This document provides an overview of a workshop to train participants on evaluating assessment quality using four standards: 1) Does the assessment method reflect the desired outcome, 2) Does the assessment use high-quality items, 3) Does the assessment provide enough evidence of student achievement, and 4) Does the assessment avoid bias. The workshop objectives are to apply these standards to create or revise an assessment. Guidelines are provided for different item types to help create high-quality assessments.

1. SELECTED RESPONSE
ASSESSMENT
WORKSHOP
Prepared by the
Office of Assessment & Analysis
October 14, 2014

2. OBJECTIVES
By the end of today’s workshop, you will:
 Be able to evaluate the quality of a written
assessment by applying the 4 quality standards
 Be able to determine if a test is built of high-quality
ingredients
 Collaborate with your division/PLC groups to:
 Apply the four quality standards to the creation or revision
of an assessment

3. 4 QUALITY ASSESSMENT
STANDARDS
SELF- CHECK
Ask your PLC group the following questions:
 __ Does the assessment utilize an assessment method that reflects
the desired essential outcome?
 __ Does the assessment consist of high-quality ingredients ?
 __ Does the assessment “provide enough evidence” of student
achievement?
 __ Does the assessment refrain from involving bias??
Stiggins, 75

4. Does the Selected Response Assessment
Method reflect the desired essential outcome?
IF THE ESSENTIAL
OUTCOME INVOLVES:
Selected Response
Assessment Can:
Knowledge & Understanding Can sample mastery of elements of
knowledge
Reasoning Proficiency Can evaluate application of some patterns
of reasoning
Performance Skills Can assess mastery of understandings needed
for skillful performance or needed to create a
quality product, but cannot rely on these to tap
the skill itself or evaluate the quality of the
product
Disposition Selected Response Questionnaire items can
tap student feelings
*Table 4.1 An Introduction to Student Involved Assessment for Learning ((SSttiiggggiinnss,,8811))

5. Does the Assessment Consist of
High Quality Ingredients?
GENERAL GUIDELINES
For CREATING ASSESSMENT ITEMS
 Write clear, concise questions
 Ask questions (eliminate incomplete sentence statements)
 Write for a low-reading level
 Do not want student mastery to get confused with reading difficulties
 Remove question clues (on test too)
 Students getting them correct for the wrong reasons
 Misleading to student and misleading in regards to what your student
learned
 Edit test
GUIDELINES FOR FORMATTING A TEST:
 Present the choices for a multiple choice question in a vertical format
 Ensure all components of one question appear on the same page
 Group questions together by their format (Ex: Place all T/F together and all
multiple choice together, etc.)
Stiggins, 116-117

6. Does the Assessment Consist of
High Quality Ingredients?
GUIDELINES FOR
MULTIPLE-CHOICE:
 Ask a complete question
 Refrain from repeating
the same vocabulary in
the responses as you used
in the question
 Write one correct answer
 Keep answer choices
concise
 Answer choices should
keep a consistent
grammatical structure
GUIDELINES FOR
MATCHING:
 Ensure directions are
understandable
 Limit your list of items to match
(max. 10)
 Keep the list of things to match
focused on a single topic/issue
 Limit the wording of response
options & utilize a parallel
structure
 Allow students to use response
options more than once and
incorporate more response
options than matching
items...eliminates the possibility
that mastery was achieved
through process of elimination
Stiggins, 118-120

7. Does the Assessment Consist of
High Quality Ingredients?
GUIDELINES FOR
FILL-IN THE BLANK:
 Ask a question and provide an
answer or ensure that the heart
of the question is incorporated
in the incomplete statement
 Use one blank at a time
 The goal is to determine if
the student has mastered
the outcome
 Ensure a clue is not included
in the statement or question
 This prevents you from
determining if mastery is
achieved
GUIDELINES FOR
TRUE/FALSE:
 The statement should be either
entirely true or entirely false
Stiggins, 120-122

8. Does the assessment “provide enough
evidence” of student achievement?
SAMPLE SIZE
 In the available time frame,
ask as many questions as
needed to assess the
important material
 MUST ASSESS the
important elements of
knowledge & reasoning
HOW DO I DECIDE WHAT THE
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS ARE?
 ESSENTIAL OUTCOMES/
 LEARNING PROPOSITIONS
 National & State Standards
 Current Research in Subject Area
 Consult Textbook
BEGIN WITH AN ASSESSMENT BLUEPRINT &
LEARNING PROPOSITIONS

9. Does the assessment refrain
from involving bias??
THE ANSWER
SHOULD BE NO:
 ___ Are there leading
questions?
 ___ Do the questions
involve cultural bias?
 ___ Is the reading level
of the test too high?
THE ANSWER
SHOULD BE YES:
 ___ Are the questions
student- centered?
 ___ Is there enough
time to complete the
assessment?
 ___ Are the test items
of high quality?
 ___ Was the test
accurately scored?

10. REFERNCES
Stiggins, R. (2008). An Introduction to
student-involved assessment for learning, 5th
ed. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson.
Stiggins, R. (2008). Weblinks. In An
Introduction to student-involved assessment
for learning, 5th ed. (chapter 5). Retrieved
from
http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_stiggins_stud
ent_5/72/18643/4772626.cw/index.html