measured for decades by scores on Standardized tests including the HSPA, CAT, MAT, and SATs. Recent studies have held that too much weight is assigned to these tests and that certain higher education institutions have gone so far as to stop considering standardized test scores. The question addressed in this study is if standardized testing should be stopped.

Standardized Testing: The View of a Veteran and Retired Teacher

The work of Valerie Strauss reports an interview with Marion rady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer, and author and states that the reasons that teachers oppose standardized testing are many. The reasons stated include that public school teachers oppose the tests "…because they focus so narrowly on reading and math that the young are learning to hate reading, math, and school; because they measure only "low level" thinking processes; because they put the wrong people…

Standardized testing vs. authentic assessment in the elementary and junior high school

The role of evaluation is one of the basic issues discussed in education today, which is of main concern. Assessment may be described as a method used to better know the present knowledge that a student has. This means that assessment can be as easy as a teacher's subjective judgment based on a single scrutiny of student performance, or as difficult as a five-hour standardized test. The notion of current knowledge means that what a student knows is always altering and that we can make decisions about student success by comparisons over a period of time. Assessment may have an effect on choices about grades, advancement, placement, instructional needs, and curriculum. (Dietel; Herman; Knuth, 1991) Many educationalists adhere to the idea that education should deal mainly with reading, writing, and arithmetic. Others mention the significance of teaching the…

Thus, the best way to achieve educational improvement and student success is to pair the issue of standardized testing together with other teacher-based assessments. Standardized testing should remain a focus of the educational realm for administrative purposes, such as planning standards and curriculum. In order to determine whether a student is ready to advance, however, teachers should make recommendations to their administrations, citing evidence. By opening this recommendation process up for administrators, parents, and other concerned individuals to weigh-in, this will be the most accurate and most objective way to assess student success.

Thus, standardized tests can be a useful tool, but they are not the right tool for measuring high stakes. Instead, it is better to rely on the individuals who can assess a student's whole thinking process -- the teachers -- in order to make high stakes decisions. Combined with other methods of assessment, such as teacher-based assessment,…

Standardized Testing Anxiety

Despite my less-than-perfect score on my GRE, I still believe I am an appropriate and worthwhile candidate for the MS/MPH program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. I am among that small but realistic percentage of individuals that often score poorly on standardized tests, and the GRE was no exception to that. However, instead of discussing what I did not do well on, allow me to tell you what I can do. I have been a registered nurse for 6 years and work in the emergency room, recovery room, and critical care areas. Even though I did not score very well on my SAT, I was still accepted into several undergraduate institutions, as these schools believed in what I was capable of doing.

Throughout nursing school I maintained a 3.0 GPA. I have also taken graduate courses in the Masters of Information Systems program at Bowie State University…

Standardized Testing -- Students with ADHD

The first study in an article in the Journal of Learning Disabilities by Frazier, et al. (2007) looks at the published literature (studies) since 1990 in order to produce a meta-analysis that will show the "…magnitude of achievement problems" that confront individuals with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). In other words, the purpose was to find out exactly what problems ADHD sufferers encounter when trying to achieve knowledge. In order to ascertain the difficulties -- and to help ADHD students become more academically competent -- that present roadblocks for those individuals, the first study looks at existing literature and uses "…quantitative, meta-analytic procedures" as a research design in order to thoroughly interpret the results in previous work (Frazier). The first research section examined 72 studies (the ones that fulfilled all appropriate criteria); 54 studies involved children; 7 involved adolescents; 4 looked at college students…

Students will not be able to understand the need to learn a subject and they will not have an opportunity to research or think about a particular subject when they are merely forced to memorize the details. Teachers are badly affected since they have to impart knowledge based on limitations and directions from authorities. Students cannot be shaped into unique individuals who will have their own opinion on various topics. Only uniform thinkers will be left with no room for innovation. By memorizing details, students will not enjoy what they learn. They are left with a certain number of questions and answers to be memorized in a given period of time. Teachers reach a saturation point by this monotonous mode of education. They get fed up of repeating the same details. Moreover, additional resources like paper, staff support, administrative and parental assistance is also required. Teachers are left to handle…

Standardized Testing is not good for Education.

Standardized testing and standardized tests, when looked at for themselves are not bad things. When utilized to diagnose an issue or try to figure out if a student has learned what they have been taught then they do what they are supposed to. It is when standardized test results are utilized as the only factors to make choices regarding graduation or grade promotion, financial support, and ability tracking. In other words, when standardized tests become tests with very high stakes is when they become a problem (What's so bad about Standardized Testing, n.d.).

Despite their prejudices, imprecision, limited ability to gauge achievement or ability, and other flaws, schools use standardized tests to figure out if children are ready for school, track them into instructional groups; make a diagnosis of a learning disability, retardation and other handicaps; and make a decision whether to promote,…

American public education system has endured many changes in the last few decades. It has gone from back to basics, to whole language learning, and then back to basics again. The system is constantly being scrutinized by the parents who send their children to it, the students themselves, experts in the field and politicians who use its flaws as a springboard for change, while using its successes as a platform for bragging rights. The American public school system is constantly being evaluated, and re-evaluated. A central criteria for the scrutinization of the system is the marks the students receive on the standardized testing that is administered each year.

Each school system or state system uses a standardized test of its choice to measure the student's progress through their academics. The school system administers the test to the students and the percentages are tallied to determine where on the national percentile…

Conflicting Viewpoints Essay: Standardized TestingStandardized testing has become increasingly common throughout the American educational system. It has become a critical part of national and state education law and policy as a way of ensuring greater accountability for American schools. But merely because a policy is more popular does not necessarily mean that it is doing what it purports to do. Since the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated standardized assessment on the individual and school level, serious questions have been raised regarding such tests validity and their ability to render schools truly accountable for the education their students receive.Supporting My Position (Against Standardized Testing)Perhaps the most damning indictment against standardized testing was provided by a nonpartisan study by the Brookings Institution, which found annual standardized testing by schools to be highly unreliable in the data they yielded (Standardized Testing, 2018). An estimated 50-80% of year-to-year test score improvements…

Control

Mid-year teacher evaluations are causing some stress among public school teachers; in this analysis three cousins from various places in the state are having a Christmas holiday meeting to discuss the ways in which the different districts they teach in are evaluating teachers. Teachers of course always try their best but more than helping students learn, teachers are basically being judged and in many cases are fearful that they will lost their jobs if their evaluations don't come out in a satisfactory way.

Clearly there are enormous differences between the three districts that the cousins teach in, but they share concerns that bias can creep into the decision-making process. And when the cousins have what one could call a "skull session" or a "brainstorming" session, a lot of issues relative to each of the three cousins are raised.

Analysis -- hat, hy, and How

hat is the issue in…

Again, students may be less willing to go to school, and parents find themselves dragging unwilling bodies from the car to the school door, because the children feel they have little to look forward to, day in and day out.

The highly structured school day results in a more structured after-school environment. Parents take children to soccer practice and lessons to provide enrichment that is now lacking at school. This requires even the youngest children to have additional discipline in terms of when they begin their homework. Mealtimes may be lost, as families eat on the run, using what would once be quality time as a way of 'getting a jump' on the next day. McDonald's in the car suffices, rather than home-cooked meals, so homework can be attended to, as soon as the family walks through the door after a long, hard day.

This new pressure to succeed, facilitated…

Standardized Testing: Validity, Reliability and Specific to Purpose

Pros and Cons of standardized testing: High stakes tests

Assessment of non-standardized students

The one elemental requirement when determining any policy or standard that cannot be swept aside or forgotten, not even in part is that "individual" or "group of individuals" for which the policy or standard is being determined. ecause it is spe-cifically the entire scope of characteristics in relation to that "individual or group" for whom the policy is being determined that should be used as guidelines in assessing the same as well as being the one integral elements of consideration in the determination of that policy?

Having considered the foregoing statement to be both logical, rational as well as true then should not great care be applied in the use of "high-stakes" testing as in truth, this type of testing involves "high-risks" that surpass the threshold of even a…

Standardized testing has been rummaging around academic circles in America for close to a century ("Americans Instrumental"), but what has garnered the most controversy is the mandated nationwide testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002 (Hudson 10-15). The intent of NCLB is to pressure underperforming schools to meet basic educational standards, thereby reducing racial and socioeconomic disparities that have existed within the public education system since it was first established. There are, however, many critics of this approach. To better understand standardized testing, along with its benefits and controversies, this essay will provide an overview of the use of standardized testing within U.S. schools.

History

James Bryant Conant as President of Harvard College in 1933 helped establish the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), with the help of his assistant Henry Chauncey and the Princeton psychology professor Carl Brigham ("Americans Instrumental"). The SAT would be used to help…

Destructive Implications of Standardized Testing

At every level education, our instincts are to prize creativity, ingenuity, individuality and competitive excellence. Never is this more so than at the University level, where a great many students are working hard to prove that their unique and individualized talents make them of value in the working world. However, over the course of recent decades, a growing emphasis on the use of standardized testing to evaluate student ability, aptitude and performance is depriving students of the opportunity to focus on advancing this important and individualized ambitions. As the discussion hereafter will demonstrate, standardized testing is especially out-of-place in the University setting, promoting a one-dimensional way of assessing an incredibly diverse array of students and simultaneously interfering with the far more important pursuit of personal betterment intended by the university experience.

First and foremost among concerns regarding the use of standardized testing is the question…

Standardized testing guarantees the educational accountability in the academic achievement of all students (2010).

Another great aspect of standardized testing is the fact that they can be used across states and districts. In not only helps the students, but it also helps schools become better educating institutions because they, in a way, are being tested too. Standardized testing makes it possible for us to see where schools are failing its students. It improves accountability overall.

A bonus pro-of standardized testing is that it motivates students to really learn the material they are being taught -- as opposed to simply memorizing it for tests at school (Balanced Politics 2010). It is so important that we know where students are, whether they are behind others -- or ahead. There is reason to believe that a student who is behind may stay behind permanently because knowledge is cumulative (2010).

There has been research…

structure of standardized testing in K-12 education. As Wisconsin and the federal government need some manner to gauge teacher performance and student progress it falls on educators to find effective means of testing special education students. The WKCE system is discussed with a special emphasis on the alternate testing pathway.

This paper will focus on my experiences dealing with special education testing through the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination. All students are intended to take the WKCE which is created by the Department of Public Instruction and Wisconsin teachers. tudents take the test starting in grades 3, 5, 6, and 7. ubject matters includes Reading and Mathematics. In alternating years, students in grades 4, 8, and 10 take tests in Reading, Mathematics, cience, Language Arts, Writing, and ocial tudies. WKCE is administered to all the students enrolled in public schools during the fall of each year and determines competency (WDPI,…

The ironic acronym of the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) belies its inherent problems. As much as standardized testing has been hailed as a means of improving overall school and individual student performance, these methods use prejudicial and categorical unfair means to do so. Relying overly much on standardized testing like the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is wrong for several reasons. One, relying too much on standardized testing overlooks other domains of learning and achievement. No test can comprehensively measure all the elements of a good education. Second, standardized testing creates unnecessary stress and compounds mental health issues in young people. Third, standardized testing prevents teachers from engaging and inspiring students. Finally, standardized testing discriminates against the already disadvantaged, further entrenching inequality in education.
Standardized tests measure only specific skills, a narrow bandwidth of knowledge and cognition. Even the official Department of Education report on the FCAT…

Learning through Social interaction

hat personal experiences do you have with assessments? hile teaching middle school in San Diego, California, many of my colleagues, encouraged by worried administrators (who feared a loss of funds) were simply "teaching to the test" in anticipation of standardized testing at the end of each semester. No Child Left Behind created an ongoing source of tension as schools and teachers attempted to comply by assuring that students were familiar with the material that would be on the standardized tests. I was skeptical and joined with several other faculty members in working towards an alternative kind of assessment, beyond standardized tests.

e knew what much of the material would be on the tests, so of course we also focused on those topics. But we also established portfolios, not digital portfolios (we didn't really have the technology to create digital portfolios) but rather folders with hard copies…

School-Based Tutoring Programs Significantly Improve Student Performance on Standardized Tests?" othman & Henderson (2011) examine the impact of in-district, after-school tutoring programs on eighth grade students' standardized test scores in math and English (language arts). The results of the experimental research show that the tutoring program did have a statistically significant effect on improving test scores, versus the control group. The results pertain directly to a number of areas in educational policy, such as eligibility for funding under the No Child Left Behind Act. The Act mandates school compliancy, with the ultimate goal that "all students pass state proficiency exams in reading and math by the 2013-2014 academic year," (othman & Henderson, 2011, p. 1). Underperforming schools that receive Title 1 funds that are diverted towards achieving academic goals "are required to offer parents an opportunity for children to receive supplemental education services" such as tutoring (othman & Henderson, 2011,…

The push for new assessment models in online education comes largely from competition with its older brother, traditional education, says Mr. Ewell. Because distance education is comparatively new, he says, critics often hold it to a higher standard than traditional education when judging quality. It has more to prove, and is trying to use assessments that show its effectiveness as the proof. (Carnevale, 2001, (http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i31/31a04301.htm)

Yet, as many traditional educators fear, the concepts of outcomes-based evaluation, e.g. standardized assessments has been so widely accepted by the education world that traditional systems may be required to assess their own outcomes using the tools designed by e-education newbies.

Traditional educators are arguing against the validity of e-education in its most marketable and pure form, not as video conferencing within the context of lectures from historically accredited universities but from e-based systems that they see as handing out degrees to anyone who is…

Each standardized nursing language is designed for use in a number of clinical settings, including home care, ambulatory care, and inpatient treatment, with certain languages providing decided advantages within particular circumstances. Although it is true that "improved communication with other nurses, health care professionals, and administrators of the institutions in which nurses work is a key benefit of using a standardized nursing language" (utherford, 2008), the proliferation of several nursing languages throughout the years has inevitably resulted in discrepancies, wherein the personal preferences of nurses, the policy of a hospital's corporate ownership, or other factors determine when, where, and why a specific language is used.

To address the growing concern over the inability of nurse's to communicate through a single standardized language system, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) commissioned a comprehensive study which resulted in the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) being selected as the most advantageous option.…

Standardized Assessment Technique and Immigration

For quite a long time, immigration and crime have been closely linked with some pointing out that immigrants tend to have a particularly high rate of criminality. There are those, however, who feel that an increase in immigration rates has no impact whatsoever on crime. Based on my review of literature on this particular topic, greater immigration rates do not result in more crimes. In an attempt to get tough on immigrants -- in the mistaken belief that doing so could help reduce crime rates - states like Arizona have in the past enacted anti-immigration laws. Other states that have sought to implement anti-immigration laws include but they are not limited to South Carolina.

To begin with, although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Camarota and Vaughan (2009) point out "estimates that immigrants (legal and illegal) comprise 20% of inmates in prisons and jails,"…

American writers from both the antebellum South and the North commented on the great differences between the white people in the two regions (Ibid; Samuda).

Note though, the table data below regarding the percentage of males who completed high school by race, 1940-1980, which will provide data for further discussion regarding utilization of testing to stratify recruits:

Table 1 -- Males 18-21 Who Completed High School By Percentile

ace

1940

1950

1960

1970

1970

White

40

49

56

68

78

Black

11

18

33

49

60

(Source: Binkin, p.94)

How is it that tests designed to measure information that was given in school could be administered to populations who did not even attend school? And, when one takes population and demographic statistics into account, this historical bias deepens. At the outbreak of World War I, for instance, African-Americans were about 11% of the general population, and the Selective Service draft…

There are, for example, many ways for a student to present an understanding of the causes of the U.S. Civil War" (1999, p. 35).

Conclusion

The research showed high stakes standardized testing approaches are becoming increasingly commonplace in the nation's schools, and the outcome of these testing regimens has enormous implications for the students involved, as well as for their teachers and schools. The research also showed that by formulating standards to match these standardized tests, teachers run the risk of "teaching to the test" rather than providing their students with the type of education that is needed in the 21st century. While they are more complex and difficult to administer, the research also showed that portfolios and other assessment techniques such as capstone projects provide a more comprehensive and accurate way to determine how well students are learning and where they may need help.

eferences

Blasi, M. (2005). Standardized…

The opposing side, which sports a more eclectic set of disciplinary backgrounds and prides itself on a more sophisticated and inclusive perspective, divides human abilities into broad classes -- logical, spatial, interpersonal, verbal, etc. -- and labels each class an "intelligence." The two sides then proceed to talk past each other. (Casse, 1998, p. 33)

The resulting controversy then falls back to the idea of socio-cultural differences, and race/gender/culture/environment. (Skidmore & Aagaard, 2004, p. 304) Casse claims that by differing on core definitions of intelligence scientists are not good at comparing anything but data or defining concepts,

Scientists make bad dictionary writers and worse philosophers. Their main skills are in constructing experiments and generating explanations for what they observe. Neither of these endeavors requires agreement on what the words involved "mean" in any deep or absolute sense, only on ways of converting the elements of the theory at issue into…

No high-achieving nation tests every child, every year, in the way we're currently doing. They have much more intellectually ambitious assessments [or measuring not just memory but what students can do with knowledge].

-- Ed Finkel, 2010

As the epigraph above emphasizes, during an era when critical thinking skills have assumed new importance, young people's academic and professional careers are still being controlled by high-stakes standardized testing regimes and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for student performance. As a result, it is little wonder that there has been a growing tendency on the part of many educators to "teach to the test." Indeed, and as also underscored by the epigraph above, the classroom testing process itself can be viewed as being counterproductive to the extent that it detracts from long-term learning and the development of the critical thinking skills young people need today to be competitive in the workplace.…

"Schools will not be able to attract high-quality teachers to a system that stifles richness and creativity and emphasizes a narrow band of knowledge and a very restricted set of tests to measure it." Consequently, struggling schools will get worse as teachers move to more affluent public or private schools to teach. The students will suffer the consequences of inadequate instruction the most.

In the end, High Stakes Testing does not appear to be benefiting anyone except those who like to study data. The tests generate information from and about students and schools. However, that information is probably not very accurate due to the way the information is manipulated and the limitations of the tests themselves. The reality is that a better system of promoting student achievement and evaluating schools needs to be found. That system may include testing as one of its elements, but due to the negative impact…

Bridging the Gap between Testing and Technology in Schools," authors Michael Russell and alter Haney look at the potential effects of technology in schools on testing and assessment. The authors begin by stating that while many schools are emphasizing technological proficiency, state assessment methods often still make students take tests on paper. The writers argue that these written tests skew the results by undermining the performance of students who are used to digital technology. For the authors, taking a test on paper is like forcing modern accountants to take an accounting test using only an abacus.

The authors cite examples from several states and schools to support their argument. In Ohio, for example, students need to pass the Ohio Proficiency Test as a requirement for high school graduation. These Ohio students are just a small percentage students made to take such "high-stakes" tests across the country every year. Researchers worry…

Activity Description and Summary

Last spring I assisted Kathryn Gold, the testing administrator for my school, SEEALL Academy in Brooklyn, NY. I approached her about helping her with the New York Schools' State English & Language Arts and Math Exams that are taken every year. She was glad for me to help and explained my duties and role. During this testing period, I served as a proctor and helped monitor the test takers. My role also included handing out and picking up the tests.

Program Outcome ationale

The activity's relation to the program outcome of establishing leadership was summarily reached during this exercise. The conducting of such important testing requires stern discipline and formalized approaches that require a visionary approach. This theme is important and relates directly to establishing a solid teamwork between faculty as well. By working together with Kathryn, a new standard was set school wide that others…

ecognition of quality and lack there of should be a basic goal of the education system, as it strives to direct resources and change situations that are not meeting the demands of accountability, yet it is clear that High Stakes testing does a poor job identifying good schools and good teachers as it ignored, by default important information that is not available on the test scores. It has been clear for countless years that socioeconomics, for example plays a much larger role in most high stakes test scores than the ability of the teacher, as it does in many other issues surrounding student performance and even long-term lifetime outcomes. Excellent teachers in poorer school districts will be misidentified as substandard due to factors beyond their control, and students will be held back based on circumstances outside of their control, if a single form of assessment is to be the rule.…

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

An effort to improve the quality of education for all students and to ensure that no child is left behind, Massachusetts advocates, parents and educators of the Coalition for Authentic eform in Education (CAE) have proposed, House Bill 3660 for the reform of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAST) test.

The high rate of high school dropouts and gaps in achievement among cultures and economic levels has suggested an evaluation of Massachusetts current testing system. Massachusetts has experienced a drop-out rate of approximately 10,000 students per year over the last decade with the highest numbers among the Hispanic, African-American, low-income families, students with learning disabilities and language barriers.

This paper will illustrate the effect of high-stake test and student achievement. It will look at the current MCAST, the need for reform and the underlining challenges to provide equal and quality education to for children.

Advocates claim…

Because of this, students who had disabilities, low language proficiency, and who come from various ethnic backgrounds are viewed as such during the grading process. In addition, these kinds of assessments allow professors to not only assess whether the students have learned the subject matter, but also whether or not they have the skills to proceed in the academic realm. According to the Ohio Department of Education (n.d.), there are many types of assessment, including formal and informal that include everything from teacher observations to extended projects. By combining a variety of these formal and informal testing methods over an extended period of time using multiple assessors, students' predictions for success will be more accurate. This way, it is easier to determine whether or not students have learned the necessary skills and are ready to move on to the next level or obtain their degree. Although opponents of these ideas…

Education and the Analysis of Student Tests: Current Trends and ecommendations for Practice

In both the practical realm of educational provision and in education policies and legislation, the need to effectively and accurately measure the efficacy of various teaching methods and educational program is of paramount concern. There is a legislative mandate that all children in the United States have a right to a free and equal public education, and ethical principles also insist that all students receive the same opportunities for learning and growth. Given the practical constraints of providing public education on such a broad scale, it is also important that most students progress at approximately the same rate, so that instruction can be kept meaningful for all students. While this often translates to teaching towards the bottom of knowledge and skill levels represented in the class, it ought to mean being able to identify struggles and problems…

Management Strategy to Utilize Meta-Analysis Technique for Nuclear Energy and Waste Disposal and Create Social Sustainability

This research proposal explores the link between public perceptions of nuclear power, how those perceptions are formed, and what influence those opinions have on energy policy. These issues are important in light of two realities. First, nuclear energy is declining in its share of global energy. Second, nuclear energy offers what might well be the best solution to climate change. Given the threat posed by climate change, it makes sense that nuclear power would be increasing in share, not decreasing. This esearch proposal seeks to look at some of the issues facing nuclear power, and how it can overcome these issues to increase share going forward.

Table of Contents

Abstract ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgements iv

Table of Contents v

List of Tables viii

List of Figures vii

Chapter One: Introduction 1

Topic Overview 7…

Coding: Comparing Different Systems

Standardized comparisons are essential when evaluating a new drug. To understand the drug's efficacy relative to other drugs on the market and to place any adverse events in perspective requires an effective and uniform system of comparative analysis. "Coding of patient data is critical in the grouping, analysis, and reporting of data. Coding decisions directly impact submissions for New Drug Applications (NDAs), safety surveillance, and product labeling" (Troung & Li, 2007, p.1). This paper will review a number of the most popular methods of coding data, specifically MedDA and WHO Drug, and will examine their unique and specific uses. It will also assess attempts to provide greater standardization to the system of conducting research trials.

MedDA (Medical Dictionary for egulatory Activities) is the "globally accepted, clinically validated medical terminology used within all phases of the drug development process, including classification of medical events for clinical trials…

measurable assessment the determines a specific trait or attribute. For this example I have chosen the quality of "empathy" to be evaluated. The psychological test will be based on a Likert 5-point scale, where the testing subject will answer the question with a number 1-5 where 5 being the most likelihood to agree with the statement.

I feel that the world is mostly subjective experience.

I express emotions easily and readily.

I am in interested in philanthropy.

Others' feelings are important to me.

I think of others first.

I offer help when I think others may need it.

My feelings are often hurt at the things I see around me.

I enjoy being uplifted by the stories of others.

I feel a strong connection with others.

When people feel emotion I often feel it too.

Guidelines in Creating Psychological Tests

Psychological testing is the attempt to standardized and quantify certain…

colloquially individuals may think that some people are smarter than others, the more scientific term for the concept of being smart is intelligence. The notion of measuring a person's intelligence was first pursued in the early 1900s by Alfred Binet (Kamin, 1995). The French government was looking for a way in which to help predict which students would have the most difficulty in school (Kamin, 1995), so they hired Alfred Binet, who was a psychologist, to develop a test. Binet developed the first intelligence test, a version of which is still used today (Kamin, 1995). Intelligence testing really took off during World War I, when the U.S. army wanted a way to screen a high number of army recruits. This lead to the development of new forms of intelligence tests in order to determine which army recruits were of a higher intelligence and would be successfully in leadership roles (McGuire,…

Psychological Testing

Psychological tests are an important aspect of clinical psychology. Psychological tests are normally administered by professional psychologists as a way of learning fact on how people function or in predicting their future. The paper will look at the definition of the term test, give a description of the major categories of tests while identifying the major uses and users of these tests. There will also be comparing and contrasting the concepts of validity and reliability and a discussion of how they affect the psychological testing field.

Definition of tests

A test or examination is defined as an assessment aimed at measuring the knowledge, aptitude, skill, physical fitness or classification in other different topics. Tests can be administered orally, by use of a paper, computer or in the confinement of a specific area which requires the person taking the test to physically perform a specific set of skills. Tests…

7).

Although "one would expect higher quality assessment instruments that produce better information to make education decisions given NCLB-imposed penalties for districts associated with poor performance on the test...many states struggle with budget deficits and funding restrictions. They cannot allocate the funds necessary to improve the testing programs. States are forced to rely on large-scale assessments with too few questions and a narrow focus on skills and knowledge that are easily measured....representatives from the NJDOE [New Jersey Department of Education] have admitted publicly that finances, not technical integrity, drive the state's assessment program... [Their] current philosophy is 'do the best with what we have'" and is based upon the assumption that some testing, of whatever kind, is better than not testing at all (Tienken & ilson, 2007, p.16)

The irony is palpable -- the high-stakes nature of testing requires teachers, operating under finite limitations of time and money, to focus…

Curriculum Be Standardized for All?

The question of whether or not the curriculum should be standardized for all is indeed a hot button issue and one which garners a great deal of attention and controversy. When it comes to this particular issue, both sides actually raise very compelling points about what should be done and why standardizing the curriculum (and not standardizing the curriculum) is the best idea. Fundamentally, both sides approach this issue so strongly as a result of the fact that education, both private and public education as they exist in America, are deeply flawed and barely educate our children in a manner which allows them to compete with the best and brightest talent all over the world.

What challenges or problems does the issue present?

The biggest problem that the controversy presents is the fact that both sides raising valid points about how to handle this issue:…

articles on high-stakes testing. Specifically, it will review the three articles, and include how the articles changed my personal views on high-stakes testing. Clearly, testing is a necessity in the educational environment, and yet, many forms of testing seem to be more a form of control and labeling rather than a way to accurately measure the student's expected and actual learning outcomes. High-stakes testing may help reinforce the school district's learning standards and outcomes, but it may not be the method most effective in measuring the child's development and learning potential.

What is the purpose of educational testing? Ostensibly, it exists to measure a student's progress throughout the school year, but it can also be a measure of the educator and district's success in passing on information from educator to learner. Most parents and professionals want some measure of proof that their children are receiving a quality education that can…

Intelligence/Pesonality Tests

The concept of intelligence and the pactice (and pacticality) of testing fo intelligence has been one of the moe contovesial aeas of psychology and psychometics since the fist tests wee developed and administeed a centuy ago. Fa fom thee being a consensus in the scientific community on exactly what makes up intelligence, the list of chaacteistics that compise intelligence has instead been a matte of exteme and ongoing debate. Measuing intelligence in individuals has found an even geate shae of disageement and contovesy. Even when eseaches ae able to agee on what aspects should be measued to develop an accuate pictue of intelligence, the methods poposed and implemented fo testing these aeas have often been widely disputed. The contovesy suounding intelligence testing eached new heights in the ea of cultual divesity, as it became clea that the standad intelligence tests in use fo the bette pat of the…

Cognitive Ability Testing

Psychological testing or psychological assessment is the strategy that psychologists use to determine the core component of individual personality, cognitive ability and IQ (intelligence quotient). It is the process of identifying individual strengths and weakness. In essence, cognitive ability is one of the important strategies for the psychological assessment. Traditionally, cognitive ability assessment primarily involves the use of pencil and paper to determine a wide range of individual abilities that include problem solving, intellectual functioning, language skills, and memory. With the advanced development of information technology, there is an increase in the use of computer technology to carry out the assessment. The cognitive testing uses both qualitative and quantitative approach to determine individual cognitive ability, and the results are interpreted based on the normative data collected.

Objective of this study is to carry out the assessment of cognitive ability of students and non-students using the Cognitive Abilities…

Are schools that received bad test scores really bad schools? Many of the schools that get bad scores are still having students selected to go to elite colleges. It seems as if the ultimate thing that needs to be looked at is if these states tests are valid and reliable. Are the tests a good measure of school performance or are they simply just another social stigma that society needs to deal with on a daily basis.

For Questions 1 through 5, underline or bold "Rel" if the statement affects the reliability of a test. Underline or bold "Val" if the statement contributes to enhancing validity. (1.0 point each).

1. Rel Val Specify the content to be tested.

2. Rel Val Increase the number of items on a test.

3. Rel Val Have someone judge whether the item measures the intended target.

4. Rel Val Identify appropriate uses of…

Achievement Testing

Howell and ueda in their article Achievement Testing with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students question the veracity of the widely used Standardized Norm-eferenced Achievement Test (SNAT) in measuring systematic differences among group means. As they point out, SNAT characteristics, are: completely nonaligned with instruction; assume a uniform curriculum, schooling, language proficiency and sociocultural experience across student groups; and are designed for an outside purpose of formulating education policy. Given the limitations of SNATs, Howell and ueda explore the alternative Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) and the Performance Assessment (PA) approaches to student achievement. Though more aligned to classroom curriculum and instruction, these alternatives too have their limitations. The CBM focus on task-analytic decomposition of complex domains, for example, is of concern for teachers of language minority students who commonly use more holistic or 'whole-language' approaches. Similarly, the reliance of PA on the use of complex and interactive tasks is more…

Psychological Testing.

Teachers must test. It is one method of evaluating progress and determining individual student needs. More than two hundred and fifty million standardized tests are administered each year to forty four million students who attend American elementary and secondary schools (Ysseldyke et al. 1992). Testing is only part of the broader conception of assessment. Testing is the sampling of behavior in students to obtain scores (quantitative indexes) or relative standing. In addition teachers and other school personnel assess or collect data through classroom observations, interviews with students' family members or care-givers. Psychological and psycho-educational tests are used in schools to help to identify types and bases and the extent of a student's learning difficulty or school adjustment problem. The assessment is used to make decisions about students.

At a curricular level, tests help to determine the effectiveness of a particular instructional intervention. Teachers give tests before and after…

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Individual Psychological Testing in the Workplace



Faced with an ever increasing competitive business environment, many employers are turning to employment testing as a way to improve their workforces. Every organization wants to ensure that they hire the right person. Job applicants may submit an effective resume and perform well during an interview, but they usually highlight only positive attributes. Psychological testing has been identified as one way of ensuring that the business picks an applicant who is a perfect fit for the position and actually can do the work required. Physiological tests have been validated by experts as a very good indicator of an applicant's working style. Testing potential employees can increase the chances that a company chooses the right person for a job, reduce turnover and their by lower training costs.

Specific Psychological Testing used in the Workplace

Personality Tests:

Personality tests are self-report measures…

Intelligence Testing

The author of this report is asked to answer three general questions about intelligence. The first question asks for the general underpinnings and genesis of the discussions about intelligence including what was suggested by Binet as well as the general definition and formulations of the intelligence quotient, or IQ. The second question and discussion is about the challenges to the definition of intelligence as offered and suggested by Gardner, Spearman and others. Finally, there is to be an evaluation of which definitions could or should be use as the basis for intelligence testing.

Binet was indeed one of the pioneers of the intelligence and intelligence-measuring field. His contributions to the early discussions of intelligence are mentioned in the work of Cicciola et al. (2014). Cicciola talks about the genesis of the intelligence quotient instrument and the general concept of intelligence. He notes that the names involved in that…

Cultural Fairness of the Stanford-Binet-5 (SB5) Intelligence Scale

This paper reviews the literature to determine whether the Standford-Binet-5 (SB5) Intelligence Scale can be regarded as being culturally fair. A discussion concerning how creativity can be measured is followed by an assessment concerning whether people should be told their IQ scores and their rationale in support. Finally, a summary of the research concerning these issues is presented in the conclusion.

The SB5 can be used with virtually any age range spanning 2 years through 90 years+ (Machek, 2006). The updated SB5 also provides a number of useful measures, including a Full Scale score, Visual-Spatial Processing, Fluid easoning, Quantitative easoning Knowledge, and Working Memory together with scales for verbal and nonverbal performance comparisons (Machek, 2006). Even one of the designers of the SB5, though, concedes that the results of this intelligence quotient (IQ) test must be carefully evaluated and interpreted by recognizing…

Psychological Tests and Measurements

The issue of cultural bias in the various mental tests has been followed by controversies over many decades and to the present time still elicits debates across the academic spectrum. The controversy or conflict is not just limited to the cognitive ability tests alone but spreads wide to the IQ test. The IQ test in particular has elicited myriad of debates, has seen court cases filed and received its fair share of criticism. However, in as much as these IQ tests and other standardized tests have been widely criticized, they still remain to be the best tools that America has for gauging both aptitude and achievement. There are several reasons why these tests can be considered unfair to culture or not sensitive to culture, one of the reasons is that the content of these tests are geared towards the majority experiences and the values common among…

The school nurse can use interaction time with students to educate them on
wearing a seat belt, or a helmet when riding a bicycle. The nurse can also
provide education on first aid and CPR, perhaps enlisting the Red Cross or
the local fire department for assistance in the training. School nurses
are also available to help children with disabilities, everything from
providing glucose monitoring and insulin administration to the patency of
feeding tubes, depending on the special needs population of the school.

The discipline under which the school nurse works determines the scope of
practice. The nurse can either be a licensed practical nurse, a registered
nurse or even in some cases, an advanced registered nurse practitioner.
The degree of education preparation depends upon the degree of licensure
and can go anywhere from an Associate to a Master's Degree.

There are many societies which provide continuing education and
accreditation…

person is given a raw score on a particular test the person has no way of knowing how their score compares with other scores on the same test. For example, if a person got a raw score of 62 on a test of reading the person really does not know what that score means relative to the scores of other people who took the same test. When people describe themselves or someone else being as scoring at a particular percentile on a certain ability or test they are referring to the percentile rank scored on a particular test. The percentile rank represents the number of people at or below a particular score on the test (unyon, Coleman, & Pittenger, 2000). For instance, the statement such as, "My child is in the 75th percentile in reading," means that the child scored higher than 75% of other children who took the same…

Teacher Standard

The 2009-2010 Accountability Progress Reporting System issued by the Department of Education from the state of California contains information necessary to understand the laws and requirements necessary for public educators to meet. The state of California issues adequate yearly progress report (AYP) to not only issued guidance but also to take accountability of what the new standards will be for the future of educators and what things they need to know in order to continue on with their profession.

This document first introduces the key changes that will be implemented throughout the new year and how they differ from the past. This report breaks down California's progress in two different methods by state accountability requirements and by federal accountability requirements. State mandated requirements stem from California's public school accountability act of 1999 and the federal mandated requirements stem from the Elementary and Secondary education act that was passed…

Teachers should feel the pressure when their students do not succeed while opponents argue that placing such pressure on teachers just adds to the problem and makes success just that more difficult and unlikely.

Even the most ardent opponents to standardized testing among the teaching profession would likely argue that the demand for accountability is a legitimate one. Every profession needs to establish its credibility among the public and teachers should not be immune from this process, however, what has been lost in the process of trying to make teachers accountable is the value of what can be learned beyond the preparation for the standardized test. There is a necessity and value in establishing accountability but the method of using the standardized test to do so must be questioned.

When the use of standardized testing first came into vogue throughout the U.S. The goal was to establish a procedure for…

Schools are the instrument of change. Do you agree? Why or Why not? Yes, I agree, we as educators have a lot to do with what way a child will go and choices that they will make. In school we have the power to build confidence, and show students how to communicate and what it takes to be a productive person, contributing to society in a positive manner.

Do you feel focusing the school year on standardized testing preparation prevents building the student-teacher relationship? Yes, I believe that those relationships are harder to build focusing on standardized testing. The classroom is more mechanical, and repetitive. However a great teacher will find ways to still build those relationships with their students. The interview with Larissa really made me evaluate my current philosophies. I understand the importance of focus on the student as an individual and attempting to mold those things in…

functional literacy activities? What are some examples?

Functional literacy activities refer to activities that focus on reading or writing in direct connection to actual tasks that can be easily applied or used in the real world. For example, functional literary activities might involve reading street signs, reading maps or drafting a grocery list.

What are ways to share literature with young children? What are important factors to consider when selecting literature to share and stocking classroom libraries? What are some effective story-reading strategies (read-alouds and shared reading)?

One way to share literature with young children would be to present it in the most dynamic and hands on approach possible. For example, using puppets or dolls or figurines when presenting a new book to students can be a way to help engage students' minds and imagination. Or dynamic follow-up activities which relate to the text can also be used with success:…

President X of Education:

Even proponents of high-stakes standardized testing for grades K-12 have argued that such tests should be only one measure amongst many to validate the effectiveness of a school or student. Yet the emphasis placed upon such tests in determining school ratings and the increasing proportion of the day devoted to preparing for such exams has inevitably fostered teaching to the test rather than teaching higher-level concepts. There are concerns as well that students are being placed largely due to their scores based solely on a single result on a high-stakes state test (Hamilton, Halverson, Jackson, Mandinach, Supovitz, & Wayman16). Furthermore, the pressure on many teachers to demonstrate that students are performing well as a collective group often causes them to focus unduly upon 'bubble' students (students who are just below the cutoff) rather than raising the academic performance of the class as a while (Hamilton, et…

Askov points out that many adults returning to the educational system after failing to meet its standards will not succeed in a system that is built upon the same ideals. Race, class, gender, and corresponding power structures also play into how educators approach adult learners. Adult education presents a host of challenges not present in elementary education, problems that refer to the very values upon which the society is formed. Research and theories in psychology and learning present multiple perspectives upon which educators and policy makers can build a more promising future for adult learners. Visions for the future include embedding metacognitive skills into adult learning programs. Adult learners need literacy skills, not so they can score well on standardized testing but so they can reach their highest potential as human beings. Grassroots movements may be the key to promoting adult literacy throughout the country, to making adult literacy and…

The teachers were given professional development instruction solely to deal with students with special (remedial) needs. Teachers were told to identify the gifted and talented if they felt a student showed a unique aptitude but were not given specific instruction as to how to do so.

For students who had tested as Advanced Proficient on the NJASK, teachers staid they did strive to make their instructional plan more challenging, enlightening, and intriguing to gifted and talented students. They said they tried to group students of similar ability together and give the gifted students more challenging work and when assigning individual projects such as reading novels and open-ended math problems. They said they gave the gifted work that was above grade level, in contrast to the student's peers.

While the teachers claimed to differentiate instruction and said that this was adequately met by in-class tracking, they also admitted to feeling overwhelmed…