PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055) Information Analyses (070)

This paper summarizes the standardized procedures and psychometric standards states must follow in developing performance-based assessment. The National Reporting System (NRS), which serves as the accountability system for federally funded adult education and literacy programs, requires that states have their local programs assess educational gain by selecting the assessments either published standardized tests or performance-based assessments most appropriate for their state. Performance-based assessments obtain richer information about students than do selected-response assessments, or standardized tests, and are often seen as more authentic because they resemble-real world tasks. But they cover less content, make it hard to generalize from one test to another, and are difficult and costly to score. In order to ensure that test scores resulting from performance-based assessments are valid and reliable according to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, there are three steps i