Abstract
The introduction of computerized formative assessments in schools has enabled the monitoring of students’ progress with more flexible test schedules. Currently, the timing and frequency of computerized formative assessments are determined based on districts and school authorities’ agreements with testing organizations, the teachers’ judgment of students’ progress, and grade-level testing guidelines recommended by researchers. However, these practices often result in a rigid test scheduling that disregards the pace at which students acquire knowledge. Furthermore, students are likely to experience the loss of instructional time due to frequent testing. To administer computerized formative assessments efficiently, teachers should be provided systematic guidance on finding an optimal testing schedule based on each student’s progress. In this study, we aim to demonstrate the utility of intelligent recommender systems (IRSs) for generating individualized test schedules for students. Using real data from a large sample of students in grade 2 (n = 355,078) and grade 4 (n = 390,336) who completed the Star Math assessment during the 2017-2018 school year, we developed an IRS and evaluated its performance in finding a balance between data quality and testing frequency. Results indicated that the IRS was able to recommend a fewer number of test administrations for both grade levels, compared with standard practice. Further, the IRS was able to maximize the score difference from one test administration to another by eliminating the test administrations in which students’ scores did not change significantly. Implications for generating personalized schedules to monitor student progress and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Highlights
Classroom assessments allow K–12 teachers to evaluate student learning and make a variety of important decisions about learning outcomes
We aim to demonstrate the utility of intelligent recommender systems (IRSs) for generating individualized testing schedules for students who complete computerized formative assessments
The IRS was able to reduce the number of test administrations, while maximizing the positive score change between test administrations
Summary
Classroom assessments allow K–12 teachers to evaluate student learning (i.e., monitor students’ progress) and make a variety of important decisions about learning outcomes (e.g., producing feedback, assigning grades). Teachers use two types of assessments to evaluate student learning in the classroom: summative and formative (Black and Wiliam, 2009). Formative assessments are used during instruction to monitor student learning, provide students with feedback, and help them identify target skills that need improvement. Over the past few decades, formative assessments have evolved to be much broader, and include uses such as monitoring student’s response to instruction, identifying at-risk students, and informing the instruction to address individual student needs. The primary goal of formative assessments is to provide students with timely and descriptive feedback based on the learning goals or criteria for success (Hattie and Timperley, 2007; McManus, 2008)
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