fbpx

Standardisation and Self – comparison

Purpose of Standardisation in exam

The purpose of this Standardisation is to make sure that the scores reliably indicate the abilities or skills being measured, and no other things, such as different instructions about what to do if the test taker does not know the answer to a question.
Standardisation ” in the context of examinations refers to the process of ensuring that the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the results of an exam are consistent across all test-takers and testing conditions. This approach aims to ensure fairness and objectivity in the way exams are conducted and evaluated. Here are some key aspects of standardizasion in exams:

1. Consistent Test Conditions: Standardisation  means that all students take the exam under the same conditions. This includes similar timing, environment, instructions, and materials, which helps to eliminate variations that could unfairly advantage or disadvantage some students.

2. Uniform Scoring Criteria: The scoring system is standardised so that all answers are evaluated against the same criteria, regardless of who marks the exam. This is particularly important for subjective questions, where scoring might otherwise vary between different graders.

3. Equitable Content: The exam content is designed to be fair to all test-takers. This involves ensuring that the material tested is relevant and has been covered during study and is accessible to all participants without bias towards groups.

4. Reliability and Validity: Standardised exams are typically rigorously tested to ensure they reliably measure what they are supposed to measure (reliability) and accurately assess the knowledge or skills they intend to test (validity).

5. Predefined Administration Protocols: Detailed protocols dictate how exams should be administered, from the way questions are presented to how papers are collected. This helps to prevent any procedural discrepancies that could affect performance.

6. Normalisation: Sometimes, especially in large-scale testing scenarios (like standardised entrance tests), scores are normalised to account for any slight variations in difficulty across different versions of the test or different testing sessions.

 The Need for Standardised Tests

1. When assessing student comprehension or competency in a particular subject area, a given teacher may use a variety of methods. Given the subjective nature of individual teacher and district assessments, standardised tests allow for less probability of subjective bias when scoring responses.

2. To complete exam questions for these types of tests, the time allotment is the same for each student, and the use of multiple-choice or true-false problems increases the chance of neutral and accurate outcomes.

The following are reasons why standardised tests are prevalent

1. Assessing data and performing quantitative analysis of that data are both design goals for standardised assessment exams. This enables schools to benchmark and evaluate their students’ performance against the representative sample used in the standardization process using the final published assessments.

2. A child’s standardised test scores could help teachers decide how to address knowledge gaps in a particular subject.

3. School administrators can also use test scores to figure out if specific teachers need more training. If some classes are underperforming relative to state standards, more teacher training may need to be completed.
Benefits of standardised Tests

Standardised testing can:

1. Establish a universal educational standard: The objective of standardised is to set a baseline for comparison. Any form of assessment outside of school curricula, which might vary considerably within different education departments, can help a school system compare students from varied backgrounds because all the students took the same test. It becomes easier to evaluate and score individuals when they are measured against a common standard.

2. Demonstrate student progress: standardised exams can show student improvement over time by taking the same tests over time. In addition, student test scores can also be easily compared to each other to show changes in progress.

3. Ensure that all educational stakeholders are held accountable: Ideally, standardised exams assist in defining bigger academic standards for schools across states and the nation. By measuring student achievement, standardized exams can also inform educational policies. School principals and governments are aware that if students in a specific school or district are struggling to achieve at a grade level, the school administration and community stakeholders should intervene and offer help.

Self-comparison:

“Don’t compare yourself with others, compare yourself with you were yesterday – Jordan Peterson”

Self-comparison refers to the process of evaluating oneself or one’s performance against certain criteria, standards, or benchmarks. This comparison can be internal, where you assess your own progress or abilities, or external, where you compare yourself to others or to predefined measures of success.

Self-comparison, when used thoughtfully, can offer several benefits for students, particularly in their educational and personal development:

1. Goal Setting: By comparing their achievements or skills with those of their peers or benchmarks, students can identify specific goals for themselves. It provides a clearer sense of direction and priorities, which is essential in academic planning.

2. Self-Motivation: Seeing the progress or success of others can inspire students to strive for similar achievements. It can serve as a motivator to maintain or increase effort in their studies.

3. Self-Awareness: Regular self-comparison helps students become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses. This awareness is crucial for personal development and effective learning strategies.

4. Performance Improvement: By understanding where they stand relative to their peers, students can pinpoint areas where they need improvement, leading to targeted efforts that can enhance their academic performance.

5. Adaptability: Engaging in self-comparison can also teach students to adapt their learning strategies based on feedback and comparisons. This adaptability can be beneficial throughout their educational journey and beyond.

6. Realistic Self-Perception: Constructive self-comparison can help students maintain a balanced view of their capabilities and achievements, preventing overconfidence or underestimation of their abilities.

References:

1. Definition of Standardise exams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardized_test#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of %20this%20standardization,the%20answer%20to%20a%20question.

2. Need for standardise tests
https://educationadvanced.com/resources/blog/standardized-tests-the-benefits and-impacts-of-implementing-standardized/

3. Benefits of Standardised tests
https://educationadvanced.com/resources/blog/standardized-tests-the-benefits and-impacts-of-implementing-standardized/

Conclusion:

1. If a student does not do well on an exam, they will be given a worksheet that focuses on the areas where they struggled.

2. By working through the worksheet, the student can better understand where they went wrong and what they need to work on.

3. Comparing to self will help student to know his improvement and will develop self confidence.

4. By continuous practice and improvement, he will be more likely to succeed in exams.