hctiB G: Testing v. Testing: 2
originally posted May 3, 2010
The Committee on Appropriate Test Use of the National Research Council stated in an authoritative report in 1999 that “tests are not perfect” and “a test score is not an accurate measure of a student’s knowledge or skills.” Because test scores are not an infallible measure, the committee warned, “an educational decision that will have a major impact on a test taker should not be made solely or automatically on the basis of a single test score.” ….
Psychometricians are less enthusiastic than elected officials about using tests to make consequential judgments, because they know that test scores may vary in unpredictable ways. Year-to-year changes in test scores for individuals or entire classes may be due to random variation. Student performance may be affected by the weather, the student’s state of mind, distractions outside the classroom, or conditions inside the classroom. Tests may also become
