Kathe Taylor and Sherry Walton Assessment and standardized testing have become an integral part of American education in the new age of accountability. Ms. Taylor and Walton have been education professionals for nearly 30 years. This is a good starting point because assessment and testing are often treated synonymously yet they really aren't the same. Assessment is a vital part of education. Teachers are using many different forms of assessment in the classroom to gather information about student progress such as questionnaires, surveys, essays, observations, portfolios, etc.
Tests are just one tool of assessment.
Standardized tests are designed to make certain every student is on the same level playing field when assessing what they have learned. By standardizing the test it means that all children are receiving the same questions and procedures, no matter where it is being administered. Whether they are norm or criterion basedtests, however, they should only be one piece of information about the child and should not be taken as the ultimate description of what a child knows or can do. More significantly, there are achievement tests that measure what students have accomplished and aptitude tests that measure potential. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills are examples of achievement tests.