An Examination of the Consistency of the Mathematical Constructs Assessed by Classroom Grades, Portfolios, and Standardized Tests for Elementary Grade Students

If teachers are teaching a set of standard content and assessments are made consistently, the relationship between these various assessments and the curriculum should be of interest. The purpose of this study was to explore the consistency of the mathematical measures of three prominent forms of mathematics assessment: standardized tests, portfolios, and classroom grades. The sample used in this study was a nonrandom sample of 50 African-American elementary students in grades 3 through 6. Three factor analyses were conducted to determine a general pattern among the variables for the overall sample and explore the consistency of the overall results for grade 3 students and grade 4 through 6 students. The results give evidence supporting the belief that the standardized test and portfolio measure different constructs and that both forms of assessment exert an influence on classroom assessment. (Contains eight tables and seven references.) (Author)