In four paragraphs, compare the use of paper-pencil and performance assessments in the classroom with respect to reliability, standardization, validity, and reliability. Your answer should focus on the use of the two forms of assessment for measuring classroom learning and achievement

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Following are general points that a response might include:
• Reliability: For paper-pencil assessment, scorer reliability depends on the extent to which items are objectively scorable. Performance assessments often have low scorer reliability (e.g., different teachers may rate the same performance quite differently; students' performance on complex tasks can be inconsistent across time, especially if an assessment taps only a small sample of behavior).
• Standardization: Generally speaking, paper-pencil assessments are easily standardized. Some performance assessments (e.g., a typing test) are easily standardized, but others (e.g., an art project) are not.
• Validity: Content validity is of primary concern when assessing classroom achievement. Paper-pencil test items that require only short responses (e.g., multiple-choice items, short-answer questions) allow wider sampling of the content domain; in this sense, they provide greater content validity. Yet tasks requiring complex responses (e.g., essays, performance tasks) may have greater content validity if they more closely match instructional goals and objectives.
• Practicality: Paper-pencil assessment is typically more practical than performance assessment; for instance, it usually requires no "equipment" other than paper and writing implements, and teachers can easily assess the knowledge and skills of all of their students at the same time. Some paper-pencil assessments have the additional advantage of being relatively quick and easy to score.