The development and norming of the Delta Tests of Mathematics Skills

• Main Author: Cummins, John Martin
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28205

Literature regarding the use of norm-referenced achievement tests suggests that they are unsatisfactory for systematically monitoring pupil progress. The shortcomings of these measures include: a) the questionable congruence between the group being tested and the norming group, b) the lack of content validity with respect to a student's curriculum, c) the reduced diagnostic utility of these tests resulting from their limited item content, d) the perceived inadequacy of scores derived from norm-referenced achievement tests and e) the inability to administer such tests with any regularity without invalidating them. Curriculum-based assessment (C.B.A.) strategies have been developed in response to these limitations. Such measures may allow repeated administrations, thus permitting the measurement of both proficiency and rate of learning. If normed on a defined population of students at regular intervals during the school year, the discrepancy between a particular student's performance and that of his peers could easily be determined. The Delta Tests of Mathematics Skills (DTMS) are curriculum-based measures of mathematics facts and mathematics computations skills for Grades 2, 3 and 4. They are based on the B.C. Mathematics Curriculum, normed in the schools of Delta, B.C. and permit repeated administration. This study demonstrates that unlike standardized achievement tests, the DTMS can measure changes in a student's or group's performance on specific skills over brief (one month) periods of time. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate