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Assessment - Assessment Training

Test Development Workshops at CETE

by James T. Austin

Staff members at CETE possess substantial knowledge of evidence- and practice-based approaches to assessment and testing, which is part of a broader emphasis on evaluation of programs, personnel, and curriculum. A Test Development Workshop has been offered at CETE since August 2004. Several in-place and proposed professional development offerings are described in this brief overview, and additional information is available from Dr. James T. Austin (614-292-9897; austin.38@osu.edu).

The signature professional development course is the 3-day Test Development Workshop, generally offered three times per year in March, July, and October. CETE also offers onsite workshops for clients or customized workshops around a specific career field or pathway (health sciences, for example). Most workshops are attended by 10-20 individuals representing a broad range of educational and work organizations.

The workshop was designed during 2003-2004 and field tested in 2004 around a Test Construction Cycle of 10 steps which also informs CETE project work in testing. Listed in the adjacent box, the 10 steps run from 1) Determine Test Purpose through 4) Write, Manage, & Evaluate Items (and item writers) to 10) Evaluate Tests: Own & Others. Importantly, the participants learn from each other that many of the perennial issues in testing (test blueprints, item writing and validation, and passing-cutoff scores) recur across the organizations represented by participants.

10-Step Test Construction Cycle

  1. Determine Test Purpose
  2. Define Content Domain (Practice/Job Analysis, Skill Standards)
  3. Create/Evaluate Test Blueprint
  4. Write, Manage, & Evaluate Items (and item writers)
  5. Set Cutoff Scores
  6. Develop, Evaluate, Refine Test Forms
  7. Use Reliability, Validity, Fairness as Quality Yardsticks
  8. Interpret & Report Scores to Stakeholders
  9. Maintain Testing System
  10. Evaluate Tests: Own & Others

The discussion-lecture format is used to present the 65+ learning objectives, with eight opportunities for practice that range from case studies and guided demonstrations to item analysis and item review. CETE supporting materials are shared, as are free handouts from the Educational Testing Service and other testing firms. A set of compiled handouts complements the printed presentation slides.

Using the same general approach, other training workshops are currently available or under development for Online Testing Awareness, Student-Focused Classroom Assessment FOR Learning (using a Wiggins-Stiggins blended approach), and Advanced Test Development. Details are provided in the following table.

Test Development Workshop Currently Available
Suggested Audience
  • Workforce development
  • Career-technical education accountability
  • Personnel selection and placement
  • Training needs assessment
  • Individual certification or licensure
 Topics
  • Test development cycle
  • Legal issues
  • Bodies of knowledge and test specifications
  • Reliability and validity
  • Item development, banking, and review
  • Pilot testing
  • Interpreting and reporting scores
Online Testing Awareness Currently Available
Suggested Audience
  • Workforce development
  • Career-technical education accountability
  • Personnel selection and placement
  • Training needs assessment
  • Individual certification-licensure body staff
 Topics
  • Issues
  • Techniques
  • Platforms
    • QuestionMark
    • Webxam
    • FastTest PRO
Student-Focused Classroom Assessment FOR Learning Under Development
Suggested Audience
  • Secondary and postsecondary classroom teachers
  • Industry trainers
  • District personnel designing professional development for classroom assessment
 Topics
  • Using assessment to improve instruction and meet students’ learning needs
  • Aligning instruction and tests
  • Clarifying knowledge, skill, or affect to measure
  • Reducing assessment and item bias
  • Avoiding “testing for the sake of testing”
Advanced Test Development Under Development
Suggested Audience
  • Workforce development
  • Career-technical education accountability
  • Personnel selection and placement
  • Training needs assessment
  • Individual certification or licensure
 Topics
  • Equating
  • In-depth item analysis
  • Quality control
  • Accreditation under
    • ICE-NCCA (Institute for Credentialing Excellence-National Commission for Certifying Agencies)
    • ANSI (American National Standards Institute) 17024
  • Computer-based testing

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