Information Sheet ASSESS 213-5

Practicality and Efficiency

Learning Objectives:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Describe how testing can be made more practical and efficient.

On top of planning, developing and organizing instruction, and managing

student conduct, teachers also have the task of assessing student learning.
Time and resources present themselves as issues. For these reasons, classroom
testing should be “teacher friendly”. Test development and grading should be
practical and efficient. Practical means ‘useful’, that is, it can be used to
improve classroom instruction and for outcomes assessment purposes. It
likewise pertains to judicious use of classroom time. Efficient, in this context,
pertains to development, administration and grading of assessment with the
least waste of resources and effort.

Familiarity with the Method

While it is best that teachers utilize various methods of assessment, it

would be a waste of time and resources if the teacher is unfamiliar with the
method of assessment. The assessment may not satisfactorily realize the
learning outcomes. The teacher may commit mistakes in the construct or
format of the assessment. Consequently, the results would not be credible. Any
inference arising from the assessment results would not be valid or reliable.
This may be a problem for some teachers who had been accustomed to pencil-
and-paper tests. As pointed out in Chapter 3, some learning targets are best
achieved using non-tests. A rule of thumb is that simple learning targets
require simple assessment, complex learning targets demand complex
assessment (Nitko & Brookhard, 2011).

From the foregoing, it is critical that teachers learn the strengths and
weaknesses of each method of assessment, how they are developed,
administered and marked. You can see here how practicality and efficiency are
intertwined with other criteria of high-quality classroom assessment.

Time Required

It may be easier said than done, but a desirable assessment is short yet
able to provide valid and reliable results. Considering that time is a commodity
that many full-time teachers do not have, it is best that assessments are quick
to develop but not to the point of reckless construction. Assessments should
allow students to respond readily but not hastily. Assessments should also be
scored promptly but not without basis. It should be noted that time is a matter
of choice – it hinges on the teacher’s choice of assessment method. For
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Bachelor of Technical- Bulacan
June 2020
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Date Revised:
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instance, a multiple choice test may take time to prepare but it can be
accomplished by students in a relatively short period. Moreover, the test is
easily and objectively scored especially now with the aid of optical mark
readers. However, there is still a need to revisit the first principle. “Is it
appropriate for your learning targets?” An essay may be better in some
occasions as students are allowed to express their ideas with relatively few
restraints. However, essays are time consuming on the part of the teacher and
his/her students. Essay questions can easily be thought of, but essays will
require considerable time for students to organize their thoughts and express
them in writing. It will also consume time for teachers to read and mark
students’ responses. Essay items are good for testing small groups of students
but such advantage decreases as the class size grows. Meanwhile, performance
assessments take a lot of time in preparation, student response and scoring
but they offer an opportunity to assess students on several learning targets and
at different levels of performance. Care should be exercised though especially if
performance assessments take away too much of instructional time.

After considering the time issue, let us now discuss the assessments’
reusability. A multiple choice test may take a substantial amount of time in
terms of preparation, but the items when properly constructed may again be
used for different groups. Security is an issue in large-scale, high-stakes
testing. If test items were item-analyzed and the test itself was established to
be a valid and reliable evidence of student performance, then many of the items
can be used in succeeding terms or periods as long as the same learning
outcomes are targeted. Thus, it is critical that objective tests are kept secure so
that teachers do not have to prepare an entirely new set of test questions every
time. Besides, much time and energy were spent in the test construction, and
maintaining a database of excellent test items shows that tests can be recycled
and reused.

One suggestion to improve reliability is to lengthen the assessment. The

longer it is, the higher the reliability. McMillan (2007) claims that for
assessments to provide reliable results, it generally takes thirty to forty
minutes for a single score on a short unit. He added that more time is required
if separate scores are needed for subskills. He shared a general rule of thumb
that six to ten objective items are required if assessing a concept or specific
skill.

Ease in Administration

Assessments should be easy to administer. To avoid questions during the

test or performance task, instructions must be clear and complete. Instructions
that are vague will confuse the students and they will consequently provide
incorrect responses. This may be a problem with performance assessments
that contain long and complicated directions and procedures. Students’ effort
are futile if directions are not expressed directly and explicitly. If assessment

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Bachelor of Technical- Bulacan
June 2020
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Date Revised:
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procedures like a Science experiments are too elaborate, reading and
comprehending the procedures would consume time.

Ease of Scoring

Obviously, selected response formats are the easiest to score compared

to restricted and more so extended-response essays. It is also difficult to score
performance assessments like oral presentations, research papers, among
others. Objectivity is also an issue. Selected-response tests are objectively
marked because each item has one correct or best answer. This contributes to
the reliability of the test. Performance assessments however make use of
rubrics, and while this facilitates scoring, care must be observed in rating to
ensure objectivity. McMillan (2007) suggests that for performance assessments,
it is more practical to use rating scales and checklists rather than writing
extended individualized evaluations.

Ease of Interpretation

Oftentimes, students are given a score that reflects their knowledge,

skills or performance. However, this is meaningless if such score is not
interpreted. Objective tests are the easiest to interpret. By establishing a
standard, the teacher is able to determine right away if a student passed the
test. By matching the score with the level of proficiency, teachers can
determine if the student has reached mastery or not. In performance or
product. It reduces the time spent in grading because teachers refer to the
descriptors and performance levels in the rubric without the need to write long
comments. Nonetheless, the rubric would have to be shared with the students
so that they understand the meaning of the scores or grades given to them.

Cost

Classroom tests are generally inexpensive compared to national or high-

stakes tests. Hence, citing cost as a reason for being unable to come up with
valid and reliable tests is simply unreasonable. As for performance tasks,
examples of tasks that are not considerably costly are written and oral reports,
debates, and panel discussions. Of course, students would have to pay for their
use of resources like computers and copying facilities, among others. However,
they are not as costly as some performance assessments that require plenty
and/or expensive materials, examples of which films and portfolios. Teachers
may remedy this by asking students to consider using second-hand or recycled
materials.

While classroom tests may not be costly compared to some performance

assessments,, it is relevant to know that excessive testing may just train
students on how to take tests but inadequately prepares them for a productive
life as an adult. It is paramount that other methods of assessment are used in
line with the learning targets. According to Darling-Hammond & Adamson
(2013), open-ended assessments – essay exams and performance tasks – are
Date Developed:
Bachelor of Technical- Bulacan
June 2020
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Date Revised:
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more expensive to score, but they can support more ambitious teaching and
learning.

It is recommended that one chooses the most economical assessment.

McMillan (2007, p. 88) in his explanation of economy said the “economy should
be thought of in the long run, and unreliable, less expensive tests (or any
assessment for the matter) may eventually cost more in further assessment.” N
the school level, multiple choice tests are still very popular especially in
entrance tests, classroom tests, and simulated board examinations. However,
high quality assessment focus society (Darling-Hammond & Adamson, 2013).
That being said, schools must support performance assessments

Date Developed:
Bachelor of Technical- Bulacan
June 2020
Vocational Teacher Polytechnic Page 4 of 4
Date Revised:
Education College
June 2020
Assessment in Learning 1
ASSESS 213 Document No. Developed by:
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