Overview
The end of course tests (EOCT) is a state-administered test. It is an assessment program that offers diagnostic information to assist students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and to improve performance in high school courses. Also, it provides data to assess the efficiency of class, state level, and even system instruction. Georgia milestones assessment, often named Georgia milestones, is an inclusive cumulative evaluation program traversing grade three via high school (Georgia Department of Education, 2015). It gauges how well the students have mastered the skills and knowledge outlined in science, mathematics, social studies, and English language.
Depending on the courses chosen by the State Board of Education, high school students are required to take ten designated courses. Grade three through eight are supposed to take the end-of-grade assessment in arts, English, and math while five to eight are evaluated on sciences and social studies (Amrein, & Berliner, 2002). Notably, EOCT is administered upon finishing the designated courses.
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Instruments
In the assessment of EOCT, pencil and paper are used. Also, online assessment is often used. The use of pencil and paper is utilized during the main administrations. On the other hand, online evaluation occurs for all administrations. Notably, the tests occur in two 60 minutes fragments. In most cases, the schedules may occur in one-to-two days depending on the system. The system then gets reports from every administration, which includes class roster reports, individual student’s reports, summary reports, and content area summary reports. In most cases, it comprises the 15% of the course’ grade and is administered by the state.
Validity
Clear identification of the role of tests is one way of gauging its validity. Students are assessed on how well they have captured the state’s standards. Also, the assessors determine the areas where students may have not covered content well and then inform stakeholders of what should be done (the State of Georgia, n.d.). Documentation parameters are crucial aspects of testing for validity. Test specification, for example, elucidates standards to be used in the assessment and how they will be measured. The content domain specifications and test blueprints show how various elements are grouped and represented in reports.
Notably, validity is further ensured by a joint effort in which educators in Georgia work hand in hand to formulate tests that students will take. At the same time, they equate the tests to ensure that difficulty as compared to previous years is equivalent. Also, setting the standard is a must as it defines the pass mark required for every student. Lastly, the scores are reported as performance levels and scale scores. On the whole, the validity of the tests is an ongoing process right from course evaluation to dispatch of the results.
Reliability
It is imperative, no doubt, that the validity of the tests must be achieved first before it becomes reliable. In brief, reliability addresses the manner to which the scores for a group of students are consistent and stable over a given time. In a rephrase, reliable assessment is that test, which will produce stable scores if a certain group of students was to do the same test repetitively without any exhaustion or memory impairments.
In Georgia Milestones, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient is utilized (Georgia Department of Education, 2016). It measures the test’s consistency as a ratio of true test score variance to observed test total score variance. It is then computed with the use of Algina and Crocker formula. The formula is as stated here below.
In the final analysis, reliability coefficient does not have a unit of measurement and it can be used for comparing subsequent tests. It ranges 0 to 1.
References
Amrein, A. L., & Berliner, D. C. (2002). High-stakes testing & student learning. Education policy analysis archives , 10 , 18.
Georgia Department of Education. (2015). Georgia Milestones Assessment System: Mode Comparative Analyses. Georgia Milestones Assessment System. Retrieved from www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/cms/lib3/GA01000373/Centricity/Domain/22/Mode%20Comparability%20Executive%20Summary%20FINAL_3-3-16.pdf
Georgia Department of Education. (2016). Validity and Reliability for the 2015-2016 Georgia Milestones Assessment System. Georgia Milestones Assessment Systems. Retrieved from www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Document/Milestones/2015-16_Georgia_MIlestones_Validity_and_Reliability_Brief.pdf
The state of Georgia. (n.d.). Current Georgia Assessments. The Governor's Office of Student Achievement . Retrieved from https://gosa.georgia.gov/current-georgia-assessments
