STANDARDIZED TESTS
Definition:
1. A test with specific tasks and procedures so that comparable measurements may be made by
testers working in different geographical areas. 2. A test for which norms on a reference group, ordinarily
drawn from many schools or communities, are provided.
Examples:
Examples of standardized tests being used for assessment:
 Major Field Achievement Test [MFAT] in cognate areas or for General Education
Major field examinations are administered in a variety of disciplines. They often are given to
students upon or near completion of their major field of study. These tests assess the ability of
students to analyze and solve problems, understand relationships, and interpret material
 ETS’ Academic Profile
 ACT's Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP)
 ACT - COMP (College Outcome Measures Program)
Measures knowledge and skills acquired by students in general education courses.
 See http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ae0/al_tools.html and http://ericae.net/testcol.htm,
for listings of broad-based standardized tests and standardized tests within disciplines.
Some specialized standardized tests in:
Critical Thinking
o Test of Critical Thinking Ability
o Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal
o Ennis, Robert H. “An Annotated List of Critical Thinking Tests” June 2002
http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/rhennis/TestListM9Y01.html
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving & Writing
o NPEC Sourcebook of Assessment Information
http://nces.ed.gov/npec/evaltests/
Science/Math
o
o
“Field-tested learning Assessment Guide
http://www.flaguide.org/tools/tools.htm
Math Forum @ Drexel-Library-Assessment/Testing
http://mathforum.org/library/ed_topics/assessment
There are also the exams for licensure or certification in specific programs.
Costs:
Costs vary depending on the selected standardized test. But, keep in mind that there are annual
costs associated with administering standardized tests. And, in some ways, using a pre-tested, validated
and normed test costs less then the time put into developing, administering and assessing locally developed
tests.
Advantages:
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Easy to administer to groups
Require minimal training for test administrators
Very little professional time is needed beyond faculty efforts to analyze examinations results and
develop appropriate curricular changes that address the findings.
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Tests are traditionally given to students in large numbers and do not require faculty involvement
when exams are taken by students.
Have documentation of reliability (consistency of results over time) and predictive validity (ability
to forecast students' performance on a criterion, such as first-year GPA in graduate school).
In most cases, nationally developed tests are devised by experts in the discipline.
Institutional comparison of students is possible.
Can assist departments in determining programmatic strengths and weaknesses when compared to
other programs and national data.
In most cases, standardized testing is useful in demonstrating external validity.
Funding sources accept them as part of the documentation of program accountability
Provide the ability to baseline and benchmark
Disadvantages:
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Potential of teaching to the test and thus narrowing the curriculum
Can promote an emphasis on lower-order thinking if the test questions aren’t scrutinized for
higher order thinking.
May not capture incremental changes in learning over short periods of instructional time
Lack of a guarantee that the instrument will cover a program's learning objectives.
Students may not be motivated to do well on exams, and incentives may be required.
It may be difficult to schedule time for students to take exams.
Choosing the best exam may be time-consuming
Standardized tests can be expensive to administer on a yearly basis.
By their very nature, tend to be generic and not well focused on specific skills or competencies.
Language, literacy, and culture are not treated distinctly; that is, they do not tell us whether a
learner has trouble with an item because he or she is unfamiliar with the cultural notion underlying
the task
They do not reflect what has been taught and do not capture all the learning that has taken place,
especially in the affective domain.
They focus on pencil and paper tasks, and therefore do not provide opportunities for literacy
learners to show what they can do in "real life".
Implementation Suggestions:
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The results of testing will have meaning to the learners and instructors only if the test content is
related to the goals and content of the instruction and instructional time is sufficient
Clearly identify the purpose of the assessment (why the learners are being assessed) and what
learning is to be assessed
Explore the variety of choices by first reading the commercial literature.
Rank order choices and review actual exams.
Consider sample size, logistics and incentives.
Strive for administrator, faculty and student buy-in.
If an institution is using multiple measures, there can be a place in the assessment plan for using
standardized tests.
Ensure that adequate resources are available to carry out the assessments (e.g., enough materials,
comfortable environment, adequately trained administrators and scorers).
Be aware of the limitations of the assessments selected.
Remember that assessment is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Share assessment results
with learners and instructors, as well as with administrative staff and funders and the results as a
basis for decisions.
If the standardized instruments do not measure the cognitive areas articulated in mission and
purposes statements (e.g., ethnically responsible decision-making), then it’s best to locally develop
relevant instruments.
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Evaluators suggest that passing rates on licensure or certification exams do not per se provide
direct evidence of the level of achievement in the specific area of student competencies or skills
tested. Unless licensure or certification exam scores are supplemented by information about how
well students did in each of the subject matter areas covered in the exam, results are not likely to
be useful to academic units that intend to use the scores as an indicator of student learning.
Recommendation:
Direct measures of student learning yield useful information about the value added to a student's
learning by the general education program, the major, or professional program, especially when the results
from multiple measures are triangulated and are compared with (1) baseline data and/or with (2) data from
other measures taken over time.
Bibliography/Resources:
“Assessment Instruments and Methods Available to Assess Student Learning in the Major.” UW-Madison
Assessment Manual. April 2000. <http://www.wisc.edu/provost/assess/manual/manual2.html>
“Direct Measures of Student Learning.” NAU Assessment. Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Studies. January 28, 2002.
<http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~libst-p/assessment/ast_resources/index/amm1.cfm>
“Tests (Standardized and Locally Developed.” Institutional Effectiveness. Assessment. University of
Kentucky. July 19, 2002. < http://www.uky.edu/Assessment/mtest.shtml>
Van Kollenburg, Susan E., ed. A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement:
Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the North Central Association: Engaging the Future:
Vision, Values, and Validation in the New Educational Marketplace. Chicago, The Higher
Learning Commission. 2002.