Understanding Assessment: The Importance of Understanding the Confidence Interval
The confidence interval is a range of values surrounding the score obtained from the administration of a standardized test.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Hologram
A hologram is a description of a child within an evaluation that illustrates the child’s strengths and weaknesses for the reader and should include examples that show the child’s ability to learn and highest level of functioning, as well as a description of when his or her skills break down.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Normal Distribution
A normal distribution, also called a bell curve, occurs when variables (i.e., test scores) plotted on a graph fall into a regular distribution around a single mean. In a normal distribution, about 96% of the scores will fall within 2 standard deviations of the mean.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Normative Sample
The terms normative sample and standardization sample refer to the same concept and are often used interchangeably. A norm referenced test uses a normative or standardization sample from the general population to determine what is “typical” or “normal” in that population.
Understanding Assessment: Types of Validity in Testing
Validity refers to the degree to which an item is measuring what it’s actually supposed to be measuring.
Report Writing: Quantification
Even though standardized test scores should not be used to determine or diagnose disability, quantification is required to demonstrate that a child should receive services. It is the evaluator’s job to use his or her clinical judgement to determine percentage of delay if it exists.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Standard Error of Measure
The standard error of measure indicates the amount of uncertainty that a sample (such as a normative sample) is truly representative of the general population. In the case of administering standardized tests, it conveys the level of uncertainty that a single test performance observed by the evaluator represents how the child would do if it were administered multiple times.
