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Fist classification

A norm-referenced test (NRT) is a type of test, assessment, or evaluation which yields an estimate of the position of the tested individual in a predefined population, with respect to the trait being measured.

Criterion-referenced test or assessment of mastery performance and impassive assessment. In a criterion-referenced assessment, the score shows whether or not the test takers performed well or poorly on a given task, but not how that compares to other test takers; in an impassive system, the test taker is compared to his previous performance.

Advantages and limitations

With a norm-referenced test, grade level was traditionally set at the level set by the middle 50 percent

of scores.

Norm-referenced tests is that it cannot measure progress of the population as a whole, only where

individuals fall within the whole.

Advantages to this type of assessment include students and teachers alike know what to expect from

the test and just how the test will be conducted and graded.

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Critics of criterion-referenced tests point out that judges set bookmarks around items of varying difficulty

without considering whether the items actually are compliant with grade level content standards or are

developmentally appropriate.

A criterion-referenced test is one that provides for translating test scores into a statement about the

behavior to be expected of a person with that score or their relationship to a specified subject matter.

Many criterion-referenced tests are also high-stakes tests, where the results of the test have important

implications for the individual examinee.

Classifications

Intelligence Tests	Measure an individual's ability in relatively global areas such as verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, or reasoning and thereby help determine potential for scholastic work or certain occupations.
Aptitude Tests	Measure the capability for a relatively specific task or type of skill; aptitude tests are, in effect, a narrow form of ability testing.
Achievement Tests	Measure a person's degree of learning, success, or accomplishment In a subject or task.

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Creativity Tests	Assess novel, original thinking and the capacity to find unusual or unexpected solutions, especially for vaguely defined problems.
Personality Tests	Measure the traits, qualities, or behaviors that determine a person's individuality; such tests include checklists, inventories, and projective techniques.
Interest Inventories	Measure an individual's preference. Activities or topics and thereby help determine occupational choice.
Behavioral Procedures	Objectively describe and count the frequency of a behavior, identifying the antecedents and consequences of the behavior.
Neuropsychological Tests	Measure cognitive, sensory, perceptual, and motor performance to determine the extent, locus, and behavioral consequences of brain damage.

Preparing instructional objectives

Consider the following objectives:

Students will be able to understand the difference between urban and rural communities.

Students will be able to list in their journals two differences between urban and rural communities.

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Four Criteria for Completeness in Instructional Objectives

The specific performance required to demonstrate successful accomplishment of the instructional

objective.

(e.g., to write, to name, to compare and contrast, to debate, to decide, etc.)

The learning outcome or product by which successful accomplishment of the objective can be

determined.

(e.g., a statement, an essay, a poster, a journal entry, etc.)

The conditions under which the behavior is to be performed

(e.g., during a cooperative activity, after reading the story________)

The criterion or standard used to determine successful performance or achievement of the instructional

objective

(e.g., correct to the nearest mile, four out of five correct, list three examples, state two differences, etc.)

Steps to write objectives that will describe the desired behavior of the learner:

Identify the terminal behavior or performance by name; i.e., specify the kind of behavior that will be

accepted as evidence that the learner has achieved the objective.

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Define the desired behavior further by describing the important conditions under which the behavior

will be expected to occur.

Specify the criteria of acceptable performance by describing how well the learner must perform to be considered acceptable

Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference?

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Outcomes Pyramid


Outcomes Pyramid Definitions

Goals are broad, general statements of what the program, course, or activity intends to accomplish.

Goals and Objectives are similar in that they describe the intended purposes and expected results of teaching activities and establish the foundation for assessment.

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Goals are statements about general aims or purposes of education that are broad, long-range intended outcomes and concepts; e.g., "clear communication", "problem-solving skills", etc. Objectives are brief

Learning Outcomes are statements that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved, and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course or program.

Behavioral learning objectives

Behavioral objectives focus on identifying measurable, observable student behavior by specifying the following:

Conditions under which behavior (http://www.adprima.com/verbs.htm) will be performed.

The student behavior (using a verb to describe a measurable behavior).

Acceptable level or criteria for success.

For example, after reading this page, you should be able to accurately name and define three different kinds of learning objectives, 100% of the time.

Cognitive learning objectives

Cognitive learning objectives are broader and less measurable. They may better reflect the goals some professors have for their course. Assessment is more challenging with this approach. Bloom's...

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...(1956, 2001) taxonomy of cognition is often used to help generate cognitive objectives:

Knowledge (remember and recall)

Comprehension (understand)

Application (use of concept in a new situation)

Analysis (break something down into its parts, interpret)

Synthesis (generate something new applying the ideas)

Evaluation (make judgments about value, appropriateness, or other attributes)

For example, after reading this page, you should be able to identify the intended learning style of your course and write corresponding learning objectives. (Application).

Constructivist learning objectives

The goals of a constructivist teacher are not to cover the curriculum, but instead to engage students as active learners constructing their own knowledge and beliefs within a content domain. Constructivist teachers start with very broad learning objectives and may even negotiate with the class to identify more specific learning goals. Constructivist teachers gather resources and set the stage to challenge learners to explore their existing beliefs, expose them to new ideas, and assign tasks which encourage learners to re-evaluate, re-define,...

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...and apply their emerging understandings. For example:

Types of Objectives

There are three types of objectives:

Cognitive
Effective
Psychomotor
Cognitive

Bloom describes several categories of cognitive learning.

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Starting with basic factual knowledge, the categories progress through comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Knowledge - Remembering or recalling information.
Comprehension - The ability to obtain meaning from information.
Application - The ability to use information.
Analysis - The ability to break information into parts to understand it better.
Synthesis - The ability to put materials together to create something new.
Evaluation - The ability to check, judge, and critique materials.

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In the 1990's, Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom, along with David Krathwohl, one of Boom's original partners, worked to revise the original taxonomy. The Anderson and Krathwohl Taxonomy was published in 2001 in the book "A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives."

Here is a comparison of the original and revised taxonomies:


Note that in the revised taxonomy, synthesis and evaluation are switched. Also, verbs are used in place of nouns to imply the action one takes in each level.

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Remember - Using memory to recall facts and definitions.

Understand - Constructing meaning from information.

Apply - Using procedures to carry out a task.

Analyze - Breaking materials into parts to determine structures and relationships.

Evaluate - Making judgments based on checking against given criteria.

Create - Putting materials together to form a unique product.

Whichever taxonomy you prefer, there are key verbs for each level you can use when writing cognitive objectives.

Effective

Affective objectives are designed to change an individual's attitude. Affective objectives refer to attitudes, appreciations, and relationships (e.g., "Given the opportunity to work in a team with several people of different races, the student will demonstrate an positive increase in attitude towards non-discrimination of race, as measured by a checklist utilized/completed by non-team members.").

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Psychomotor

Psychomotor objectives are designed to build a physical skill (e.g., "The student will be able to ride a two-wheel bicycle without assistance and without pause as demonstrated in gym class."); actions that demonstrate the fine motor skills such as use of precision instruments or tools, or actions that evidence gross motor skills such as the use of the body in dance or athletic performance.