The Test Gather Information About The Students Progress

On the other hand, criterion-referenced tests gather information about the students’ progress or accomplishments in relation to a specific criteria (Gottlieb, 2006). These tests are designed to show how students achieve in comparison to standards, usually state standards. In other words, these tests evaluate what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific time, so the students will demonstrate if they have met the standards. One of the advantages of these tests is that teachers can plan based on the student’s needs. Each state is in charge of developing their own standards for each subject area. Examples of these assessments are the Stanford Achievement Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (DeVries, 2011). Diagnostic†¦show more content†¦The following are other examples of diagnostic tests used to assess sight words. Those are the Gilmore Oral Reading Test: Word recognition in context, and the Diagnostic Reading Scales (Individual test): Decoding skills and word recognition (DeVries, 2011). Validity and Reliability, and Standard Error of Measurement One of the advantages of standardized tests is that they are designed for validity and reliability.They are the most important features of a test because it indicates the quality and usefulness of the assessment (DeVries, 2011, p. 44). Validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure (Center for Public Education, 2006). Reliability is necessary but also needs to be valid. For example, if I weigh myself in a scale that is off by five pounds, the scale will read my weight everyday with an additional of 5 pounds. The scale is reliable because it consistently shows me the same weight every day, but it is not valid because the scale is not showing my real weight. The same can be said with the assessments in the classroom. If an assessment was provided to the students to measure their achievement and ability in a particular subject, but instead the assessment measures concepts; then, the assessment is not valid (Education Portal, 2014). There are some factors that can affect validity (Education Portal, 2014). For example,