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CHAPTER 5
STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT
A standardized test is an assessment instrument which has uniform procedures for
administration, design, scoring, and ongoing research. It also has an important element that is the
presupposition of an accepted set of standards on which to base the procedure.
In the twentieth century, standardized instruments brought with them convenience, efficiency,
and an air of empirical science. In school, for example, millions of children could be led into a room,
seated, and instantly assessed on their achievement in subject matter areas in their curricula. In the end
of the twentieth century, teachers saw not only possible inequity in such tests but a disparity between
the content and tasks of the tests and what they were teaching in the classroom. There are efforts on a
part of educational leaders to base common school-administered standardized tests on clearly specified
criteria within each context being measured. The construction of such standards makes possible a
concordance between standardized test specifications and the goals and objectives of educational
programs.
ELD STANDARDS
Standards in English Language Development involve a comprehensive study of a number of
domains:
Literally thousands of categories of language ranging from phonology, discourse, pragmatics,
functional to sociolinguistics
Specification of what ELD students’ need are
A consideration of what a realistic number and scope of standards to be included within a given
curriculum
A separate set of standards for teachers to teach ELD students successfully
A thorough analysis of the means available to assess student attainment those standards
Since English has become an international language, many countries insert English a subject in
their curriculum. The minister of education requires the specification of standards on which to base
curricular objectives. In order to do that, California was the one of the first states to generate standards.
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ELD ASSESSMENT
The development of standards obviously implies the responsibility for correctly assessing their
attainment. In the new developed standards, teachers also create standards-based assessment. Its
development can be seen from the comprehensive process that still continues as curriculum and
assessment specialist design, revise, and validate numerous test. However, the process of administering
the assessments still needs to be perfected. One of efforts can be seen from the development of LALAR
system that provides useful data on students’ performance at all grade levels for oral production, and
for reading and writing in elementary and middle school grades.
CASAS AND SCANS
Standards-based assessment systems have also had an enormous impact for higher education
level.
CASAS (the Comprehensive Adult Students Assessment System)
It includes more than 80 standardized assessment instruments used to place learners in
programs, diagnose learners’ need, monitor progress, and certify mastery of functional basic
skills. It is used to measure functional reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, and higher-
order thinking skills.
SCANS (the Secretary’s Commission in Achieving Necessary Skills)
The competencies cover language functions in terms of:
Resources (allocating time, materials, staff, etc)
Interpersonal skills, teamwork, customer service, etc
Information processing, evaluating data, organizing files, etc
System (e.g. understanding social and organizational systems)
Technology use and application
Those competencies are acquired and maintenance through training in the basic skills, thinking
skills, and personal qualities.
TEACHER STANDARDS
According to Cloud (2001, p.3), the quality of the teachers will affect students’ performances on
their assessments. The importance of teacher standards in three domains (Kuhlman, 2004):
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Linguistics and language development
Culture and the interrelationship between language and culture
Planning and managing instruction
Professional teaching standards have also been the focus of several committees in the TESOL. Its
standards committee advocates performance-based assessment of teacher for the following reasons:
Teacher can demonstrate the standards in their teaching
Teaching can be assessed through what teachers do with their learners
This performance can be detailed what are called indicators
The processes used to assess teachers need to draw on complex evidence of performance
Performance-based assessment of the standards is an integrated system
Student learning is at the heart of the teacher’s performance
THE CONSEQUENCES OF STANDARDS-BASED AND STANDARDIZED TESTING
There are positive and negative consequences of standards-based and standardized testing. The
positives are:
High level of practicality
High level of reliability
Supported by impressive construct validation studies
The negatives:
Test bias
Tendency of producing test that influenced by some factors belong to the test maker
Standardized test involve a number of types bias:
Language
Culture
Race
Gender
Learning styles
Example: Reading selections in standardized tests may use a passage from a literary
piece that reflects a middle class, white, Anglo-Saxon norm
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Test driven learning and teaching
ETHICAL ISSUES: CRITICAL LANGUAGE TESTING
• Psychometric traditions are challenged by interpretive, individualized procedures for predicting
success and evaluating ability
• Test designers have a responsibility to offer multiple modes of performance to account for
varying styles and abilities among test-takers
• Test are deeply embedded in culture and ideology
• Test-takers are political subjects in a political context
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• Taufik: are casas and scans can be adopted in our curriculum?
• Rio:Test bias. How we as a teacher avoid test bias in assess the test to our student?
• Ari: in SKKD “memahami makna” in the indicator “students are able to construct”. Is it wrong
or not?