EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Grade 10

Alignment of Level 20 TerraNova, Form A*,
to Wisconsin Model Academic Standards

*The TerraNova Assessment Series published by CTB McGraw-Hill is the series used for the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations at grades four, eight, and ten.

On April 20-21, 1998, CTB/McGraw-Hill staff conducted a workshop for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to match items on TerraNova, Form A, at Levels 14, 18, and 20 to the Model Academic Standards for Grades 4, 8, and 12 respectively. TerraNova is currently administered to Wisconsin students in Grades 4, 8, and 10. The purpose of conducting the match was to determine whether individual TerraNova items assess the Model Academic Standards and the extent to which the Model Academic Standards are addressed by TerraNova items - that is, breadth of coverage. Approximately ten Wisconsin educators participated in the alignment workshop for each of the four content areas assessed by TerraNova: reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. CTB facilitated content area groups by providing instructions on the specific tasks to be performed and on documentation procedures. Participants worked in pairs to review a draft match completed by CTB, then presented their findings to the whole group for discussion; groups reached consensus on each item. Test items could be matched to more than one performance standard, and an item was considered to match if it either assessed the content of the standard or assessed related content.

Major Findings

• Of all TerraNova, items on Level 20, is administered to students in Grade 10, 98 percent match one or more of the Model Academic Standards.

• In Reading/Language Arts, all 62 of the items match one or more performance standards. Four items were matched to a Grade 4 performance standard rather than a Grade 12 standard; four other items were matched to either a Grade 4 or a Grade 8 standard in addition to being matched to a Grade 12 standard.

• In both Mathematics and Science, 34 of 35 (97%) items match one or more performance standards.

• In Social Studies, 33 of 34 (97%) items match at least one performance standard.

At Grade 12 there are a total of 185 performance standards, of which 155 were judged to be appropriate for large-scale, paper-and pencil kinds of tests for tenth-grade students. Some performance standards were considered to be inappropriate because either Grade 10 students have not been adequately exposed to the content or because the standard cannot be assessed with paper-and-pencil test. Of the 155 assessable standards, 96 (62%) are measured by items on TerraNova, Form A.

• The 10 Reading/Language Arts standards that are appropriate for large-scale assessment are addressed by one or more TerraNova items. In addition, an item matched an additional standard.

• On the Mathematics assessable standards, 65 percent (15 of 23) are measured by TerraNova items.

• In Science, 58 percent of the assessable performance standards are tested by TerraNova items. Of the 60 Science performance standards, 45 were determined to be appropriate for large-scale assessments.

• In Social Studies, 44 of 76 (58%) assessable standards are measured by TerraNova items. There are 78 Grade 12 Social Studies performance standards.

A complete copy of the publication titled "Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations: An Alignment Study at Grades 4, 8, and 10" is available for downloading in .pdf format. This publication may be printed and copied by Wisconsin educators and citizens. Other use or reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, requires written approval of CTB/McGraw-Hill, 20 Ryan Ranch Road, Monterey, California 93940-5703

Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations: An Alignment Study at Grade 10

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Last updated on 2/26/2008 10:42:47 AM