Overview
The CAT test is a national test series designed to measure student progress in basic skills typically taught in schools across Canada. The specific skill sets targeted by the testing instruments are: reading, spelling, language, mathematics, and writing conventions.
What is the structure of the CAT test?
The CAT tests are norm-referenced instruments. This means they provide a general picture of a student's abilities by comparing his or her score to the scores of the national sample group. The CAT tests do not compare all the students who take the test in a given year. Instead, a sample from the target student population (say, ninth graders) is selected and the test is "normed" on this sample. The intent of this practice is to represent the entire target population fairly (all ninth graders in the nation). Students' scores are then reported in relation to the scores of this "norming" group.
What do the scores mean?
To make comparisons easier, the CAT test makers (and most other norm-referenced test makers) design exams so the results end up looking at least somewhat like a bell-shaped curve, sometimes called a "standard distribution". In other words, the test is constructed so that most students will score near the middle, and only a few will score low (the left side of the curve) or high (the right side of the curve). Nevertheless, sometimes we see an unusual distribution of student scores (e.g., a large number of students either with high scores or low scores relative the number of students "at the middle").
Why and how do we use the CAT test?
The CAT tests (and other norm-referenced tests) provide a snapshot of some of the things most people expect students to learn. At Saskatoon Public Schools they are used as one piece of information to help us:
- Understand our students' learning progress and to respond to their individual learning needs;
- Chart individual student growth in basic skills over time;
- Identify discrepancies between students' academic aptitude and classroom achievement;
- Determine broad educational needs as a basis for setting priorities and allocating resources; and
- Aid in the identification of appropriate student programs.
Each fall, all of our Grade 4 and Grade 8 students complete the appropriate CAT tests for their grade level with the exception of those students whom schools identify as being unable to complete testing within the standardized testing protocol. At Saskatoon Public Schools, we used the CAT (Version 3) from 2002 to 2009; in the fall of 2010, we changed to the CAT (Version 4).
The results of the CAT tests are useful both at the classroom and the division levels. At the classroom level, the results provide teachers with diagnostic information for instructional planning. At the school division level, the results are used longitudinally to monitor student achievement and to help us focus resources toward particular skill areas. It is important to remember, however, that these data must never be viewed in isolation, but rather, in light of other student achievement data to determine common themes and trends.
Our Results