Page 127 - Making Instruction Work
P. 127

chap 11  3/11/97 4:59 PM  Page 113







                                                                 11






                                     Criterion Tests









                   Situation: You have drafted objectives, a hierarchy,
                   and a target population description. Now you want to
                   develop the tools by which you can find out whether
                   those objectives have been achieved—by which you can
                   find out whether the instruction worked.



              If it’s worth teaching, it’s worth finding out whether the
              instruction was successful. That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
              After all, we weigh ourselves to find out whether we have
              achieved a weight target, and we test products to find out
              whether they are ready to ship to customers. In the same way,
              we measure the performance of our students to find out
              whether our instruction is doing what it’s supposed to be
              doing.
                The most direct measure of instructional success is to deter-
              mine how many objectives were accomplished by each
              student. Enter the criterion test. The name is derived from
              the criteria stated in an objective. In practice, largely because
              the word  “test” has such anxiety-producing connotations,
              criterion tests are usually referred to by labels more acceptable
              to the people using them. Skill checks and performance checks
              are common examples.
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