Assessments Used in High-stakes Testing
Any form of assessment can be used as a high-stakes test. Many times, an inexpensive multiple-choice test is chosen for convenience. A high-stakes assessment may also involve answering open-ended questions or a practical, hands-on section. For example, a typical high-stakes licensing exam for a medical nurse determines whether the nurse can insert an I.V. line by watching the nurse actually do this task. These assessments are called authentic assessments or performance tests.
Some high-stakes tests may be standardized tests (in which all examinees take the test under reasonably equal conditions), with the expectation that standardization affords all examinees a fair and equal opportunity to pass. Some high-stakes tests are non-standardized, such as a theater audition.
As with other tests, high-stakes tests may be criterion-referenced or norm-referenced. For example, a written driver's license examination typically is criterion-referenced, with an unlimited number of potential drivers able to pass if they correctly answer a certain percentage of questions. On the other hand, essay portions of some bar exams are often norm-referenced, with the worst essays failed and the best essays passed, without regard for the overall quality of the essays.
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