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The Orton Emeritus Series UNDERSTANDING TEST RESULTS

The Orton Emeritus Series UNDERSTANDING TEST RESULTS. Standard Scores, Percentiles and Other Sources of Confusion By Rebecca H. Felton, Ph.D. & Lorna H. Kaufman, Ph.D. PowerPoint created by J. L. Lally. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND TEST RESULTS?.

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The Orton Emeritus Series UNDERSTANDING TEST RESULTS

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  1. The Orton Emeritus Series UNDERSTANDING TEST RESULTS Standard Scores, Percentiles and Other Sources of Confusion By Rebecca H. Felton, Ph.D. & Lorna H. Kaufman, Ph.D. PowerPoint created by J. L. Lally

  2. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND TEST RESULTS? • Test results are the basis for making many educational decisions. • The evaluations completed by your school system are used to determine your child’s eligibility for services under your state’s law.

  3. WHAT TYPE OF TESTS MAY BE GIVEN? • Tests are given for different purposes: • Screening • Measures a few key skills important for success in reading and are administered to help determine which students are at risk for difficulty learning to read • Results can be the basis for determining the need for further diagnostic evaluations as well as the first set in deciding if a student is eligible for special education services • Diagnosis • Administered individually • Determines a student’s instructional needs by establishing individual patterns of strengths and weaknesses • Monitoring progress • Closely monitor the student’s progress • Some progress monitoring tests can be given every few weeks while others may be given once or twice a year • Assessing outcomes • Administered to most students at the end of certain grades and are used to compare a student’s performance to his/her classmates • Used to make decisions about moving to the next grade and may be part of high school graduation requirements • Testing accommodations or alternative test may be available for dyslexic students

  4. WHAT IS A DIAGNOSTIC READING EVALUTION? • Conducted when student is not making appropriate progress in reading • Series of individually administered tests that provide a detailed anabasis of a student’s strengths and weaknesses in reading, written language, and the cognitive abilities that are important for learning to read • This type of testing should be done by a qualified examiner • Schools are not diagnostic facilities; their testing is done to determine eligibility for school services and to create an Individual Education Plan (IEP)

  5. WHAT IS A DIAGNOSTIC READING EVALUTION? (continued) • Two types of test are administered in a diagnostic evaluation • Standardized tests (norm referenced tests) • Provide scores that compare child’s performance with other students across the country who are at the same age or grade level • E.g., Julia performed at the 31st percentile on reading test = 31% of children in her grade level scored at or below this level • Criterion references tests (informal tests) • Determine whether a specific criterion has been met without comparing your child's performance with the performance of other students • E.g., Julia learned 13 out of 26 letter names = she learned 50 percent of the letter names

  6. WHAT DO THE TEST SCORES MEAN? • Total number of correct answers on a test = raw score • In standardized tests raw scores get converted into standard scores, percentile ranks, age equivalents, and grade equivalents • This is done so your child’s score can be compared with the scores of other students who are at the same age or grade level • Other Terms to Understand: • Mean • average score for test • Standard deviation • measurement tells how scores are spread out around the mean • tells how far away from the average an individual’s score is • Standard score • Transformed raw scores • Describes a student’s standing compared to others who have taken the test

  7. WHAT DO THE TEST SCORES MEAN? (continued) • Other Terms to Understand: • Percentile rank score • Indicates the percentage of people who score at or below the student’s standard score • Age equivalent (AE) • Student’s raw score is the average performance for that age group • E.g., Tom is a 12 year 11 month old 6th grade student. His raw score on the Letter Word Identificationtest is the average score for students who are 8 years 1 month (AE = 8-1) and in the 8th month of 2nd grade (GE = 2.8) • Grade equivalent score (GE) • Student’s raw score is the average performance for that grade level • AE & GE scores do not mean that the student can actually do the work of someone at that age or grade level. Standard scores and percentile scores are a more accurate reflection of a student’s performance.

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