Glossary of Terms and Concepts
BASIC DATA ANALYSIS VOCABULARY
Alignment – refers to the match between content standards, performance standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessments in terms of knowledge and skill expectations.
API – Academic Performance Index – was created to measure the performance and progress of a school or district based on several factors that contribute to overall educational success.
AYP – Adequate Yearly Progress – is determined by the success or failure of an individual school or district in achieving the state defined performance benchmarks.
Content Standards – are statements of the knowledge and skills that schools are expected to teach and students are expected to learn. They indicate what students should know and be able to do as a function of schooling.
Content Vocabulary – words specific to the content standards and objectives located at the end of the CORE Curriculum PASS Standards and Objectives.
CRTs – Criterion-referenced Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests given in Grades 3 through 8.
Criterion – A standard or judgment used as a basis for quantitative and qualitative comparisons.
Criterion-referenced test – (generally referred to as CRTs) - An assessment that allows its users to make score interpretations of a student’s performance in relation to a specified performance standard or criteria, rather than in comparison to the performances of other test-takers.
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Norm-referenced – (generally referred to as NRTs) - A standardized assessment in which all students perform under the same conditions (e.g., carefully defined directions, time limits, materials, and scoring procedures). This type of test allows for the interpretation of the test score in relation to a specified reference group, usually others of the same grade and level.
Curriculum – the content that is taught.
Curriculum Alignment – refers to the match between the knowledge and skills included in the curriculum compared to the knowledge and skills required by the standards underlying assessments of how well students have mastered a particular curriculum.
Cut Scores – separate one level of performance from another.
Data – information; known facts; may or may not be numerical in form.
DoK - Depth-of-Knowledge – (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) – Description and Indicators for each subject and grade level are located in the Test Specifications documents.
Economically Disadvantaged – Students who are identified as receiving Free/Reduced Lunch.
ELL – English Language Learner – Students who are learning the English language and have NOT passed the English Proficiency Test.
EOIs – End-of Instruction Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests – are criterion-referenced tests given at the secondary level
FAY – Full Academic Year – Students who have been continuously enrolled for a full academic year. This determination is made at the school, district, and state levels. Replaced the term NHM or Non-Highly Mobile.
FERPA – Family Education Rights and Privacy Act – (Confidentiality) is a Federal law that applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. (http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html)
IEP – Individualized Education Plan – An IEP is a written statement of goals and strategies regarding a student’s education that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with Title 42 U.S.C. Section 1414(d).
Item Analysis – Standard/Objective Analysis– also referred to as SOPIs (Standard/Objective Performance Index). SOPI scores are given for individual student performance and group (grade and subject) performance
Scroll down to the matrix in the center of the page and select the appropriate grade and subject.
Key Components of the Item Specification
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1.Purpose of the test and Summary Chart of PASS Standards and Objectives
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2.General Considerations which include test item types and construction
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3.The PASS for the specific subject and grade
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4.Item Specifications Construction - Each PASS standard and its objectives followed by: Emphasis, Stimulus Attributes, Format, Content Limits, Primary Process Standards, Distractor Domain and Sample Test Items with their specific Depth-of-Knowledge Level indicated.
LEA – Local Education Agency – used to identify local school districts and/or sites.
LEP – Limited English Proficient – Students who are in the process of acquiring English language skills and knowledge.
Mean – The quotient obtained by dividing the sum of a set of scores by the number of scores; also called the “average”.
Median – is the middle score in a set of ranked scores. Equal numbers of ranked scores lie above and below the median. Fifty percent of the scores fall below this point and 50 percent above. Group summary scores are reported in median correct.
NCLB – No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 – strengthens requirements for state assessments, accountability systems, and support for school improvement. The law also establishes minimum qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals.
NFAY – Non-full Academic Year – Students who have NOT been continuously enrolled for a full academic year prior to the test. This determination is made at the school, district and state levels. Replaced the term HM – Highly Mobile.
Norm-referenced – (generally referred to as NRTs) - A standardized assessment in which all students perform under the same conditions (e.g., carefully defined directions, time limits, materials, and scoring procedures). This type of test allows for the interpretation of the test score in relation to a specified reference group, usually others of the same grade and level.
-VS-
Criterion-referenced test – (generally referred to as CRTs) - An assessment that allows its users to make score interpretations of a student’s performance in relation to a specified performance standard or criteria, rather than in comparison to the performances of other test-takers.
Number Correct Scoring – The student responses on the Oklahoma End-of-Instruction tests are scored using the number correct scoring method. With this method, a student’s scaled score is based solely on how many score points the student obtained on the test, regardless of which items the student answered correctly or on which standards the student obtained higher scores.
OCCTs – Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests - are a series of tests that make up the Oklahoma School Testing program (OSTP) for Grade 3 through 8 criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) and secondary level End-of-Instruction (EOI) tests.
* The purpose of the OCCTs is to obtain information about the performance of Oklahoma students to ensure they meet high standards and to evaluate the success of the core curriculum as presented in the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS).
OPI – Oklahoma Performance Index - is a scaled score that places students into performance levels established for each subject and grade. OPI scores are reported on a scale from 400 to 990.
*OPI scores, are also called scale scores, factor in the difficulty level of the test. Scores for groups of students can be accurately compared from one year to the next using OPI scores.
*OPI scores are useful for comparing student scores for the same grade and subject area from one year to the next.
*OPI scores cannot be used to accurately compare scores across grades (fourth grade to fifth grade for example), or to compare scores across subject areas.
OSTP – Oklahoma School Testing Program - requires that criterion-referenced tests be administered to students in Grades 3 through 8 (generally referred to as CRTs) and the secondary level (generally referred to as EOIs). The tests are aligned to (PASS) Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Student Skills.
PASS – Priority Academic Student Skills - represents the specific content skills for each grade and each subject of the Oklahoma core curriculum. These skills are grouped into standards, with specific objectives detailed for each standard.
Percent Correct – is a percent of the items in the standard or objective that ere answered correctly by the student. This is calculated by dividing the number of items correct by the number possible.
Performance Benchmarks – Performance Targets – Statewide timelines have been established for reading and math, both ending in the goal of 100 percent proficiency in 2013-2014. The table below represents the reading and math performance targets for all student groups in all schools and districts in the coming years.
Performance Levels – provides descriptive labels for student performance: Advanced, Satisfactory, Limited Knowledge, and Unsatisfactory. It is important to understand the specific knowledge and skills that a student must be able to demonstrate at each performance level.
Advanced – Students consistently demonstrate a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills expected of all students in the specific subject and grade level.
Satisfactory – Students demonstrate a general understanding of the knowledge and skills expected of all students in the specific subject and grade level.
Limited Knowledge – Students demonstrate a partial understanding of the knowledge and skills expected of all students in the specific subject and grade level.
Unsatisfactory – Students do not demonstrate at least a Limited Knowledge level of the skills expected of all students in the specific subject and grade level.
Performance Level Descriptors – The descriptors use competency-based, content-specific phrases which describe the specific knowledge and skills that a student must be able to demonstrate at each performance level. – http://title3.sde.state.ok.us/studentassessment/
Scroll down to the matrix in the center of the page and select the appropriate grade and subject.
Performance Standards – specify how well students must perform in order to meet certain levels of proficiency.
“Proficient” – represents a 700 or above OPI (Oklahoma Performance Index) which reflects the satisfactory and above performance levels. For all subject areas and grade levels a score of 700 is the minimum score for placement in the Satisfactory performance level.
SOPIs – Standard/Objective Performance Index – also referred to as Item Analysis. SOPI scores are given for individual student performance and group (grade and subject) performance.
Standard – A target toward which instruction is specifically directed. Standards are used to cluster key skills and/or concepts in an instructional domain.
Test – A device or procedure designed to elicit responses that permit an inference about what a student knows or can do.
Test Blueprints – written documents, often charts, which detail the number of questions to be included on a test, the item formats for each of the items, and the content and skills that each set of items will assess. A minimum of four items is required to report results for a standard or objective. Percents are approximations and may result in a sum other than 100 due to rounding.
Scroll down to the matrix in the center of the page and select the appropriate grade and subject.
Key Components of the Test Specification
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1.Purpose of the test and Summary Chart of PASS Standards and Objectives
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2.The PASS for the specific subject and grade
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3.Test Structure, Format, and Scoring Criteria
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4.Depth-of-Knowledge (DoK) Description and Indicators
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5.Test Blueprint
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6.Scoring Criteria
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7.General Considerations which include test item types and construction
Terms Specific to the Writing Test
Analytic Score - Each piece of student writing is given five analytic scores that focus on specific writing skills. These ratings range from 4 (the highest score) to 1 (the lowest score). Taken together these scores provide a profile of the specific strengths and weaknesses of the student’s writing. These scores are used to determine the Composite Score.
Analytic Traits for Grade 5 and 8 – represent specific writing skills.
30% - Ideas and Development
25% - Organization, Unity, and Coherence
15% - Word Choice
15% - Sentences and Paragraphs
15% - Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
Analytic Traits for EOIs – represent specific writing skills.
30% - Ideas and Development
25% - Organization, Unity, and Coherence
15% - Word Choice
15% - Sentences and Paragraphs
10% - Mechanics
5% - Grammar, Usage
*Characteristics of a good paper include such factors as: attention to topic, content development, organization, and the flow of language from beginning to end.
Composite Score – (for the writing test) range from 15 to 60. This score is an overall score calculated using the five analytic scores, with various weights assigned to each of the analytic traits. The weights are assigned based on the importance of each trait and are supported by empirical evidence.
Writing Composite Scores and Performance Levels – (Cut Scores)
Rubric - A scoring tool, or set of criteria, used to evaluate a student’s test performance. A scoring rubric is used to evaluate a student’s response to the writing prompt.
Writing Prompt -An assessment topic, situation, or statement to which students are expected to respond in the form of an essay.
Definitions were taken from, but not limited to:
Oklahoma School Testing Program, Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests Grades 3-8 and EOI Test Interpretation Manual 2005-2006.
Additional information regarding the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests can be found on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Web site: www.sde.state.ok.us