This post will attempt to give a very brief overview of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments, how they can be used to inform instruction and how to implement them in the classroom.
A table of specification (TOS) can be used to help teachers frame
the decision making process of test construction and improve the validity of teachers' evaluations
based on tests constructed for classroom use.
A TOS, sometimes called a test blueprint, is a table
that helps teachers align objectives, instruction, and
assessment (e.g., Notar, Zuelke, Wilson, & Yunker,
2004). This strategy can be used for a variety of
assessment methods but is most commonly associated
with constructing traditional summative tests. When
constructing a test, teachers need to be concerned that
the test measures an adequate sampling of the class
content at the cognitive level that the material was
taught. The TOS can help teachers map the amount of
class time spent on each objective with the cognitive
level at which each objective was taught thereby
helping teachers to identify the types of items they need
to include on their tests. There are many approaches to
developing and using a TOS advocated by
measurement experts (e.g., Anderson, Krathwohl,
Airasian, Cruikshank, Mayer, Pintrich, Raths, &
Wittrock, 2001, Gronlund, 2006; Reynolds, Livingston,
& Wilson, 2006).