Chapter 11 Evaluating Student Learning
Multiple Choice
1. Ms. Applebee prepared a ____ to help her students know what the important material was for the upcoming
test. a. study guide
b. competency checklist
c. portfolio
d. revised grading system
2. Giving students a practice test ____.
a. helps to familiarize the class with the test format
b. tends to make students with disabilities more anxious about the upcoming test
c. is generally not a good idea unless the test material is quite complicated
d. biases the ‘real’ results
3. When Sadie studies for a test on a chapter of a history textbook, she tries to recall five to seven key ideas to
trigger her recall of more significant details. Sadie is using a memory device called ____.
a. mnemonics
b. the keyword method
c. chunking
d. schema
4. Aquanetta wants to remember her new friend’s phone number. Instead of trying to remember all seven
digits (5-5-6-1-9-7-7), she divides it into three numbers, ordered small to large, that she can more easily
remember: 5–56-1977 (read five, fifty-six, nineteen seventy-seven). Which technique did Aquanetta use?
a. a jingle
b. the keyword method
c. chunking
d. a mnemonic
5. A mnemonic device that uses visual imagery to make definitions and factual information more meaningful
is ____.
a. means-ends analysis
b. SCORER
c. chunking
d. the keyword method
6. Mr. Rolin taught his geography students to think of the word ‘HOMES’ to help them remember the names
of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. Mr. Rolin taught his students ____.
a. a mnemonic device
b. how to analyze
c. a verbal rehearsal strategy
d. a response format
7. While studying the state capitals, Jose imagined a big ‘N.D.’ standing on a biscuit. When asked to name the
capital of North Dakota during her test, Josie imagined ‘N.D.’, saw that it was on top of a biscuit, and
remembered that it is Bismarck. Josie used ____ to help her remember.
a. the method of loci
b. a schema
c. chunking
d. the keyword method
8. Ms. Nevid helped her students learn their spelling words by: (a) saying the word; (b) spelling it out loud
three times; (c) covering the word; (d) writing it down from memory; and (e) comparing her spelling to the
correct spelling. Ms. Nevid taught her students ____.
a. a response format
b. the keyword method
c. a verbal rehearsal strategy
d. a mnemonic device
9. Special needs students may need to be taught how to use ____, including studying for tests, taking
objective tests and writing essay answers.
a. study guides
b. test taking skills
c. mnemonics
d. chunking
10. When Eduardo takes multiple-choice tests, he tries to figure out the answer before he reads all of the
choices. This is an example of what test taking strategy described in the textbook?
a. Anticipate the answer.
b. Use logical reasoning to eliminate unlikely answers.
c. Respond to the test maker’s intention.
d. Consider all alternatives.
11. Which of the following is a recommended strategy for taking objective tests?
a. Complete true-false questions first.
b. Never guess.
c. Consider all the alternatives.
d. Begin with the last item.
12. Which of the following is in the ‘ANSWER’ strategy?
a. If you do not have time to write an essay answer, write the outline for it.
b. Read over the exam as you work your way through it to save time.
c. Write on the back of each page.
d. Do not leave margins.
13. When modifying test construction for students with special needs ____.
a. eliminate all multiple choice questions; they are too hard
b. reduce the number of possible choices on multiple-choice tests
c. stress fill-in the blank items; they require less reasoning
d. use lengthy matching questions; they are easier for students to do
14. Which of the following is a recommended test construction modification for students with disabilities?
a. Use tests that are typewritten and photocopied.
b. Increase the number of fill-in the blank items.
c. Use machine-scored answer sheets.
d. Eliminate spacing between items to make the test seem shorter.
15. Which of the following is a recommended accommodation for test administration?
a. Eliminate the use of written tests altogether.
b. Give extended time to finish tests.
c. Avoid giving feedback to individual students during the test.
d. Give unit exams rather than frequent quizzes.
16. Which of the following describes a recommended accommodation for test administration?
a. Read test questions aloud to students with reading comprehension problems.
b. Seat students with attention problems in the back of the class so they do not bother other students.
c. Permit students with reading comprehension problems to skip the test.
d. Allow students with written expression problems to take the test with a partner.
17. Jocelyn, a student with a learning disability, has trouble remembering large amounts of information for
tests. Jocelyn’s teacher decides to make Jocelyn responsible only for the key terms in the chapter.
Therefore, Jocelyn’s test has only 25 questions compared to the 50 questions for the rest of the class.
Jocelyn answered 24 questions correctly and received an ‘A’ for the test. Jocelyn’s teacher ____.
a. used a pass/fail system for Jocelyn
b. incorporated improvement grades for Jocelyn
c. changed the grading criteria for Jocelyn
d. modified an authentic learning task for Jocelyn
18. Grading criteria are ____.
a. the standards upon which students’ grades are based
b. ways to help students analyze the kinds of mistakes they make on tests
c. ways to change students’ grades with written comments or symbols
d. checklists that show which key concepts students have learned
19. The use of a ‘grading rubric’ ____.
a. helps students judge the quality of their own work
b. waters down academic standards
c. makes changes to letter and number grades
d. uses only letter grades for all students
20. Which of the following is true regarding competency checklists?
a. They give less detailed information about student performance than grades.
b. They provide grading on the key concepts the student has mastered.
c. They tend to focus on students’ strengths only.
d. They require little time for teachers to complete.
21. Which of the following statements is true regarding report-card grades?
a. Times have changed and report-card grading is seldom used now.
b. The single number or letter of a report-card grade easily communicates essential information to
students, parents and administrators.
c. Grades are not very efficient and make the process of decision making more difficult.
d. Many parents want to see how their children compare to their classmates.
22. Teachers us a ____ to provide ongoing information to students and their parents.
a. daily activity log
b. grading contract
c. modified course syllabus
d. report-card
23. ____ can be used as a way of differentiating report card grades.
a. Credit/no credit system
b. Pass/fail systems
c. Improvement grades
d. Standards-based grading model
24. ____ can be incorporated into the traditional grading system by moving students up a grade if their work
gets better during the marking period.
a. Improvement grades
b. Modified grades
c. Daily activity logs
d. Motivation grades
25. Performance-based assessment ____.
a. relies exclusively on reading and writing
b. measures specific bits of knowledge that students possess
c. focuses on modified grades
d. provides students with opportunities to demonstrate mastery through performance of a task
26. Authentic learning tasks ____.
a. assess tool skills exclusively
b. are too difficult for students with disabilities
c. are tasks that are presented within a ‘real world’ contexts
d. measure specific bits of knowledge that students possess
27. Which of the following statement is true regarding performance-based assessment?
a. Students may utilize flexible timing.
b. Assessment is always subject to tight time constraints.
c. Assessment corresponds directly to the school’s standardized testing program.
d. Assessment relies exclusively on paper and pencil tasks.
28. Which of the following accommodations may need to be made when using performance–based tests for
students with special needs?
a. Incorporate paper and pencil items into performance-based tests.
b. Don’t score their performance-based tests; have students complete the assessment for review.
c. Teach students with special needs preskills for problem solving.
d. Eliminate all reading demands from performance-based assessment items.
29. A purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress and achievement in one
or more areas is a(n) ____.
a. authentic collection
b. portfolio
c. performance-based assessment
d. competency checklist
30. Which of the following statements is true regarding the use of portfolios with students with special needs?
a. Students with special needs need to be taught how to select and evaluate portfolio pieces.
b. Portfolios are not sensitive to the progress of students with special needs.
c. Portfolios are of little benefit to students with special needs.
d. The portfolio process does not need to be modified for students with special needs.
True/False
1. With the current emphasis on school reform and raising educational standards, educators rely less on
students test performance.
2. Accommodations for students with special needs can only be made before the test administration.
3. One test strategy suggested is to read all choices before responding.
4. Students should never be encouraged to guess on standardized tests.
5. On most tests, students should first eliminate unlikely choices.
6. Increased inclusion in schools of English-Language Learners has lead to the recognition that their scores
can be improved by decreasing the complexity of test language.
7. One way to make an accommodation in test grading is to change the criteria on which they are based.
8. Balanced grading takes into account the student’s learning strategy performance and effort.
9. Evaluating student problem solving by having them solve story problems in their math books is an example
of an authentic learning task.
10. Performance-based assessment cannot help special needs students make connections between school and
real world tasks.
11. Alternative assessments do not scale down performance based tasks.
12. One of the benefits of performance-based tests is that accommodations are not needed for students with
disabilities and special needs.
13. One problem with performance based testing is that students with special needs may have trouble meeting
the problem-solving demands of performance-based tests.
14. Portfolios emphasize student products rather than test scores.
15. Students must be involved in selecting and evaluating the pieces to be included in their portfolios.
16. ‘IntelliKeys’ helps a student produce artifacts related to their IEP objectives.
17. The purpose of accommodations is to maximize access to the general education curriculum.
18. In a standards-based grading model the general education teacher decides which standards the student will
be held accountable for during assessments.
19. Individualized grading is called for when a high-incidence student receives a series of failing grades.
20. One advantage of using ‘prioritization for individualized grading’ is it reduces the risk that the less
important content will bring down a student’s grade.
Short Answer
1. What is the predominant method of evaluating student learning?
2. Accommodations for students with special needs can be made in three contexts. Provide one context listed
in the textbook and one example of a specific accommodation for that context.
3. As a teacher, what can you prepare that will tell students ‘what to study’ for a test?
4. Describe one benefit for the teacher when a ‘practice test’ is administered.
5. Describe two devices that represent the use of a ‘mnemonic.’
6. Explain the ‘key word method.’
7. Kayla says her spelling word, spells it out loud three times, covers the word, writes the word and then
compares her spelling to the correct word. What strategy is Kayla using for spelling?
8. Provide two of the six rules for responding to multiple-choice test items.
9. Riley never completes his test and he leaves many items blank. Explain to Riley the strategy provided in
your textbook for ‘use time wisely.’
10. Molly has great difficulty with multiple-choice questions. Explain one modification you can make for
Molly in your test construction of multiple-choice questions.
11. Explain one example of how you can simplify the language on a test for an English-Language Learner in
your math class.
12. Explain one benefit to the student when the teacher provides a ‘rubric’ for grading.
13. Mrs. Aiken, Kisha’s general education teacher, realizes Kisha must attain the State Standards. Provide one
example of an ‘alternative to letter/number’ grading option that could be implemented by Mrs. Aiken to
better meet Kisha’s needs.
14. School policy states ‘teachers will make a minimum of one weekly contact with the parent of a student with
special needs.’ Explain one advantage of using a ‘daily activity log’ to meet this requirement.
15. What is the role of the IEP team in the use of a ‘standards-based grading model’?
16. Mr. Clark, a teacher in your school system for ten years, has always given a zero grade for missing
assignments. Provide one reason why Mr. Clark should stop this practice and one alternative he could use
instead of a zero.
17. Researchers have identified two general types of ‘individualized grading.’ Provide one type identified in
your textbook and explain when you would use this grading strategy.
18. Mrs. Erin has used ‘progress on IEP objectives’ as a way to individualize the grading for Charles. Explain
one advantage for basing part of his grade on his daily work.
19. Chantal’s English class has been assigned a term paper. Chantal has been given credit for her outline,
checklist and for early submission of her work. What is the term used to describe this type of grading?
20. The IEP Team has been monitoring the progress of Jamal in Mr. Burn’s science class. The team has
recommended that Mr. Burn reduce the percentage he counts for tests from 75 to 50 percent. What is the
term used to describe this type of grading?
Essay
1. Explain four accommodations you can make for students with disabilities ‘before a test’ to help them
perform more successfully?
2. When Darwin answers questions orally in class, he does fine. However, he is having difficulty writing
down his answers for essay tests. What are the suggestions found in the ‘ANSWER’ strategy that would
help Darwin with taking essay tests?
3. The ways in which tests are administered to students with disabilities can have an effect on the accuracy of
the results. Describe three different accommodations in test administration. Include in your discussion
which learning difficulty is being addressed by each accommodation selected.
4. Explain why ‘differentiated report cards’ are appropriate for students with disabilities. Include in your
discussion one example of a practical way to differentiate.
5. Explain the purpose of ‘performance–based assessment’ and explain why this type of testing is helpful to a
special needs student. Include in your discussion one example of an ‘authentic learning task.’
6. Jessica, a student with a mild intellectual disability, will be preparing a ‘portfolio.’ Discuss the advantages
for the teacher and the student of ‘portfolio assessment.’ Include in your discussion an explanation of how
the teacher can address the key component of self-evaluation.
7. Calculating district wide GPAs for ranking students can be a concern. Discuss the criteria used to make
certain that all students are similarly affected by the ‘weighted grading’ system. Provide one specific
example in your discussion of ‘weighted grading.’
8. Evan is a student with Autism in your fifth-grade class. The IEP team has determined it would be
appropriate for you to include ‘effort’ into the student’s grade. Provide a discussion of ‘balanced grading.’
Include in your discussion an explanation of the advantages of this grading system.
9. Explain the three advantages for using ‘prioritization for individualized grading.’
10. A commonly used decision rule in RtI, progress monitoring, is ‘four and above.’ Discuss the three
elements of this rule.
Chapter 11
Multiple Choice
True/False
Short Answer
Essay
