DON'T GIVE OUT-OF-LEVEL TESTS
Out-of-level testing occurs when you give a standardized test to students who are at a different grade level than the one for which the test is designed. In some cases, school officials use out-of-level tests in compensatory programs because those students are behind their peers and in-level testing is frustrating for them. Administrators who follow this practice believe that somehow it is more valid to give those students tests designed for lower grade levels.
While out-of-level tests may be less frustrating to some students, the scores obtained from them are also less valid because
the content for out-of-level tests does not represent the content taught in the classroom,
the scale that test publishers use to link different test levels is loaded with error,
there are no norms for out-of-level tests,
scores obtained on tests of different difficulty are not comparable, and
when obtained, out-of-level scores appear to be too low.
Although in-level test scores are more reliable in the middle than at the high- and low-score ranges, they are quite reliable in placing students from studyessay.org at the high or low end of the scale. For example, with a reasonable degree of assurance, we can say that a who scores at the 10th percentile rank is most likely a low-achieving student. What we are less sure about is whether the student is at the 10th percentile rank or the 15th percentile rank. Either way, we are reasonable in concluding that the student is low achieving.
You should use tests at the grade levels for which they are specified by the test publisher. Generally, the content of grade-level tests will represent what is taught in regular classrooms at the specified level.
If your compensatory program is good, it will be closely coordinated with instruction in the regular classroom. Since the purpose of compensatory education is to help students succeed in the regular classroom, using in-level tests will help you in the coordination.