Parents & Students

Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Links

Non-DoD Schools Program

DDESS Dictionary of Assessment and Data Analysis Terms

Standardized Tests

Designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent. All students answer the same questions and each question has only one correct answer. Measure how students in a given class, school, or school system perform in relation to other students who take the same test.

Norm-referenced assessments

Designed to see how well our students perform compared to other students the same age throughout the nation.

Criterion-referenced assessments

Questions are written to measure how well students are performing based on the DoDEA Curriculum Content Standards.

Formative Assessments

Observations which indicate the degree to which students know or are able to do a given learning task, and which identifies the part of the task that the student does not know or is unable to do. Outcomes suggest future steps for teaching and learning.

Achievement Test

Measure how much students have already learned about a subject.

Aptitude Test

Measure students' abilities to learn - they measure a broad range of abilities or skills that are considered important to success in school.

Environmental Scans

Identifying and obtaining information from internal and external sources about current trends or futurist studies that apply to education. The aim is to identify trends, gaps and issues as a basis for future planning. Examples of this type of resource:

Soft Data

Data that cannot be measured or specifically quantified, such as surveys, opinions, attitudes, etc.

4 Keys to Success for ALL Students

Curriculum: Specifies the program devised by DoDEA used to prepare students to meet content standards.
Instruction: Methods and strategies used to teach the curriculum.
Assessment: Monitor student achievement and evaluate progress toward goals.
Environment: The physical surroundings, allotted time, and climate in which instruction takes place.

Non DoDEA/DDESS Websites