Basic Concepts in Assessment

1. Measurement as used in education is the quantification of what students have

learned through the use of tests, questionnaires, rating scales, checklists, and
other devices.
It answers the question how much does a student learn or know?

2. Assessment refers to the full range of information gathered and synthesized by

teachers about their students and their classrooms (Arend, 1994).
It looks into how much change has occurred on the students acquisition
of a skill, knowledge or value before and after a given learning
experience.

3. Evaluation is a process of making judgments, assigning value or deciding on

the worth of students performance.
It answers the question how good, adequate or desirable is it?
Measurement and assessment are essential to evaluation.
Educational Measurement
Knowledge of subject matter
can be measured through standardized test results (the measurement
procedure is testing)
Can be measured through perceptions (ask a group of experts to rate
students or teachers knowledge of the subject matter in a scale of 1 to 5)

Types of Measurement
1. Objective (as in testing)
Objective measurements are more stable than subjective measurements in
the sense that repeated measurements of the same quantity or quality of
interest will produce more or less the same outcome.

2. Subjective (as in perceptions)

Some facets which cannot be captured by objective procedures which can be
done by subjective methods:
Aesthetic appeal of a product or project

It maybe best to use both methods when possible

Educational Assessment
Assessment is a method of evaluating personality in which an individual , living in a
group meets and solves a variety of lifelike problems. (Stiggins, 1996)

3 Principal Features of Assessment (Cronbach, 1997)

1. The use of a variety of techniques
2. Reliance on observations
3. Integration of information
Assessment focuses not only on the nature of the learner but also on what to
be learned and how it is to be learned.
Purposes of Educational Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation
1. Improvement of student learning
2. Identification of students strengths and weaknesses
3. Assessment of the effectiveness of a particular teaching strategy
4. Appraisal of the effectiveness of the curriculum
5. Assessment and improvement of teaching effectiveness
6. Communication with and involvement of parents in their childrens learning

Types of Classroom Assessment

1. Official assessment
2. Sizing up assessment
3. Instructional assessment
The important question is not how assessment is defined but whether
assessment information is used Palomba & Banta
Relevance of Assessment
1. Students
- They become actively involved in the learning process
- They take responsibility for their own learning
- They can monitor changes in their learning patterns
- They become aware of how they think, learn and accomplish tasks, how they
feel about their own work
2. Teachers
It gives teachers information about a students knowledge and performance
It tells them how their students are currently doing
It can reveal which teaching methods and approaches are effective
It can provide direction as to how they can help their students more and what
they should do next
3. Parents
They should be involved in the assessment process
They are a valued source of assessment information on the educational
history and learning habits of their children
4. Administrators and Program Staff
They use assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses of the program.
They designate program priorities, assess options and lay down plans for
improvement
They make decisions for promotion and retention of students and
arrangement of faculty development programs
5. Policymakers
Assessment provides information about students achievements quality of
education provided by schools.
With this information, government agencies can set or modify standards,
reward or sanction schools and direct educational resources.
Assessment results can serve as basis for formulation of new laws

It also provides information about students as a group.

Indicates what the experiences of students add up to and what these
experiences imply about educational programs.
 It enables the educators to examine whether curriculum makes sense in its
entirety and whether students as a result of all their experiences, have the
knowledge, skills, and values that graduates should possess.

Evaluation
Evaluation involves an interpretation of what has been gathered through
measurement, in which value judgments are made about performance

Sources of evaluative information

Cumulative record
Personal contact
Analysis
Open-ended themes and diaries
Conferences
Testing

Basic guidelines in educational assessment, measurement and evaluation

1. Teachers need to know how much they are doing
2. Students need to know how well they are doing
3. Evidence, feedback, and input data for knowing how well the students and
teachers are doing should come from a variety of sources
4. Evaluation is a continuing process to check on programs and modify strategies
to promote desired behavior
5. The procedures used in assessing student learning must be compatible with
instructional objectives
6. Evaluation is a reciprocal process
7. A teachers responsibility is to facilitate student learning and accountable for it

Tests and Their Uses

The most important aspect of student evaluation in most classrooms involves the
tests teachers make and administer to their students. - Gronlund & Linn

Definition of Test
A systematic procedure for measuring an individuals behavior. (Brown).
A formal and systematic way of gathering information about the learners
behavior, usually through paper and pencil procedure. (Airasian)
A set of questions with an accepted set of presumably correct answers,
designed to gather information about some individual characteristics, like
scholastic achievement. (Posner, 1995)
A measuring instrument whose general characteristics is to force
responses from a student. These are considered to be indicative of the pupils
skill, attitude and knowledge.

Types of Tests
Ways of Categorizing tests:
1. As to mode of response
a. Oral test a test wherein the test taker gives his answer orally
b. Written test a test where the answers to questions are written by the
test taker
 c. Performance test one in which the test taker creates an answer or a
product that demonstrates his knowledge or skill, as in cooking and
baking.

2. As to ease of quantification of response

a. Objective test a test wherein the students answers can be compared and
quantified to yield a numerical score.
b. Subjective test a test which is not easily quantified as students are given
the freedom to write their answer to a question, such as in an essay test.

3. As to mode of administration
a. Individual test a test administered to one student at a time.
b. Group test one administered to a group of students simultaneously.

4. As to test constructor
a. Standardized test a test prepared by an expert or specialist. This type of
test sample behavior under uniform procedures.
b. Unstandardized test one prepared by teachers for use in classroom, with
no established norms for scoring and interpretation of results.

5. As to the mode of interpreting results

a. Tests that yield norm-referenced test a test that evaluates a students
performance by comparing it to the performance of a group of students on
the same test.
b. Tests that yield criterion-referenced test test that measures a students
performance against an agreed upon or pre-established level of
performance.

6. As to the nature of answer.

a. Personality test a test designed for assessing some aspects of an
individuals personality. Some areas tested in this kind of test include the
following: emotional and social adjustment, dominance and submission,
value orientation, disposition, emotional stability, frustration level, and
degree of introversion or extroversion.
b. Intelligence test a test that measures the mental ability of an individual.
c. Aptitude test a test designed for the purpose of predicting the likelihood
of an individuals success in a learning area or field of endeavor.
d. Achievement test a test given to students to determine what a student
has learned from formal instruction in school.
e. Summative test a test given at he end of instruction to determine the
students learning and assign grades.
f. Diagnostic test a test administered to students to identify their specific
strengths and weaknesses in past and present learning.
g. Formative test a test given to improve teaching and learning while it is
going on. A test given after teaching the lesson for the day is an example.
h. Socio-metric test a test in discovering the learners likes and dislikes,
preferences, and their social acceptance, as well as social relationships
existing in a group.
i. Trade test a test designed to measure an individuals skill or competence
in an occupation or vocation.
Testing
Testing is a formal, systematic procedure of gathering information (Russel &
Airasian, 2012).
A process of administering a test:
Test Preparation
Test Administration
Collection of Test Papers

Functions of Testing
1. Instructional Functions
Tests facilitate the clarification of meaningful learning objectives
Tests provide a means of feedback to the instructor and the student
Tests can motivate learning
Tests are useful means of overlearning

2. Administrative Functions
Tests provide mechanism of quality control
Tests facilitate better classification and placement decisions.
Tests can increase the quality of selection decisions
Tests can be a useful means of accreditation, mastery or certification

3. Research & Evaluation

Tests are utilized in studies that determine effectiveness of new pedagogical
techniques
Evaluators utilize to determine the impact and success of their programs.

4. Guidance Functions
Tests can be of value in diagnosing an individuals special aptitudes and
abilities.

Non-test are devises that do not force students to give their responses.
Usually based on teachers direct observations as students perform the
assigned tasks.
The results of non-test supplement the information that test results provide.

References:
1. Garcia, C. D. (2008). Measuring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes: A Textbook in Assessment of
Learning 1 & 2. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.
2. McMillan, J. H. (2007). Classroom Assessment: Principles and Practice for Effective Standards-
Based Instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
3. De Guzman, E. & Adamos, J. (2015). Assessment of Learning 1. Manila, Philippines. Adriana
Publishing Co., Inc.