Introduction

Instructions

This activity has been developed to give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned about the appropriateness of various test-preparation activities, and should be conducted after the completion of Part 4 of the module. Although you can work through these scenarios individually, working in a small group would give you an opportunity to interact, and to exchange ideas and perceptions. If you decide to work through the scenarios on your own, you might find it beneficial to continue working “online.” However, if you decide to work through the scenarios in a small group, it will probably be easiest to use paper versions of the materials “offline.” You can download the complete set of Scenarios and the associated Scenario Consensus Guide using the links on the left.

There is no need to work through the scenarios sequentially or to complete them all at once—each scenario is independent of the others. Thus, if this professional development module is spread out over multiple days, the scenarios might be an effective way of reviewing previously learned concepts before returning to Parts 5 and 6.

The scenarios, which are listed in the menu on your left, depict the following types of activities in a variety of contexts:

• Using items from the ITBS/ITED (Scenarios 1-3)
• Teaching test-taking skills (Scenarios 4-6)
• Using practice tests (Scenario 7)
• Reviewing content/skill areas (Scenarios 8-9)

After reading through the scenario for which you have decided to focus your attention, determine if the action might result in a violation of academic ethics, score meaning & use, and/or educational value. The specific questions related to each of these criteria are provided in the boxes below. For each criterion, identify or discuss what you believe to be the most salient positive and negative consequences (the pros and cons) associated with the use of the activity in the given context. As you think about the potential outcomes, in addition to considering “what” was done also consider the “how,” “why,” and “to whom.”

Once you have reflected upon the potential consequences or outcomes associated with the test-preparation activity corresponding to a given scenario, you can compare your perceptions to those presented in the accompanying Scenario Consensus Guide before moving on to another scenario. Please note that the Scenario Consensus Guide does not identify all the potential positive and negative outcomes—only those deemed to be the most salient. The contents of the Scenario Consensus Guide have been integrated into the “online” version of this activity. Thus, if you are working through the scenarios on your own, you can compare your perceptions to those provided in the Scenario Consensus Guide by clicking the links corresponding to positive and negative consequences. If time is short and you cannot work through all of the scenarios, please try to find the time to read through the Scenario Consensus Guide for each scenario, as each one presents a somewhat unique set of issues.