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This glossary provides brief descriptions of terms you may encounter in your
work with STAR. We welcome your feedback. If you have suggestions for definitions
or if you know of additional terms that should be added, please contact
us.
A B C D
E F G H
I J K L M N O
P Q R S T U V
W X Y Z
Numeric
- Academic Performance Index (API)
- A number on a scale of 200 to 1000 that indicates how well a school performed
academically in the previous year. The API measures a school's change in test
achievement and progress toward a target API of 800. The API ranks school
performance, sets growth targets, and provides similar-school comparisons.
It is the cornerstone of the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA).
STAR and CAHSEE tests are
the basis of API.
- Accommodations and modifications
- Modifications in the design or administration of assessments so that students
with disabilities can be included in the assessment
Examples: Braille or large print forms for students who are visually
impaired; additional time for students with certain learning disabilities
- Accountability
- The extent to which an individual, group, or institution is held responsible
for actions or performance, evidence of student learning and achievement and
school improvement
- Achievement test
- A test designed to measure students' learning in such areas as reading, writing,
mathematics, history-social science, and science
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
- An annual measurement of improvement in student achievement based on state
academic standards. School districts and schools must meet this minimum standard
as part of the No Child Left Behind Act
- Alignment
- The process of linking curriculum, assessment, classroom instruction, and
learning to a set of standards that describes what students should know and
be able to do. The goal of alignment is to ensure that classroom instruction
and learning activities support adopted standards and assessments. Professional
development and instructional materials must be linked to what is needed to
achieve the standards.
- Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM)
- A set of indicators currently being developed by a subcommittee to be submitted
to the State Board of Education (SBE) for approval. Once
approved, these indicators will be considered along with the STAR
program as a measure of school and student progress.
Examples: A reduction of inappropriate behavior in the classroom,
improved attendance, and increased graduation rate
- Analytic scoring
- The process of evaluating student work by individual elements rather than
by overall quality (holistic scoring). The crucial
elements of response are identified and scored separately.
Example: Historical essay analytic scores; use of prior knowledge,
application of principles, use of original source material to support a point
of view, accuracy, and composition. An overall impression of quality may be
included as an element.
- Answer Document
- Pages with circles or bubbles for students to record answers to test questions.
These pages may be for multiple-choice or writing tests.
- API
- See Academic Performance Index (API)
- ASAM
- See Alternative School Accountability Model (ASAM).
- Assessment
- The processes used to collect information about student progress toward educational
goals. The particular form of an assessment depends on what is being assessed
and on uses to which results of the assessment will be applied. Assessments
can range from small-scale assessments that teachers use in the classroom
to obtain day-to-day information about student progress; through medium-scale
assessments that school districts use to evaluate the effectiveness of schools
or educational programs; all the way to large-scale assessments that state
or national bodies use to assess the degree to which students have met large
educational goals.
- Assessment system
- The combination of assessments into a system that produces comprehensive,
credible, and dependable information. Educational and political institutions
use assessment systems to make decisions about education for students, schools,
districts, or states.
- AYP
- See Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
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- Bias
- A characteristic of a test that could reduce the chances for identifiable
sub-populations to receive scores that accurately reflect their abilities
to respond to the skill being measured. Common sources of bias may be related
to language, cultural, or gender differences.
Example: A mathematics word problem that contains difficult language
may be biased against English language learners. Inadequate performance may
not be due to a lack of mathematical ability, but rather a lack of English
language skills.
- Blueprints
- Statements of the goals that the California State Board of Education wants
California students to reach
- Bubbles
- Hollow circles or ovals provided on an answer document. Students fill in
bubbles to record their answers to test items.
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- CAHSEE
- See California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).
- California Achievement Test (CAT/6)
- The norm-referenced test (NRT) for STAR.
The survey form is used to compare California students with students across
the nation in English language arts, spelling, math and high school science.
- California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)
- A criteria-response test for students in grades 2-11 whose disabilities prevent
them from participating in the STAR test
- California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS)
- An annual data collection that takes place in October and collects the following
data elements from California public schools (K-12): enrollment, graduates,
dropouts, vocational education, alternative education, adult education, course
enrollment, classified staff, certificated staff, teacher shortage and demand
- California Department of Education (CDE)
- State agency that administers the STAR program and implements SBE policies
- California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)
- A competency test that California public school students will be required
to pass in order to receive a high school diploma. Authorized by state law
in 1999, this requirement will begin with the graduating class of 2004. The
CAHSEE will cover reading, writing, and mathematics and will be aligned to
state content standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
- California Reading List (CRL)
- A list of books geared to reading level, based on how students did on the STAR test
- California School Information Services (C-SIS)
- The program that facilitates the standardization and electronic transfer
of student and staff level data. C-SIS provides data to the CDE
for use by local education agencies in California.
- California Standards (CST)
- Educational goals or objectives that the California State Board of Education
and other educators have agreed that California students should reach
- California Testing Bureau (CTB) / McGraw Hill
- A division of McGraw Hill that developed CAT/6, the NRT
part of the STAR program.
- CAPA
- See California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA).
- CAT/6
- See California Achievement Test (CAT/6).
- CBEDS
- See California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS).
- CDE
- See California Department of Education (CDE).
- CELDT
- See California English Language Development Test (CELDT).
- California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
- A standardized test to assess the achievement of English language skills
by English language learners in the state of California
- Classroom assessment
- An assessment that teachers or groups of teachers develop, administer, and
score to evaluate individual student or classroom performance on a topic.
Ideally, the results of classroom assessments inform teachers and improve
instruction to help students reach identified standards.
- Competency test
- An assessment to ensure that students have met minimal content and skill
standards. Generally, students are required to pass such tests as a condition
of promotion or graduation.
- Constructed-response items
- Test questions that require a behavior or action on the part of the student
Examples: Oral, pictorial, or written response
- Content Review Panel (CRP)
- Groups of California educators appointed by the SBE to
evaluate blueprints and test items
- Content standards
- Stated expectations of what students should know and be able to do in particular
subjects and grade levels. Content standards define for teachers, schools,
students, parents, and communities not only what is expected of students but
also what schools should teach.
- Criteria
- Guidelines, rules, characteristics, or dimensions that are used to judge
the quality of student performance. Criteria indicate what we value in student
responses, products, or performance. Criteria may be holistic, analytic, general,
or specific. Scoring rubrics are based on criteria and define what the criteria
mean and how they are used.
- Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT)
- An assessment designed to reveal what a student knows, understands, or can
do in relation to specific objectives or standards. Individual items are designed
to assess specific educational objectives. In a CRT it is possible that none,
some, or all of the examinees will reach a particular goal or performance
standard. CRT is a part of the STAR program.
- CRL
- See California Reading List (CRL).
- CRP
- See Content Review Panel (CRP).
- CRT
- See Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT).
- C-SIS
- See California School Information Services (C-SIS).
- CST
- See California Standards (CST).
- CTB
- See California Testing Bureau (CTB) / McGraw Hill.
- Curriculum alignment
- The process of matching curriculum to the content standards assessed in a
testing program to ensure that teachers will cover the material assessed.*
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- DFA
- See Directions for Administration (DFA).
- DIF
- See Differential Functioning (DIF).
- Differential Functioning (DIF)
- A statistical procedure used to investigate whether students of similar ability
in different groups, such as gender or ethnicity, perform differently on individual
questions. Investigations of DIF are a typical part of efforts to ensure that
test items are fair for all groups to which they are administered.
- Dimensions
- Desired knowledge or skills measured in an assessment, usually represented
in a scoring rubric or criteria
- Directions for Administration (DFA)
- Instructions to teachers or test administrators for setting up testing and
telling students information that they need to complete tests
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- Educational Testing Service (ETS)
- World's largest private testing and measurement corporation. A non-profit
company dedicated to serving the needs of individuals, institutions, agencies,
and governmental bodies. STAR and CAPA
contractor since 2002. CAHSEE contractor since 2001.
- EL
- See English Learner (EL).
- ELA
- See English Language Arts (ELA).
- ELD standards and assessments
- See English Language Development (ELD) standards and assessments.
- Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title 1
- A federal law signed by President George W. Bush, January 2, 2002. Known
as the No Child Left Behind Act, this law strives to meet the needs of disadvantaged
and minority students in grades K-12 to equalize educational opportunities
for all students.
- Embedded items
- Questions in a test instrument that are used as a field test or that serve
some function other than the main purpose of the test
- End-of-course examinations
- Examinations administered at or near the end of a course to determine if
students have met specified course content and/or standards
- English Language Arts (ELA)
- One of the subjects that the STAR test measures and
includes reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary
- English Language Development (ELD) standards and assessments
- ELD standards provide criteria for documenting the progress of English learners
and serve as a guide for development of the ELD assessments. ELD assessments
measure the progress of English learners toward proficiency in English. Under
AB 748 (Escutia) and SB 638 (Alpert) districts were required to administer
the ELD assessments to their English learners beginning Spring 1991.
- English Learner (EL)
- A student whose native language is other than English and who is not yet
proficient in English
- Equating
- A statistical procedure used to adjust for minor differences in difficulty
across different forms or versions of a test so that student scores on different
tests can be directly compared
- Equity
- The concern that assessments be fair and free from bias or favoritism. An
assessment that is fair enables all examinees to show what they can do. At
a minimum, all assessments should be reviewed for (a) stereotypes, (b) situations
that may favor one culture over another, (c) excessive language demands that
prevent some students from showing their knowledge, and (d) the assessment's
potential to include students with disabilities or limited English proficiency.
- ESEA
- See Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title 1.
- ETS
- See Educational Testing Service (ETS).
- Evaluation
- To measure, compare, and judge the quality of student work, schools, or a
specific educational program
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- Field test
- A trial where test items are given to students who would normally take the
test to determine the quality of the items. Test items may be provided in
a separate test or embedded in a regular test.
- Fluent English Proficiency (FLP)
- A student whose native language is not English, but who has become fluent
in English
- FLP
- See Fluent English Proficiency (FLP).
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- Golden State Examination (GSE)
- California tests established by law in 1983 to recognize students in grades
7-12 who demonstrate outstanding achievement in key subjects. Thirteen Golden
State Examinations are administered each school year to allow for annual recognition.
Individual GSE results are used to qualify students for the Golden State Seal
Merit Diploma, California's honors diploma for high academic achievement.
- GROW Network
- A company that creates STAR communication materials for
teachers and administrators
- GSE
- See Golden State Examination (GSE).
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- Harcourt Educational Measurement (HEM)
- A Harcourt Assessment Company. STAR contractor 1997-2002.
- HEM
- See Harcourt Educational Measurement (HEM).
- High-stakes assessment
- Testing that has strong consequences for the participants. A student's performance
on a high-stakes exam might affect entry into a special class, college admission,
or the awarding of a diploma or degree.
Example: Students will be required to pass CAHSEE to receive a high
school diploma in California.
- Holistic scoring
- Evaluation of student work in which the score is based on the overall quality
of the response or performance rather than the individual elements of performance
(analytic scoring).
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- ICC
- See Item Characteristic Curve (ICC).
- IEP
- See Individual Education Plan (IEP).
- Individual Education Plan (IEP)
- A program that coordinates services for children with disabilities and special
needs, including special education, transportation, and clinical services
- Instrument
- Test
- Item
- An individual question in an assessment or test instrument.
- Item Characteristic Curve (ICC)
- A mathematical function that relates the probability that a student will
answer a question correctly to their underlying ability or skill. See also
Item Response Theory.
- Item Response Theory (IRT)
- A statistical theory that models how a student's response to a test question relates to their ability or skill. A variety of IRT models are used in practice to construct and score tests such as the California Standards Tests.
- IRT
- See Item Response Theory (IRT).
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- Low-stakes assessment
- Testing that has few direct consequences for the participants. Such testing
is generally used for diagnosis of individual students or to provide information
for such purposes as instructional improvement or curriculum redesign.*
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- Mantel-Haenszel (MH)
- A methodology for measuring Differential Functioning (DIF)
- MH
- See Mantel-Haenszel (MH).
- Multiple-choice
- A response format in which students select from two or more predetermined
choices. Enhanced multiple-choice formats may involve questions that are linked
and sequenced in a manner that provides more insight into features such as
the student's prior knowledge or the particulars of the solution process used
by the student.
- Multiple measures
- The use of a variety of measures, such as standardized test results, classroom
assessments, tasks and projects, grades, and teacher evaluation, to provide
a complete picture of a student's academic achievement
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- NAEP
- See National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
- National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
- An ongoing, national assessment of what samples of America's students in
grades 4, 8, and 12 know and can do in various academic subject areas. NAEP
is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Education. California has participated in NAEP for nearly 30
years. One NAEP component provides states with a measure of their students'
academic performance over time and a comparison with results of other states
and students nationwide.
- National Computer System (NCS) Pearson
- The data collection company responsible for shipping, processing, scoring,
and reporting STAR results
- National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
- Federally funded program to provide lunches to designated students
- NCS
- See National Computer System (NCS) Pearson.
- No Child Left Behind
- See Elementary and Secondary Education ACT (ESEA) Title 1.
- Norm-Referenced Test (NRT)
- An assessment in which individual or group performance is compared to a larger
group. Usually, the larger group or "norm group" is a national sample representing
a wide and diverse cross-section of students. Students, schools, or districts
are then compared or rank-ordered in relation to the norm group.
Example: The CAT/6 is a norm-referenced assessment
test that compares students nationwide.
- NRT
- See Norm-Referenced Test (NRT).
- NSLP
- See National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
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- OCQA
- See Office of Corporate Quality Assurance (OCQA).
- Office of Corporate Quality Assurance (OCQA)
- A division of ETS that promotes high quality based on
professional standards across ETS. The efforts of OCQA lead to better service
for clients and customers.
- On-demand assessment
- An assessment that takes place at a predetermined time and place usually
under standardized conditions for all students being assessed
Examples: The STAR tests, CAHSEE,
CAPA, district tests, and some in-class unit tests and
final exams
- Opportunity to Learn (OTL)
- A learning process that positively influences student achievement. Opportunity
to Learn (OTL) is what takes place in classrooms that enables students to
acquire the knowledge and skills that are expected.
- OTL
- See Opportunity to Learn (OTL).
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- Performance assessment
- Testing method that requires students to write an answer or develop a product
that demonstrates their knowledge or skills. Performance assessment can take
many different forms including writing short answers, doing mathematical computations,
writing an extended essay, conducting an experiment, presenting an oral argument,
or assembling a portfolio of representative work.
- Performance standard
- Level of student achievement based on a demonstrated degree of mastery of
specified content standards and measured by the API. California
has identified four performance levels for its statewide standards-based assessments:
Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic.
- Physical fitness test
- An assessment of the physical fitness of students in grades 5, 7, and 9 that
is designated by the State Board of Education (SBE) and
administered by school districts each year during March, April, or May. At
least once every two years the California Department of Education
(CDE) collects and reports physical fitness test results to the Governor
and the Legislature.
- Point-Biserial Correlation
- A correlation that provides an index of the relationship between students'
scores on a question and their total scores on a test. Point-biserial correlations
are used to evaluate how well questions discriminate between high- and low-scoring
students. Point-biserial correlations can range from -1.0 to +1.0, although
most point-biserial correlations are between +0.10 (a question with poor discrimination)
and +0.70 (a question with good discrimination).
- Pre-ID
- Demographic data that is pre-printed on the answer document or on labels
for each student of a given district. Pre-ID saves schools time by minimizing
the need to fill in demographic information manually on answer documents.
- P-value
- The difficulty of a test question is often expressed by the p-value, which
is the proportion of students answering the question correctly. P-values can
range from 0.00 to 1.00, although most p-values are between 0.20 (a relatively
difficult question) to 0.80 (a relatively easy question).
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- Reliability
- The degree to which the results of an assessment are dependable and consistently
measure particular student knowledge and skills. Reliability is an indication
of the consistency of scores over time, between scores, or across different
tasks or items that measure the same thing. If scores from an assessment are
unreliable interpretations based on these scores, and subsequent decisions,
will not be valid.
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- SABE/2
- See Spanish Assessment of Basic Education (SABE/2).
- SASI
- Software available through Pearson Educational Technologies that districts
use to collect and capture their data on students. Districts can extract what
they need for Pre-ID files from the SASI database using software extract programs
that SASI updates yearly to handle the changes in the required demographics.
- SBE
- See State Board of Education (SBE).
- Scoring rubric
- A listing of specific criteria used to score written-response questions in
an assessment. A typical rubric contains a scoring scale; states all the different
major traits or elements to be examined; and provides criteria for deciding
what score to assign to student responses or performance. Scales may be quantitative
(e.g., a score from 0 to 6), qualitative (e.g., "adequate performance" or
"minimal competency"), or a combination of the two.
- Scoring scale
- The range of scores possible for a test or assessment. Scaled scores occur
when participants' responses to any number of items are combined and used
to establish and place students on a single scale of achievement.
- SDAIE
- See Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE).
- SELPA
- See Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA).
- Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)
- A school district or group of school districts in a given geographical area
that coordinate the administration and delivery of special education services
- Spanish Assessment of Basic Education (SABE/2)
- A primary language test published by CTB/McGraw-Hill that school districts
must administer to all limited English-proficient Spanish-speaking students
who first enrolled in California public schools fewer than 12 months prior
to testing. This test is optional for students first enrolled more than 12
months prior to testing.
- SPAR
- See Statewide Pupil Assessment Review (SPAR).
- Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE)
- A teaching style that uses special strategies to assist Limited English Proficient
students to learn subject content at the appropriate grade level while becoming
proficient in English
- Standardization
- A consistent set of procedures for designing, administering, and scoring
an assessment. The purpose of standardization is to ensure that all students
are assessed under the same conditions so that their scores have the same
meaning and are not influenced by differing conditions. Standardized procedures
are particularly important when scores are to be used to compare individuals
or groups.
- Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)
- The standardized testing and reporting program in the state of California
authorized by law in 1997. STAR is an achievement test administered annually
to California students in public schools grades 2-11 with two major objectives:
- To test progress toward California Standards
- To measure the achievement of California students in comparison with students
nationwide
The STAR program has three components:
- Standardized tests
- Tests with the same content that are administered and scored under conditions
uniform to all students. Standardization is needed to make test scores comparable
and to ensure, as much as possible, that all test takers have equal and fair
chances to demonstrate what they know.
- Standards
- Statements of expectations for student learning that commonly include content
standards and performance standards
- Stanford 9
- A nationally-normed test published by Harcourt Educational Measurement (HEM)
that was part of STAR 1997-2002. Students in grades 2 through 8 were tested
in reading, written expression (language), spelling, and mathematics. Students
in grades 9 through 11 were tested in reading, writing (language), mathematics,
history-social science, and science.
- Stanford 9 survey
- A shortened form of the Stanford 9 that, according to the publisher, maintains
the validity and reliability of the longer version
- Stanine
- A score on a normalized standardized test that indicates a student's rank
in comparison with other students who took the same test. Stanine scores range
from 1 to 9 and indicate a student's performance level, where a score of 1,
2, or 3 is below average, a score of 4, 5, or 6 is average, and a score of
7, 8, or 9 is above average.
- STAR
- See Standardized Testing and Reporting.
- STAR standards-based tests
- Tests developed for California, which cover English Language Arts and mathematics
in grades 2 through 11. STAR standards-based tests cover history-social science
in grades 8, 10, and 11, and science in grades 9 through 11, and include a
writing prompt in grades 4 and 7. The purpose of these tests is to align the
STAR program with state standards.
- State Board of Education (SBE)
- Governor-appointed body that sets educational policies and designates the
STAR contractor
- Statewide Pupil Assessment Review (SPAR)
- A panel responsible for reviewing and approving a single achievement test
to be used statewide for the testing of students in California public schools,
grades 2-11
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- Test
- A measuring instrument for assessing and documenting student learning. The
traditional test is a single-occasion, timed exercise.
- Test booklets
- Reading material that includes directions and questions
- Test equating
- A general procedure used by statisticians to adjust for differences in test
difficulty that occur across different versions of a test.
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- Validity
- The degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretation of test
scores entailed by proposed uses of tests. The process of validation involves
accumulating evidence to provide a sound scientific basis for the proposed
score interpretations. It is the interpretations of test scores for proposed
uses that are evaluated, not the test itself.
Example: If a student performs poorly on a reading test, how confident
are we that this score indicates poor reading ability? How confident are we
that a low reading score requires special educational interventions.**
- Vertical equating/scoring
- A statistical procedure used to adjust for differences when students of different
levels take the same test
Example: Out of level testing
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- Waves
- A single testing period (or window) for a school district that has a variety
of beginning and ending dates of instruction
Examples:
- One wave: Apple High School is a single-track school and gives
all the multiple-choice tests in one 21-day administration.
- Two waves: Bay Elementary includes 4th graders and gives all
multiple-choice tests in one 21-day window; 1 wave for writing, 1 wave for multiple-choice
- Multiple waves: Canton Middle School, multi-track and year-round
school with 2 beginning ending dates of instruction and one track is not
in session in March; 4 waves, 2 for writing and 2 for multiple-choice
- 504 Plan
- A plan by which students with disabilities who are in regular classes, are
provided special attention or special situations, such as being allowed to
take a test alone and not with other students
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*Hart, Diane (ed.) Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators. Addison-Wesley, 1993.
**American Psychology Association, American Education Research
Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. Standards
for educational and psychology testing. Washington, D.C.: American Educational
Research Association. 1999.
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