1. What is standardized testing?

2. Standardized tests are any tests that are
administered and scored
in a pre-specified, standard manner
• The same questions and/or tasks are required of each
test-taker
• The same information is provided to each test-taker
immediately before and during the test
• Each test-taker has the same amount of time allowed to
take the test
• Responses are scored in the same way

3. Standardized tests are usually used
in large-scale settings in an attempt to
assess the performance of students across
whole schools, districts, states, and nations
For this reason, standardized tests are
often also referred to as
large-scale assessments

4. In practice, large-scale testing has led to some
limitations.
In theory, standardized tests are not limited to any particular
assessment approach. They just need to be standard in their
approach.
But in practice, standardized tests usually use easy-to-score
and easy-to-administer kinds of items, such as multiple
choice and short answer. This is because of the large-scale in
which they are used and the cost and complication of scoring
other more complex forms of student work.

5. What is the effect of
these limits of large-scale assessment?
Reliance on multiple-choice items
limits the depth at which
a test can probe
for students’ understanding and thinking.
This is one reason why standardized test scores
should not be the only measure of a student’s
knowledge and performance.

6. There are two major types of standardized tests:
• Achievement tests (designed to measure students’ specific
knowledge and skills). Examples include: California
Achievement Tests, Stanford Achievement Tests,
Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Tests of Basic
Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests.
• Aptitude tests (designed to predict how well students are
likely to perform in another setting—like college).
Examples include: SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) and
ACT.

7. There are two major ways of scoring tests
• Norm-referenced scoring (scoring is based on
comparing a student’s score to that of other students)
• Criterion-referenced scoring (scoring is based on how
well the student has mastered the content of the test).

8. There is lots of controversy surrounding
standardized testing.
• Concerns with Effects of Testing. Some believe that
overemphasis on testing leads to “teaching to the
test,” making the actual curriculum shallow, and that
such tests disrupt the school year, significantly
reduce time spent learning, cause anxiety, etc.
• Belief in Importance of Testing. Others see such tests as
a necessary part of standards-based reform and
support their implementation.
There are many shades of opinion within the debate.

9. Misuse of Standardized Test Scores
Standardized tests scores are meant to measure
student performance, not the educational
effectiveness of schools.
Questions on these tests reflect students’ aptitude
and things learned outside of school over which a
teacher or school has no control. This makes them
a poor measure of teachers and/or schools. Such
tests are not designed for teacher or school
evaluation purposes.