Information for Teachers

What Is CAT·3?

This third edition of the Canadian Achievement Tests is the most impressive commercially available series of achievement tests in Canada. The test specifications were drawn up in view of current Canadian curricula. The tests offer assessments in reading, language, writing, spelling and mathematics in a modular and flexible format. The Basic Battery can be comfortably administered within one morning of class time. Even more in-depth assessments of students' strengths and needs are provided through the Supplemental Tests. Constructed-response formats are provided in the Writing and Mathematics assessments. CAT·3 reports include profiles of students' strengths and needs as well as norm-referenced information based on a representative Canadian sample of about 3600 students per grade. Group reports are also available at the class, school and district levels.

The test materials are easy to read while having a contemporary and attractive appearance. The format was finalized after much consultation with teachers, graphic artists and publishing experts.

The content of CAT·3 was designed to reflect Canadian society and values. This is clearly seen in the theme-based Reading/Language tests. The themes and content reflect the cultural, ethnic, geographical and occupational diversity of modern Canadian society.

All tests are virtually free of bias with respect to ethnicity, age and gender. Recommended testing times give nearly all students an opportunity to finish all test sections.

A Note to CAT·3 Users

Canadian Test Centre released CAT·3 in 2000 to schools across Canada. A large improvement from the CAT·2, CAT·3 introduced many new features including more detailed reports and more customizable test features to tailor to different educational needs. CAT·3 was well-received in Canada, with over 1000 schools across the nation using the tests. Praised for its success as a Canadian standardized test, CAT·3 is still widely used across the nation.

In 2008, Canadian Test Centre released CAT·4, a cutting-edge assessment that is truly a step up. For current users of the CAT·3, we wish to create a simple and cost-efficient method of transitioning to CAT·4. If you are a current user of CAT·3 and are interested in updating to CAT·4, please contact us for more information.

How Does CAT·3 Help Teachers, Parents and Students?

Teachers

CAT results provide teachers with external scores to be compared with their own assessments.

Teachers may compare their students' scores in various skill areas with those of other classes. They can compare their students' individual achievement with their scores in earlier grades. They can check how this year's class results compare with results from the same grade previously. They may also check for differences in performance on various skill areas, some of which they may have emphasized more than others.

No two classes are alike; experienced teachers know that there are variations from year to year. They look for confirmation of their own assessment, and for pleasant or unpleasant surprises.

Teachers are at least as interested in the performance of individuals and groups as they are in the class as a whole. They may check the performance of their most advanced readers, to see improvement over the year and to see if there are other students achieving well who would benefit from additional challenge. They will check their weakest students, to see if they are catching up or falling further behind. They may well spend most of their time looking at individual performance, to check for strengths and weaknesses of which they were previously unaware.

Parents

CAT results help parents by providing them with an independent measure of achievement to compare with their own and the school's assessments.

CAT provides certain kinds of information. Reading, mathematics, and language are areas of high priority for most people, but they are not the only important areas of academic achievement. As well as academic achievement, there are other areas of development such as character, artistic expression, sports and life skills, to which parents give differing priorities.

Careful examination of CAT results, particularly over time, helps parents understand two important things. They gain a better understanding of the problems which are worth worrying about. Secondly, they acquire a basis for setting reasonable academic goals for their children.

Sometimes, teachers, parents, and tests provide information that is or seems to be contradictory. One possible explanation is that the different sources of information are based on different facts. For example, tests are a good measure of the actual skill level of the student. However, they do not measure whether a student works hard, completes his/her assignments and hands in homework. A teacher cannot assess work that is not done, and a student who is absent a great deal or who simply does not get much done is likely to get lower grades than a student who is hard working and conscientious. A very conscientious student may get a higher mark from the teacher than from tests, whereas a student who is untidy and unreliable may get a lower mark. The teacher's assessments may also be higher for the entire class than the test's (if the class is weak) or lower (if the class is strong).

If there is unresolved conflict, it may be necessary to seek further advice. In such cases, additional tests could be administered or the problem could be referred to an educational psychologist.

As young people move through adolescence, they and their parents consider their goals and expectations for the future. Test results are one part of the information helpful in making informed decisions.

About 85 per cent of Canadian young people graduate from high school by the time they are twenty-five (many drop out of school and return part-time later). About 15 per cent of the eighteen-year-old age group go on to community college and about 20 per cent to university.

That does not mean that eighth graders below the 15th percentile on CAT will not graduate or that those below the 80th percentile will not go to university. Obviously, there are many other factors that affect students' success in and after school, including ambition, determination, effort, values, choices, and parental assistance.

Even so, if Sean, a grade seven student, is achieving consistently around the 30th percentile on CAT, it would be unduly optimistic for him to believe he has a good chance of being accepted by a university without some major change in behaviour and achievement over the following few years.

Students

CAT helps students by giving them an independent picture of their level of achievement in the basic skills.

Young people often have a good understanding of themselves, their strengths and limitations. However, they also have blind spots. Some do not recognize abilities they have; others believe they are doing better than they really are.

By the age of ten, young people are beginning to get some sense of themselves as persons, with strengths and weaknesses to be built on or overcome. How much information should be given students is a sensitive matter to be determined by teachers and parents. By grade five or six, teachers generally find that it is possible to communicate precise, objective information to most students individually, confidentially and in a constructive manner. There are special situations when the information is of no possible value to the student, but those are usually situations when the student should not have taken the test. For example, a person who speaks no English or has a severe disability affecting communication skills may or may not have some of the skills tested, but the test results will not reveal the level of skill, because the lack of English or the disability forms a barrier to valid testing.

Ideally, the student, the parent and the teacher will have similar understandings of the student's performance, strengths, and weaknesses. They will agree on a workable routine to improve basic skills, involving both home and school.

How Do You Prepare Your Students to Write CAT·3?

It is important that students anticipate the tests with interest rather than with anxiety. Help them to realize the purpose of taking an achievement test—to find out which skills they have mastered and which skills they need to develop. You can help them approach the testing in a relaxed, positive way by conveying the following ideas.

• Point out that some items are more difficult than others and that some material may be new. Tell the students that they are not expected to know all the answers.
  
• Reassure students that they will be given ample time to do their best.
  
• Encourage students not to spend too much time on any one item, but to make the best choice they can and go on.
  
• Indicate that the test requires no special preparation on their part and that it will not affect their school marks.

What Do CAT·3 Test Results Mean?

Test results are reported to parents in one or more of the following ways: National Percentile (NP), National Stanine (NS), and Grade Equivalent (GE).

National Percentile (NP)

The National Percentile ranking (NP) places students on a scale of 1 to 99, where 99 is high. An NP score of 99 means the student performs better than 99 per cent of the national sample of the population at that grade level. For example, Helena, at the beginning of grade four, has a national percentile of 45 in Spelling. This means that Helena performed better than approximately 45 per cent of young Canadians at her grade level. It does not mean that she got 45 per cent of the items correct. A national percentile of 50 means that one is average for one's grade level.

National Stanine (NS)

All three ways of reporting scores have advantages and disadvantages. The National Percentile shows how a student is performing in comparison with others at the same grade level. On the other hand, the National Percentile is so compact around the middle range that variations are bound to occur, partly due to chance. A change from National Percentile 45 to 40 may seem greater than it really is. The National Percentile does not allow us to gauge progress children make over time. It is possible for a student to be between 40 and 50 (NP) in all tests from grade two to grade twelve, despite working hard and making regular progress. In the same way, a student may be an average runner in grade ten, just as she was in grade six, but may complete 100 metres in 13 seconds instead of 15.

The National Stanine provides quick and simple information. High numbers (stanines 7 to 9) indicate very strong achievement and low numbers indicate weak achievement. Five represents average performance and most students fall between 3 and 7. However, the simplicity means that a student may make tremendous efforts and actually improve, without moving up a stanine, or stop working without it showing for a while. Imagine if there were only three weight categories: overweight, normal and underweight. A person fifteen kilograms above the normal level might diet and exercise for ten years, becoming quite fit, and still remain within the overweight category. So it could be with the student who starts out at the low end of stanine 4 who works hard, yet remains in stanine 4.

The advantage of the Grade Equivalent (GE) is that it shows students' progress from year to year. For example, with a GE of 3.8 at the end of grade three, Jason is average but by the end of grade four, in which he misses a lot of time, his score has only increased to 4.5. Jason has an excellent year in grade five and his average GE is now 6.0. On the other hand, the grade equivalent can be confusing. If Jason's score is 6.5 at the end of grade five (better than many grade six students), then he may think he should be moved directly to grade seven, almost certainly not a good idea. The grade equivalent reflects relative performance on the curriculum measured. Jason's performance was measured on the grade five curriculum, not the grade seven curriculum. One can have no confidence in how well Jason would perform in grade 7 because he has probably not been taught the concepts and skills of the grade 7 curriculum. Similarly, a sixth grade girl may be at the ninth grade level in Reading without having the maturity to tackle adult books. Students more than a year below their grade level should be receiving special help. Those two years above grade level in Language and Reading or one year above in Mathematics are candidates for advanced instruction.

Sharing CAT·3 Results with Parents

When sharing CAT·3 results with Parents, it is better to summarize results rather than present parents with a lot of detailed information. Detailed information should be available to a parent, however, if the parent should ask for it. Your presentation might include:

• a description of the CAT·3 tests and what parts of the curriculum the tests cover;
  
• a brief definition of “norm-referenced” information;
  
• a brief definition of “criterion-referenced” information (if you have ordered the Student Test Record and/or the Parent Report);
  
• a presentation of the Parent Report (if you have ordered the Parent Report) or a summary of the child’s strengths and needs relative to other same-grade students and a summary of the child’s strengths and needs referenced against grade-level expectations (if you have ordered the Student Test Record);
  
• a time for discussion and answering questions.

Materials to Support Your Use of CAT·3

Testing should always be considered a means to an end, not an end in itself. Although test results serve different purposes within the educational system, the ultimate goal for the classroom teacher is to use them to plan and evaluate instruction. Test results can help in the planning of a good instructional program for students by identifying their strengths and needs.

The Teacher Resource Manual offers more than 500 instructional activities that have been carefully matched to CAT·3 objectives. While these activities are not intended to represent a total instructional program, they provide good examples of techniques and exercises that may be used to facilitate learning. The activities were developed by Canadian teachers who referred to current curriculum guides, textbooks and books of instructional activities as well as their own classroom experience. An index permits easy access to specific language arts and mathematics activities. Some activities are further supported by photocopy masters available at the back of the manual. ISBN: 155124314-8

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Training CD-ROM and Videotape

This short CD-ROM and videotape introduces educators to the effective use of CAT in schools and districts. It provides quick and easy directions to start up a testing program.

This CD-ROM or videotape explains:

How to properly administer a standardized achievement test, including teacher preparation student preparation planning and scheduling timing the tests general directions scoring the tests How to interpret standardized test results, including norm-referenced information criterion-referenced information student, classroom and district level reports

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The Assessment In-Service Folder

This folder contains blackline masters for a collection of articles and handouts for your teacher in-service workshops.

The collection includes the following articles:

Standardized Tests

• In Defence of Standardized Tests of Achievement
• Purposes and Uses of Basic Skills Tests
• The Hazards of Teaching to the Test
• The Effective Use of Locator Tests
• How to Prepare Students to Write Standardized Tests
• Predicted Achievement: What it is and Why it is Useful
• How to Improve the Effectiveness of Your District-Wide Testing Program
• Using a Basic Skills Test in Program Evaluation
• What is the Purpose of Setting Testing Time?
• Why Does a Perfect Score on a Standardized Achievement Test Sometimes Convert to a National Percentile that is Less than 99?
• Effective Use of Tests and Assessments in Adult Education

Fairness

• Is it Valid to Compare Schools on the Basis of Standardized Test Results?
  
• Is it Fair for Special Education Students to Write a Basic Skills Test?
  
• Using CAT to Assess the Learning Needs of Special Education Students
  
• Is it Fair for English as Second Language (ESL) Students to Write a Basic Skills Test?
• Student Accommodations in Testing Programs: Suggestions to Teachers
  
• What Has the Publisher Done to Ensure Fairness for All Students?
  
• Why Does a Change in Test Editions Sometimes Result in Higher or Lower Scores?
  

Score Interpretation

• What Does it Mean if CAT Test Results Differ from Those of the Teacher? Which Is Right?
  
• How to Interpret and Use CTCS Results
  
• Steps to Follow When Observing Test Results for a Group (School, Family of Schools, District)
  

Technical Issues

• Reliability Estimates for CAT Objectives: A Technical Note
  
• Linking The Content of CAT/2 and CAT·3
  
• Criterion-Referenced Cut Scores for CAT·3—How They Were Determined and How They Should Be Interpreted
  
• Student Exemptions in the CAT·3 National Norming Study
  
• Constructed-Response Versus Multiple-Choice in Spelling —How Comparable Are the Results?
  
• A National Writing Assessment Scoring Rubric?

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Components with ISBNs and Prices

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Writing Assessment Writing tasks are available for Levels 12 through 19 (Grades 2/3 to 11/12). A selection of up to six tasks at each level allows teachers to collect multiple samples of student writing. The tasks require students to respond in writing to a prompt. Each prompt presents to the students a lively picture or a realistic situation. Teachers are provided directions for leading the students as they prepare to write. Students are given about 30 minutes to complete each writing assignment. Scoring Student Worksheets Schools and districts may choose to utilize CTC's marking service. Or they may order a scoring binder and score student responses themselves. Scoring Binders Schools and districts may purchase scoring binders, one for each level. Each binder contains a scoring manual, scoring rubrics and anchor papers with clearly articulated rationales to assist teachers in marking student work accurately and reliably. A school or district may also procure a site license that covers all future use of the writing (and mathematics) tasks. Please contact CTC for details. To Order
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Mathematics Assessment

Mathematics tasks are available for Levels 11 through 18 (Grades 1/2 to 8/9). A selection of four tasks at each level allows teachers to test across various Mathematics strands. The tasks require students to respond to a mathematics problem. Students are given about 10 minutes to complete each task. Scoring Student Worksheets Schools and districts may choose to utilize CTC's marking service. Or they may order a scoring binder and score student responses themselves. Scoring Binders Schools and districts may purchase scoring binders, one for each level. Each binder contains a scoring manual, scoring rubrics and anchor papers with clearly articulated rationales to assist teachers in marking student work accurately and reliably. A school or district may also procure a site license that covers all future use of the mathematics (and writing) tasks. Please contact CTC for details. To Order

What Is CTCS?

The Canadian Test of Cognitive Skills (CTCS) is a reliable academic aptitude test that measures the cognitive abilities important for scholastic success in Grades 2–12. CTCS includes scores for three critical cognitive factors—verbal, non-verbal and memory. (CTCS is the only major academic aptitude test in Canada that measures memory.)

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