No Child Left Behind
Standardized Assessment
Standardized assessments are professionally developed tests administered
under standard conditions, producing scores that can be used to evaluate
programs or children. The type of standardized test required by NCLB is
designed to determine whether children within a state are meeting the
state standards of learning for their grade and subject. These
assessments start with decisions at the state level about what a fourth
grader, for example, should know and be able to do in mathematics by the
end of the fourth grade. Next, questions are developed that are aligned
with these standards. After children take the test and they are scored,
a report is generated that indicates not only whether the child scored
we enough to pass the state standards, but also how well he performed in
each area of mathematics tested.
Score reports also indicate how children within each tested grade in
each school performed, how districts performed, and how children across
the state performed. NCLB requires that scores for schools and districts
be disaggregated so that the performance of children from different
subgroups can be examined. Standardized tests aligned with state
standards are essential for administrators to determine whether schools
are meeting their goals under NCLB.
Classroom Example: An 8 grade math teacher in Texas collects and records
the scores his entering students received at the end of the 7th
grade on the math section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and
Skills. By studying these results, he’s able to identify children who
may need extra help to succeed. He records the same students’ scores at
the end of the 8 grade school year. Comparing the two sets of scores,
the teacher can see with which students he had the most success. He also
compares the end-of-the-year average score for his whole class with the
scores for all the 8 grade students in his school, his district, and
across the whole state.
Dynamic
Assessment
Dynamic assessments are embedded in ongoing instruction in the
classroom. Teachers assess individual students according to their
instructional goals during teaching and learning interactions. Teachers
conduct these assessments frequently and keep a systematic record of how
individual children perform. They use this information to tailor and
shape instruction to the needs of children in the class, as we compare
their progress against instructional goals.
Screening Assessment
Screening assessments are given to all children at the beginning of the
class or school year.
The purposes is to identify children who may have difficulties in a
subject area. These difficulties need to be addressed if they are going
to succeed. Screening tests are short and involve questions that probe
for the presence of basic skills and abilities.
Classroom Example: A fourth grade teacher in Minnesota always begins
the year by meeting with each student individually and having the
student read aloud for a minute from the page of a book they will read
later in the year. She performs an individual reading analysis, focusing
on each student’s fluency and decoding abilities. She carefully notes
how many words each student reads per minute, his or her accuracy and
fluency, and whether or not he or she reads with any expression. She
knows that those who struggling this exercise are likely to be
struggling readers who are not ready for the academic tasks of their
peers. She works with them over the first few weeks of class to increase
their readiness.
Standardized
Assessment
Dynamic Assessment
Screening Assessment
Internet Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Assessment Homepage
