Setting and measuring performance standards for student achievement
Abstract
This paper argues that valid measures of achievement require the prior consideration and specification of: the kinds of knowledge, understanding, and skill to be developed in particular areas of the school curriculum; the levels of performance to be expected of all students at particular stages in the schooling process. These two considerations together define a set of standards against which student performance can be assessed and monitored. It also argues that, at least in school education, the attempt to build an assessment system around yes/no decisions about the achievement of outcomes is unlikely to provide reliable measures of achievement that can be compared meaningfully. An alternative approach to assessing student achievement against performance standards is to begin with a growth model of learning and to construct an assessment system for estimating individuals' locations on an achievement map.