- Standardized and other formal assessments
administered individually to determine if the child has a disability. For example, if a kindergarten child is having
trouble with oral communication, a standardized language development test could be administered to determine if
there are difficulties with understanding the meaning of words or sentence structures, noticing sound differences in
similar words, or articulating words correctly (Peirangelo & Guiliani, 2002). It would also be important to
determine if the child was a recent immigrant, had a hearing impairment or mental retardation. The diagnosis of
learning disabilities typically involves the administration of at least two types of standardized tests—an aptitude test
to assess general cognitive functioning and an achievement test to assess knowledge of specific content areas
(Peirangelo & Guiliani, 2006). We discuss the difference between aptitude and achievement tests later in this
chapter.
Selecting students for specific programs
Standardized tests are often used to select students for specific programs. For example, the SAT (Scholastic
Assessment Test) and ACT (American College Test) are norm referenced tests used to help determine if high school
students are admitted to selective colleges. Norm referenced standardized tests are also used, among other criteria,
to determine if students are eligible for special education or gifted and talented programs. Criterion referenced tests
are used to determine which students are eligible for promotion to the next grade or graduation from high school.
Schools that place students in ability groups including high school college preparation, academic, or vocational
programs may also use norm referenced or criterion referenced standardized tests. When standardized tests are
used as an essential criteria for placement they are obviously high stakes for students.
Assisting teachers’ planning
Norm referenced and criterion referenced standardized tests, among other sources of information about
students, can help teachers make decisions about their instruction. For example, if a social studies teacher learns
that most of the students did very well on a norm referenced reading test administered early in the school year he
may adapt his instruction and use additional primary sources. A reading teacher after reviewing the poor end-of-
the-year criterion referenced standardized reading test results may decide that next year she will modify the
techniques she uses. A biology teacher may decide that she needs to spend more time on genetics as her students
scored poorly on that section of the standardized criterion referenced science test. These are examples of
assessment for learning which involves data-based decision making. It can be difficult for beginning teachers to
learn to use standardized test information appropriately, understanding that test scores are important information
but also remembering that there are multiple reasons for students’ performance on a test.
Accountability
Standardized tests results are increasingly used to hold teachers and administrators accountable for students’
learning. Prior to 2002, many States required public dissemination of students’ progress but under NCLB school
districts in all states are required to send report cards to parents and the public that include results of standardized
tests for each school. Providing information about students’ standardized tests is not new as newspapers began
printing summaries of students’ test results within school districts in the 1970s and 1980s (Popham, 2005).
However, public accountability of schools and teachers has been increasing in the US and many other countries and
this increased accountability impacts the public perception and work of all teachers including those teaching in
subjects or grade levels not being tested.