Page 127 - Making Instruction Work
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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.