Achievement Tests

Nearly all teachers must administer standardized or state-wide tests at one time or another. While it is not always possible to receive the results in a timely enough fashion to make adjustments within the same school year, a teacher should look at incoming students' achievement test scores from previous years in order to identify strengths and/or weaknesses. By analyzing test results, a teacher can diagnose strengths and weaknesses of particular students and plan his or her teaching accordingly. An analysis of all test results for a particular grade can illuminate weaknesses in the curriculum that a teacher needs to address or areas that require greater emphasis. Teachers should make use of data from these assessments to help refine content as well as instructional strategies.

Criterion-referenced assessment is a test that measures student achievement against well-defined criteria for a specific learning objective or performance standard. An example of criterion-referenced assessment is the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).

Norm-referenced assessment is a test that measures a student's quantitative scores (such as how many items the student answered correctly) against a normal distribution of scores by other students of the same age or grade. This kind of testing is often used to rank students, measure their relative standing, and assess their general knowledge across broad areas. Examples of norm-referenced assessment are Terra Nova, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and SAT-9.