ERIC Number: ED199275
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1981-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Uses and Misuses of Test Scores: Technical Assistance Perspective.
Echternacht, Gary
The uses and misuses of standardized test results used for program evaluation as seen by a staff member of an Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I Technical Assistance Center are described. In ESEA Title I, test scores are used to select students for the program. Although federal requirements do not require using standardized test scores for selecting students, most states encourage or require their use. Test scores are also used by both regular classroom teachers and Title I teachers to form ability groups for instruction. Frequently a school will either administer a diagnostic test to Title I students or use standardized test results to make general diagnoses. Test results are also used for short term and long term program evaluation. Four categories of the misuse of standardized test results are: (1) "filed and forgotten" which indicates that the test scores are used only for mandatory reporting; (2) "big bang" which criticizes the overinterpretation of test scores; (3) "reliance on grade equivalent scores" which confuse interpretation; and (4) "interpreting summative evaluation results without formative evaluation results" which represents an explanation without a proper context. (Author/RL)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A