How Can These Assessment Materials Be Used?

When the State Collaborative on Assessments and Student Standards (SCASS) was initially formed, the participating states had a variety of needs. Among them were lowering the cost of test development, adding to existing item pools, developing a basic item pool, developing variety in item pools, and integrating assessment and instruction. As the SCASS project unfolded these different objectives were illustrated in the kinds of items developed. To help with overall focus of item development a Consensus Guidelines document was developed (the Consensus Guidelines can be found in the info section on the right). The Guidelines served as a clarification of common interests among the states. It also served as a structure within which the states and ACT developed assessment materials. Using the Guidelines a matrix was developed using content areas (life, earth, and physical science) on one axis and levels of learning (knowledge, application, and knowledge extension) on the other axis to guide item development. The Guidelines and matrix were then scrutinized using emerging national standards. Since areas of consensus/agreement on issues of assessment were the focus of the Guidelines, districts and states should be aware that some categories of their state program might not appear in the Guidelines. The emphasis in the SCASS Science assessment development work was on developing assessments that could be used to improve student understanding, and not merely to assess science knowledge in a different way. In developing the assessment items and materials contained in this website, every attempt has been made to develop materials that will help schools meet and assess important standards and standards congruent with national goals.

The items and information information pertaining to them may be used by a variety of educators and for a variety of purposes. Some caveats apply. The items for the most part were pilot tested in only seven states. Teachers, schools, and districts volunteered to pilot the items. One cannot assume a random distribution of students taking the test items. Nonetheless, one may look at item data reported as an indicator of item effectiveness. As items are placed in different order within a test constructed by a teacher, district, or state they may function differently. These items were not developed to serve as the primary basis for tests with high stakes. Any test constructed using these items should be piloted before use. Teachers, on the other hand, may find that the items have undergone a more rigorous piloting and editing process than they would ever do prior to giving a classroom test. In this case the items may be of great use and may need no further piloting. The items may also serve as models from which to develop other items of a similar nature. The items differ in their quality and level of difficulty. Item statistics, with the above caveats, help users decide on the quality of the items. Quality should not be construed as meaning more difficult. Every test will have variation in the items within it; i.e. some will be more difficult than others.

Who Can Use These Materials?

District and state assessment coordinators may wish to use some of the items to supplement an existing item pool, to serve as the basis of training teachers in the use of assessments and the integration of assessment and instruction. Items may be used in other ways:

Teachers will find that some items, such as the performance tasks, may be used as the basis of extended instruction. The performance tasks were designed to enable students to work on problems or ideas over an extended period of time from two to nine weeks. The work sample products resulting from this work are suitable for entry into student portfolios as illustrations of their work in solving problems, developing investigations, and experimenting or inventing.

Items may be used in staff development to help teachers better understand how good tests are constructed. The performance events and tasks may help teachers better understand how assessment and instruction may be integrated.

Illustrations selected from the multiple choice, constructed response (both short answer and extended response items), performance events, and performance tasks also will help teachers understand the need for variety in assessment items and the roles that each play in the assessment endeavor.

In summary, the items may be used by a variety of professional educators in a variety of settings, including instructional settings. While the items may be used to supplement existing assessment item pools, the most important function may well be in training teachers how to develop good assessment items and in the classroom integration of instruction and assessment.