Testing Development & Instructional Readiness
Evaluation Systems develops test content that may require higher-order thinking. By incorporating authentic scenarios, real-world stimulus materials, and innovative test features into our programs, we produce selected-response and constructed-response items that require candidates to engage with real-world issues and challenges.
Authentic Scenarios
Authentic scenarios produce complex, rigorous items that engage educators. This includes analyzing information, making inferences, and identifying cause and effect and other patterns. Items incorporating authentic scenarios can measure candidates' ability to apply concepts and solve problems.
Scenarios can also measure a candidates' ability to determine appropriate approaches to the challenges by requiring the candidate to read the scenario closely, analyze the information provided, and apply their knowledge of how to create a classroom conducive to learning for all students.
Real-World Stimulus
Items may also incorporate real-world stimulus material, including materials such as text excerpts, maps and diagrams, data-based materials, charts and graphs, art reproductions and photographs, and video recordings of classroom practice. These stimuli require candidate engagement while they demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for educators.
School and Classroom Data
Classroom and school data may also be used to ensure items are rigorous and cognitively complex. Teacher-developed materials, student work samples, assessment results, and other examples of school data require candidates to analyze and synthesize information in support of conclusions, demonstrating the knowledge and skills required for educators in authentic, meaningful ways.
If a state has determined that teacher candidates should possess pedagogical content knowledge and instructional readiness specific to the discipline they would teach, Evaluation Systems partners with them to develop content area tests that feature content-specific pedagogy focusing not just on subject matter expertise, but on the ability to teach that subject matter. Exams may include authentic scenarios or exhibits presented as part of a multiple choice or performance-based constructed response item, with a goal of measuring pedagogical content knowledge through items that aim to replicate the experience of being in the classroom and working with students.
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