Ch+3+essay

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1. One major impetus for the passage of federal special education laws was concern over misuse of standardized tests with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Using Table 3–2 in the text as a guide, discuss several inappropriate assessment practices of the past and explain the current legal safeguards to prevent the recurrence of these practices. Non-English speaking students assessed in English. How unfair is this? This is just like saying I have to take my driving test in French. Of course I will do poorly, I do not know the language. This is unfair to the student. This does not mean the student does not know the material on the test, they just do not know the language. Measures must be provided and administered in the home language. This is just common sense. Placement decisions made without a complete evaluation of the student. Once again, a full assessment is necessary. A student may be weak with some skills and strong with others. A variety of measures must be used to gather info. about functional, developmental and academic proformance.

2. On norm-referenced tests, the standard of comparison against which a student's performance is evaluated is the performance of age (or grade) peers in the norm group. Explain the standard of comparison for informal assessment tools such as classroom quizzes, inventories, and criterion-referenced tests. These tests provide a standard against which the proformence of each student can be compared. These tests determine if the student has mastered certain skills.

3. When professionals select a tool for assessment, they consider not only the technical quality of the measurement device, but also the particular purpose for which it will be used. Tell why a technically poor measure is never an appropriate assessment tool. Then give an example of a situation in which a technically adequate measure is inappropriate because it does not fit the purpose of the assessment. Some measurement tools can be valid for one purpose but not another. An example of this could be, to give a student a written test on physical fitness. You would get much better results to test the student with a physical fitness challange.

4. Grade equivalents are available on many tests, although there are many criticisms of this type of score. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of grade scores, giving your opinion on the International Reading Association's recommendation that grade equivalents be eliminated from standardized tests. I personally am not a very good test taker. My strong points are public speaking and hands on projects. Because I will not score well on a standardized test does not mean I do not know the material. This is also true for many other students.

5. Discuss several potential sources of bias in the assessment process, including the selection of inappropriate procedures. Identify five ways in which bias can be introduced into assessment, and discuss how each can be prevented. Translation of different languages for standarized tests. This can easily be introduced by translating the material to the students home language. Use of interpreters to translate language and for better communication. Replacement of standardized tests with informal procedures. This tests the student differently than basic tests.