take a test: answer these questions about preparations for kansas assessments 1.what’s the...

Take a Test: Answer These Questions About Preparations for Kansas

Assessments 1. What’s the difference between a “practice test”

and a “formative test”?2. What kind of practice test items am I permitted

to use?3. May I make up my own items for practice?4. May I use practice tests that are already

available?5. May I copy the stem of items on the “Flip

Charts”?

Test Security Guidelines: Formative Tests Prior to Testing

• Reserve formative items for testing, not for instruction.

• Use formative test item analysis to identify indicators that should be taught.

• Use one copy of the formative test to analyze misconceptions.

• Teach indicators using curriculum materials. • Teach concepts.

Test Security Guidelines: Actual and Formative Tests Prior to Testing

• “DO NOT use actual or altered test questions (clone or parallel) for practice or instruction.” (Appropriate Testing Practices Fact Sheet 2009-2010)

• DO NOT use any formative test items for instruction

• DO NOT review formative items with students after the formative test.

Source of Test Items (from Most to Least Instructionally Grounded)

Permissions for Use Purpose/Results of Use

Blending Assessment with Instructional Program (BAIP) Items

“Should Use” for Instruction of Concepts

Best Practice

Kansas Computerized Assessment (KCA) Practice Test Items (CETE’s “Training Test”)

“Should Use” to familiarize students with KCA Tools and Format But NOT subject content

Best Practice

Item Stems in Flip Chart and in KSDE-WestEd Item Specification Charts (in Assessable Indicators

for Communications Arts, for Mathematics, and for Science)

“May Use” in Instruction as part of concept development but not as an isolated test item

Intended as a sample item Not intended for use in mass distribution

of test items or for test preparation isolated from instruction

No security requirement No sanctions on use

Those Learning Stations Formative Items

Originally from KSDE But No Longer Controlled by KSDE or CETE

“May Use” in Instruction (follow BAIP Tutorial Model)* Best Practice is to reserve as formative for

checkpoint testing to provide feedback and

to determine effective intervention

Intended as formative (“to inform instruction”)

Best Practice to provide feedback and determine effective intervention


Kansas Computerized Assessment (KCA) Formative Assessment Items

“May Use” to provide feedback and to determine effective intervention

“Should Not Use” in direct Instruction

Intended as formative (“to inform instruction”)

Best Practice to provide feedback and determine effective intervention


“Cloned or Altered Items”

(CETE Examiner’s Manual, Appendix A, Part 3)

“Must Not Use” in Instruction. Reserved for summative assessment.

Security required Use violates security Use invalidates test

Operational KCA Test Items (“Real Items from the Real Test”)

“Must Not Use” In Instruction Reserved for summative assessment.

Security required Use violates security Use invalidates test

*The instructional model used in CETE’s BAIP (Blending Assessment with Instruction Program) Tutorial Pre-test with formative assessment Use item analysis to pinpoint individual students and groups of students who have not mastered critical

features of the concepts being taught Use the distracters in the formative assessment items within the above context to instruct students directly in

distinctions critical to understanding the concepts being taught DO NOT USE formative assessment items for drill and practice, isolated from the context of concept development of a targeted standard, benchmark, or indicator

Item Use Chart REV

Consider the item stem: “What is 62% of 806?”

• Re-write the above item stem 5 different ways.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

• What “principles” can you derive from the different ways you can write this expression? (I.E. Are there any ways you can “translate” the item stem into mathematical symbols?)

Creating Equivalent Math Items• “What is 62% of 806?”

• “What” means “the answer”

• “is” means “=“

• 62% means .62

• “of” means “multiply”

• Translate: “The answer = .62 x 806”

Create Equivalent Math Expressions

• VARIATIONS:• 62% of 806 is what?

• 62 of 806 = ?

• 62% x 806 = y

• 806 x 62% = y

• Y= .62 (806)

• .62 = y/806

Create a Word Scenario to Fit the Math Expression

• We have 806 books in our school library.

• 62% of those books have hard covers.

• How many of our library books have hard covers?

Concept-based Instruction: Create a Graphic Representation of the Math Expression

806 Books

500 Books

306 Books

+

62%

Of Books Have Hardcovers

38%

Of Books Do Not Have Hardcovers100%

Of Books

+

Create a Multiple-Choice Item in Reading #1: Listen to a portion from Ch 3 of John Steinbeck’s

story, Of Mice and Men.

• 1. Answer the following open-ended question in a complete sentence:

Q: Why does Curley start fighting with Lennie? (Ch 3, Of Mice and Men)

Why does Curley want to fight Lennie?

A: Curley starts fighting with Lennie because Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him.

Create a Multiple-Choice Item in Reading #2

• 2. Score answers in in 5-point increments: ¼ correct = 5 pts; ½ correct = 10 pts; ¾ correct = 15 pts; fully correct = 20 pts

REAL EXAMPLE:¼ “Curley wants to prove his masculinity.”½ “Lennie laughs at him.”¾ “Lennie is smiling at the idea of a farm.”Full: “Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him.” OR“Curley takes out his frustration from having been put down

by Slim, Carlson, and Candy.”


• 3. Use partially correct responses as distractors in a multiple-choice item:

• Q: Why does Curley start fighting with Lennie?a. Lennie is smiling at the idea of a farm.(“fact right there does not answer Curley’s motivation”)b. Lennie laughs at him. (“totally incorrect”)c. Curley wants to prove his masculinity. (“too general”)d. Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him. (“right there answers Curley’s motivation”)


• Think-pair-share: Ask students to tell why each of the distractors is incorrect for the context of the question.

Questions About Test Preparation: What Were Your

Answers? 1. What’s the difference between a “practice test”

and a “formative test”?2. What kind of practice test items am I permitted

to use?3. May I make up my own items for practice?4. May I use practice tests that are already

available?5. May I copy the stem of items on the “Flip

Charts”?

Questions About Test Preparation: What Were Your Answers?Share with a Partner:

1. What’s the difference between a “practice test” and a “formative test”?

Answers to Questions About Test Preparation #1

Q: What’s the difference between a “Kansas practice test” and a “Kansas formative test”?

A: A practice test gives students experience in the format of the test. (KCA Practice Tests)

A formative test provides teachers with information that guides instruction by pointing to the distinctive features necessary for concept instruction.n (KCA Formative Tests).


2. What kind of practice test items am I permitted to use?


Q: What kind of practice test items am I permitted to use?

• You may create “practice” tests on your own or you may use practice tests approved by your Lead Instructional Coach.


3. May I make up my own items for practice?


Q: May I make up my own items for practice?Yes. Here’s a suggestion: • First, give students practice taking a KCA test by

administering a “KCA Practice Test” from the options on the KCA Menu

• You can use the item analysis from a KS Formative Assessment to identify math and reading indicators for differential instruction.

• OR use your list of assessed indicators for math and reading or the grade level benchmarks already matched to KS reading and math to identify what indicators you need to teach, the order you need to teach them, and the curriculum materials you will use to teach those indicators.


4. For reading, you can select a chapter book (expository, narrative, or technical), ask open ended questions, and use the student-generated partially correct responses to construct the distractors for a multiple-choice test.

5. During the test students can use the QAR strategies (“think and search,” “right there,” “author and you”) to identify the correct response.

6. After this teacher-constructed test, have students identify why distractors are incorrect.


4. May I use practice tests that are already available?


Q: May I use practice (“get ready”) tests that are already available?

A: Yes, if your Instructional Coach or Lead Curriculum Specialist approves the source. However, you should not use Kansas Formative Assessment items for direct instruction.


5. May I copy the stem of items on the “Flip Charts”?


Q: May I copy the stem of items on the “Flip Charts”?

A: Use these stems to build equivalent statements so students are not locked into only one way of understanding how the concept will be tested.

Remember:

• Kansas Formative Assessments are built with items from the same test pool as the operational items.

• Kansas Formative Assessments have the same “item parameters” as the operational items.

• Because of their ability to provide very focused information on KS indicators, the KS Formatives should be reserved for diagnostic testing, to inform you about the kind of differentiated instruction you need to pursue.

• Reserve Kansas Formative Assessments for the purpose for which they were designed.

• Do not use Kansas Formative Assessments as instructional worksheets.

take a test: answer these questions about preparations for kansas assessments 1.what’s the...

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