Standardized Achievement Literacy Flashcards

A student scores at the 72nd percentile on a reading achievement test. What does this mean?

Answer: The student scored higher than 72% of the norm group

A percentile rank indicates the percentage of students in the norm group who scored at or below that score.

Which type of score directly shows the proportion of test items a student answered correctly?

Answer: Raw score percentage

A raw score percentage (or percent correct) shows exactly what fraction of items a student got right.

On a standardized achievement test, 'content validity' refers to:

Answer: Whether test items adequately represent the domain being measured

Content validity concerns how well test items sample the full range of knowledge or skills in the target domain.

A school district wants to compare its students' math achievement to a national sample. Which score type is most useful?

Answer: Norm-referenced percentile ranks

Norm-referenced percentile ranks situate student performance relative to a national comparison group.

What is the primary purpose of a criterion-referenced achievement test?

Answer: To determine whether students have mastered specific skills or standards

Criterion-referenced tests measure performance against a fixed standard or set of skills rather than against other test-takers.

Which of the following best describes a 'stanine' score?

Answer: A nine-point normalized standard score scale

Stanines divide the normal distribution into nine bands, with stanine 5 at the center and each band roughly half a standard deviation wide.

A teacher notices that a reading test's reliability coefficient is 0.58. This suggests:

Answer: The test results may not be very consistent or dependable

A reliability coefficient of 0.58 is considered low; high-stakes tests typically require coefficients above 0.90.