Should age and grade equivalents be reported as a reliable measure of performance?

The reliability of age- and grade-equivalent scores is limited by the relationship between the equivalents and the raw scores on which they are based. An age or grade equivalent is simply the median raw score for a particular age or grade level.

Why age equivalences should not be used to demonstrate progress?

“Because of the inherent psychometric problems associated with age and grade equivalents that seriously limit their reliability and validity, these scores should not be used for making diagnostic or placement decisions” (Bracken, 1988; Reynolds, 1981). References: Bracken, P.

What are the disadvantages of using age and grade equivalent scores on standardized tests?

AE scores compare children to the “average x-year-old.” However, the average x-year-old does not exist. Rather, the term average represents a range of performance for a particular age group. A third serious limitation of AE scores is the lack of information they provide about a test taker's performance on a given test.

Why not to use grade equivalents?

Grade equivalents are not standardized scores (which are psychometrically sound and are reported) meaning that variance can exist from test to test or even within the test assessing different skill sets (math vs. reading).

What type of data is age and grade equivalents?

Age equivalents are ordinal data, which means there are not equal units between scores. The development curves are higher in younger children and plateau with older children and adults. Because of this, there are larger differences between scores of younger as compared to older children.

Reliability & Validity Explained

Why are age and grade equivalent scores misleading?

The reliability of age- and grade-equivalent scores is limited by the relationship between the equivalents and the raw scores on which they are based. An age or grade equivalent is simply the median raw score for a particular age or grade level.

What does age equivalent indicate on standardized tests?

Simply put, an age equivalent is a comparison of your child's performance compared to age groups whose average scores are in the same range. For example, if your 9-year-old child scores a 42 raw score on a test, and that score is average for 8-year-olds, their age equivalent score would be 8.

Why are grade equivalents useful?

Standardized tests report a student's performance in several different ways. The Grade-Equivalent score compares your child's performance on grade-level material against the average performance of students at other grade levels on that same material and is reported in terms of grade level and months.

What are grade equivalent scores used for?

Most often, these scores are used to describe performance on academic achievement tests, though grade-based norms and grade equivalent scores are available for some other types of standardized assessment instruments (e.g., cognitive assessment instruments, speech and language assessment instruments).

What are the negative effects of standard based grading?

Standards-based grading can put an unreasonable amount of pressure on assessments, which are given disproportionate weight, with little to no buffer from other assignments. Often, in standards-based classes, teachers use a decaying average, which weighs more recent assessments more heavily than previous ones.

Are standardized tests an unreliable measure of student performance?

Key Takeaways. Standardized tests don't accurately measure student learning and growth. Unlike standardized tests, performance-based assessment allows students to choose how they show learning. Performance-based assessment is equitable, accurate, and engaging for students and teachers.

How do you explain grade equivalent scores to parents?

A grade equivalent indicates the grade level, in years and months, for which a given score was the average or middle score in the standardization sample. For example, a score of 25 with the grade equivalent of 4.6 means that, in the norm group, 25 was the average score of pupils in the sixth month of the fourth grade.

Do standardized tests positively or negatively impact education?

Overall, the impact of standardized testing on education is complex and multifaceted. While it can provide valuable information about student learning and help to hold schools and teachers accountable, it can also have negative impacts on the curriculum, student well-being, and equity in education.

Why should not teachers use norm referenced grading?

The standardized procedures and format of norm-referenced tests does not provide information about a student's functional communication. Test items are chosen because they differentiate kids and have the ability to distinguish between high and low performers and do not assess educational impact.

What is an example of age equivalent?

For example, assume a student obtains a score of 95 on a particular test, a value typical of the average performance of students in the eighth grade. Thus, the age equivalent of 95 is 13, the age of most eighth graders. Also called age-equivalent score; test age.

What is an example of an age equivalent score?

If the median W-score for Letter Word Identification for 11 year 0-month-old examinees is 600, then an examinee who receives a W score of 600 on that test would receive 11:0 as their age equivalent score.

What is the difference between grade level and grade equivalent?

The grade equivalent represents the grade level and month of the typical (median) score for students. For example, a fifth grade student who earns a 5.9 on a norm-referenced test has earned a score similar to the 50th percentile students in the test's norming group who were in their ninth month of fifth grade.

What is the difference between standards based grading and standards referenced grading?

Standards referenced grading measures how well an individual student is doing in relation to the grade level/course standards, not the work of other students. A standards based grade reporting system is designed to inform you about your child's progress toward achieving specific learning standards.

What are the grade equivalents?

Grade 9 is the equivalent of above an A* Grade 8 is the equivalent of in between grades A* and A. Grade 7 is the equivalent of a grade A. Grade 6 is the equivalent of just above a grade B.

What is an example of a grade equivalent score?

T F 2. A GE score for Tim of 9.2 means that he can read as well as ninth graders in the second month of the school year. T F 3. Tim's GE score of 9.2 on reading means that when a group of ninth graders in their second month were tested on ninth grade reading material, they received scores equivalent to Tim's score.

Why is grading and grading system important?

The grading system ensures that students, families, teachers, counselors, advisors, and support specialists have the detailed information they need to make important decisions about a student's education.

What is the age equivalent score for speech therapy?

The therapist looks at how a child has scored and compares it to the other data. An age equivalent is then given based on which age range has the closest average to the child's actual score. For example, if a 10-year-old scores 42 on a test, and that score is average for an 8-year-old, their age equivalent would be 8.

What are age norms and grade norms?

Norms in Psychological Testing

These are age norms, grade norms, percentile norms, and standard score norms. Age norms are used in intelligence testing and measuring height and weight in children. Grade norms are mostly used in educational settings.

How are grades different from standardized testing?

Recent research suggests that GPA—not standardized testing—better predicts students' success in college. In fact, researchers found that GPA was five times better at making this prediction when compared to the ACT. Another study showed that grades were a better predictor of graduation rates than test scores.

Why is it necessary to understand the average performance of students in a particular grade or age level?

This is done so that the scores can be compared at different grades or age groups by converting the scores to the same numerical scale. These scores reflect a student's rank compared to others. They indicate how far above or below the mean or average the individual scores fall.