CHAPTER 1: ASSESSMENT AND

EVALUATION OF STUDENT
LEARNING
Henry L. Langam, Jr. MAED
Faculty
St. Peter’s College
INTRODUCTION

 Student assessment, evaluation and measurement play

important roles in the teaching-learning process.
 These support the whole educational system.
 Schools greatly depend on assessment, measurement
and evaluation for improvement.
 For schools to attain their objectives, regular assessment
and evaluation must be conducted.

INTRODUCTION

 Similarly, students do not learn effectively unless they

receive feedback, which is obtained through educational
measures.
 Teachers similarly cannot be effective without information
gained through measurement of student performance.
MEASUREMENT, ASSESSMENT AND
EVALUATION DEFINED
Some forms of measurement are inevitable and are indeed inherent in the teaching
process.
Measurement

 Measurement in this context is actually the assignment of

numbers or other symbols to certain characteristics of the
objects of interest according to some specified rules in
order to reflect quantities of properties.
 This can be on student's achievement, personality traits
or attitude.
Educational Measurement

 Educational measurement then is the process of

determining a quantitative or qualitative attribute of an
individual or group of individuals that is of academic
relevance
 Test will serve as the vehicle used to observe this
attribute, such as a written test, an observation or an oral
question.
Educational Measurement

 The test score will refer to an indication of what was

observed through the test and can be quantitative or
qualitative in nature.
Measurement and evaluation are not
synonymous with each other.
A teacher or supervisor may give tests to
students to follow tradition, but the result
may not evaluate the goals of
instruction.
Evaluation

 Evaluation refers to the consideration of evidence in

the light of value standard and in terms of the
particular situations and the goals, which the group or
individuals are striving to attain.
 For instance, teachers or supervisors evaluate
students' achievements simply because of their
concern whether or not they are able to reach the
purpose or goal of their teaching efforts.
Assessment

 Assessment, on the other hand, generally has broader

connotations than does measurement.
 According to Oosterhof (2001), assessment refers to a
related series of measures used to determine a complex
attribute of an individual or group of individuals.
 This involves gathering and interpreting information about
student level of attainment of learning goals
Evaluation

 Evaluation designates a more comprehensive

concept of measurement than is implied in
conventional tests and examinations.
 The emphasis in evaluation is based upon
broad personality change and the major
objectives in the educational program.
Evaluation

 This includes not only subject matter

achievement but also values, attitudes, ideals,
ways of thinking, work habits, personal, spiritual
and social adaptability.
Purpose of Evaluation

 The purpose of evaluation is to make judgments about

the quality or worth of something -- an educational
program, worker performance or proficiency, or
student attainments.
 This is what we attempt to do when we evaluate students'
achievements, employee's productivity, or prospective
practitioner's competencies.
Purpose of Evaluation

 Evaluation may answer such questions as,

 “How good is the level of achievement?”,
 “How good is the performance?”,
 “Have they learned enough?”,
 “Is their work good enough?”
 These are questions of value that require the exercise
of judgment.
Purpose of Evaluation
 Evaluation is the process of making such
judgments.
 In addition, the term is used to refer to the
product of that process. An example to this is
when a teacher submits evaluation (product) of
the students’ school performance to their
parents following the teacher's evaluation
(process) of the students' accomplishment.
 FORMATIVE AND
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION
Formative Evaluation
 A Formative Evaluation is conducted to monitor the
instructional process to determine whether learning is
taking place as planned.
 This is an integral part of the teaching learning process
that is done frequently to determine who among the
students have not attained mastery of the learning task.
 The indication of mastery on each formative test would
not be too high or too low, about 80-85 percent may be
accepted.
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Students
Reinforcement.
 Results of formative evaluation should inform
the learners whether they have mastered a unit
or not.
 The feedback based on the results of a
formative test is an effective reward of
reinforcement to learners over a small unit of
learning.
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Students
Reinforcement.
 This reinforces their concept that heeds more
work. Such learners may then adjust their efforts
at their own level in order to protect their ego.
 Thus, formative evaluation merely informs
whether the learners have mastered a unit or not
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Students
Diagnosis
 The errors made by the students in the
formative evaluation diagnose the
weaknesses of the students as bases for
remedial instruction.
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Teacher
Handling errors.
 The teacher should handle errors made by
majority of the students. These errors should
be reviewed by the class at the next
sessions.

Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Teacher
Quality control.
 If the teacher keeps records of the past
performance of the students on the results of
formative evaluation, he can make use of this
record as basis for remedial instruction and
improvement of instruction by using different
technique and strategies, aids and devices.
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Teacher
Forecasting.
The results of summative test can be
predicted on the basis of formative
evaluation outcome.
Uses of Formative Evaluation for
Teacher
Forecasting.
The results of summative test can be
predicted on the basis of formative
evaluation outcome.
Summative Evaluation

 Summative evaluation is conducted at the end of an

instructional segment to determine if learning is
sufficiently complete to warrant moving the learner to
the next segment of instruction.
 Formal classroom test such as unit tests or final
examinations, are frequently used tools in summative
evaluation.
Uses of Summative Evaluation

To assign grades.
 The results of summative test are rated,
whether letter or numerical grades, on the basis
of a standard set for mastery. This standard
indicates the specific skills that a student must
attain and the behavior he/she must exhibit.
 Uses of Summative Evaluation
To provide feedbacks to the students.
 The grades assigned on the results of summative test
is constructed carefully with fairly well dispersed items
on the test and if multiple scores are given on the
behavioral categories, then the learners will receive
more feedbacks on their performance especially if
sufficient items in each category are reliable.
 Uses of Summative Evaluation
To compare outcomes of different groups.
 The outcomes of the different teaching techniques
and strategies, different teaching aids and devices
and different types of students are compared.
Functions of Measurement and
Evaluation
1. To measure student achievement:
 Students' achievement can be determined
whether they have reached the goals of the
learning task or not through measurement
and evaluation.
Functions of Measurement and
Evaluation
2. To evaluate instruction:
 The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of
instruction is ascertained through
measurement and evaluation.
 For example, if an achievement test is given to
students and the result is high, it would
indicate that instruction is effective; if low,
instruction is ineffective.
Functions of Measurement and
Evaluation
3. To motivate learning:
Upon knowing the results of the achievement test,
the student's interest is aroused especially if
he/she gets a high score; otherwise, if the score
is low, the student strives hard to get higher score
in the next examinations.
Functions of Measurement and
Evaluation
4. To predict success:
 Success and failure of the student is predicted
through measurement and evaluation. For
instance, a student who always gets high
scores in all his/her subjects may indicate more
chances to pass, and passing means success.
Functions of Measurement and
Evaluation
5. To diagnose the nature of difficulties:
 The weaknesses of the learner can be identified
through measurement and evaluation,
particularly, diagnostic test.
Can Achievement Be Measured?

 In principle, all important outcomes of education

are measurable. They may not be measurable
with the test currently available. They may not
even be measurable in principle, using only
paper-and-pencil tests. But if they are known to
be important, they must be measurable.
Can Achievement Be Measured?

 To be important, an educational outcome must

make a difference(change).
 If it makes a difference, the bases for
measurement exist.
 That is, at some time, under some
circumstances, a person who has more of it
must behave differently from a person who has
less of it.
Can Achievement Be Measured?

 If such differences can be observed, then

achievement is measurable, for all
measurement requires is verifiable observation
of a more-less relationship.
Can Achievement Be Measured?

 If a sequence of numbers is assigned to the

sequence of steps or intervals that make up the
scale, then the scale can yield quantitative
measurements. If used carefully by a skilled judge
(observer) , it yields measurements that are
reasonably objective (that is free from errors
associated with specific judges) and reliable (that is,
free from errors associated with use of a particular
set of test items or tasks).
Achievement Test

 An achievement test is a test of developed skill or

knowledge.
 The most common type of achievement test is a
standardized test developed to measure skills and
knowledge learned in a given grade level, usually
through planned instruction, such as training or
classroom instruction.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

1. To measure student achievement and thus

contribute to the evaluation of educational
progress and attainments.
 Test can and often do help teachers and
professors to give more valid, reliable grades.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

 These grades are intended to summarize

concisely a comprehensive evaluation of
student achievement, because they are
reported to the students and their parents
to indicate the effectiveness of their efforts.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

 These evaluation are entered in the school

record and may help to determine honors and
opportunities for students for further education
or future employment, it is important that
teachers and professors take meaningful
grades.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

 Students are urge, quite properly, not to study merely to

earn high grades.
 But in terms of the students’ present self-perceptions and
opportunities, there is nothing “mere.” about the grades
they receive.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

2. To motivate and direct student learning.

The experience of almost all students and
teachers supports the view that students do tend
to study harder when they expect an examination
than when they do not, and that they emphasize
in studying those things on which they expect to
be tested.
The Functions of Achievement Tests

If the students know in advance they will be

tested, if they know what the test will require, and
if the test does a good job of measuring the
achievement of essential course objectives, then
its motivating and guiding influence will be most
wholesome.
Limitations of Achievement Tests

 Achievement test is limited in a way that it can

only provide an approximate rank ordering of
individuals in terms of their ability to perform a
more or less well defined set of tasks.
 The units used in measuring this ability cannot
be shown to be equal.
Limitations of Achievement Tests

 The zero point on the ability scale is not clearly

defined. In other words, although achievement
tests do not meet the highest standard of
mathematical soundness, this limitation does
not destroy their educational value.
Limitations of Achievement Tests

 It should be recognized that paper-and-pencil

tests do have some limitations.
 They are well adapted to testing verbal
knowledge and understanding and ability to
solve verbal numerical problems.
 These are important educational outcomes, but
they are not all.
Limitations of Achievement Tests

 One would not expect to get far using a paper-

and-pencil test to measure children's physical
development.
 Perhaps such a test could be made to yield
somewhat better measures of the social
effectiveness of adults, but even here the
paper-and-pencil test is likely to be seriously
limited.
Limitations of Achievement Tests

 Both performance tests of physical

development and controlled observations
of behavior in social situations would be
expected to offer more promise than a
paper-and-pencil test.
Alternatives to Tests

 There are alternatives to where teachers obtain

information about educational achievements of
their students from many sources other than
test.
 Teachers observe informally, and almost
constantly, what students do and say.
Alternatives to Tests

 Some of these observations are written down to

form anecdotal records.
 Check lists and participation charts help
teachers to observe and record behavior
comprehensively and systematically.
Alternatives to Tests

 For example, sociograms provide graphic

representations of the structure of personal
relations-friendships, preferences, and
evaluation among the students in class.
 Evaluation of performances and products can
be defined and quantified with the help of rating
scales.
Alternatives to Tests

 In many cases, information obtained from non-test

sources is essentially descriptive and provides no direct
measurement of ability or achievement in learning.
 If the information does not result in numbers, it does not
constitute a measurement. As noted earlier,
measurement consists of the assignment of numbers to
persons or things so that the larger numbers indicate
greater amounts of some characteristics of the person
or thing.
Alternatives to Tests

 Assessment of students' abilities can be made

on the basis of descriptive information.
 These assessments are bound to be qualitative,
but they are covertly, casually, and only quite
roughly quantitative.
Alternatives to Tests

 Ratings of performance or products on the other

hand, do involve assigning numbers to things,
and hence do constitute measurements. But
these alternatives to tests tend to be specific to
particular aspects of achievement. While they
can rarely replace tests, they can be useful
supplements to the information tests provide.
Alternatives to Tests

 They provide only limited and very imperfect

measures of achievement.
 Observations of behavior, however specific and
objectives may have some value in assessing
achievement, but they are not adequate
replacement for good classroom achievement
tests.
Alternatives to Tests

 Most teachers use ratings of student's

performance in class, and of the student's
written work, as part of the basis for assessing
the student’s achievement in learning.
Alternatives to Tests

 It is important to note at this point that the value

ratings, as well as of a test or any other
measurement of educational value ratings,
depends on the objectivity, the reliability, the
validity and the utility of the measures they
yield. Imperfect as test may be, they are
typically much more objective, reliable, and
valid than the alternatives to tests tend to be.
 KINDS OF
ACHIEVEMENT TEST
Tests are sometimes differentiated by the
type of score interpretation they most readily
yield. These types of test-score
interpretations can be categorized broadly
as content-referenced, group-referenced, or
criterion-referenced.
Kinds of Achievement Test
Content-referenced
 Content-referenced interpretation is made when
the performance level of an individual is
compared with (or referenced to) an explicit
content area.
 That is, the individual's achievement level is
described in terms of some specifically defined
set of skills or sphere of knowledge.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 Content-referenced
 It is deliberately constructed to give scores
that tell what kinds of behaviors individual with
those scores can demonstrate. The meaning
of the test score is derived from test content
without regard for how other examinees may
have scored.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 Content-referenced
 Domain-referenced. A domain can be broadly
conceived as
 (a) a large number of related but separate skills of
behaviors,
 (b) several somewhat related but separate skills of
behaviors,
 (c) several somewhat related clusters of homogeneous
skills or behaviors, or (d) one single skill or behavior.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 Content-referenced
 Objective-referenced.
 When the items in a test adequately
correspond to all of the instructional
objectives of interest to the test user, scores
can be interpreted in terms of mastery of
those objectives.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 2. Group-referenced.
 A group-referenced interpretation is made
when an individual's score is compared with
the scores of other individuals in a specific
group.
Kinds of Achievement Test

 2. Group-referenced.
 Norm-referenced.
 Norm-referenced interpretation involves
comparing one person's score with the
scores of other individuals.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 2. Group-referenced.
 Treatment-referenced.
 Interpretations compare the score of one group
with scores of other groups.
 Treatment-referenced interpretations are made in
certain research or program evaluation contexts.
 When two or more groups are each exposed to a
different instructional treatment or strategy, the
usual goal of summative evaluation is to compare
the achievement scores of the groups.
Kinds of Achievement Test
 3. Criterion-referenced,
 This interpretation is made when an individual's
score is compared with a cutoff score that
represents a performance standard.
 Each person who exceeds the criterion score is
judge as “acceptable,” “passing,” or “admitted”;
each examinee who scores below the criterion
score is “unacceptable,” “failed,” or rejected.
 No attempt is made to compare the performances
of individuals with one another.
Principles of High Quality Assessment

 Clarity of Learning Targets

 Appropriateness of Assessment Methods
 Validity
 Reliability
 Fairness
 Positive Consequences
 Practicality and efficiency
Principles of High Quality Assessment
 1. Clarity of Learning targets
 Sound assessment begins with clear and appropriate
learning targets which include both what students
know and can do and the criteria for judging student
performance.
 Are the targets at the right level of difficulty to
motivate students?
Principles of High Quality Assessment
 1. Clarity of Learning targets
 Is there adequate balance among different targets?
 Are the targets consistent with the overall goals and
the goals of the school?
 Are the targets comprehensive, covering all
dimensions?
Principles of High Quality Assessment
 2. Appropriateness of assessment methods.
 It is best to match the method of assessment to
learning targets.
 Knowledge and simple understanding targets are
matched best with selected response and brief
constructed-response items, deep understanding and
reasoning targets with essays, and affective targets
with observation and student self-reports.
 Performance-based assessments are best for
measuring deep understanding skills and products.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
3. Validity.
 Validity is the degree to which a score-based
inference is appropriate, reasonable, and useful.
 Here, different types of evidence are used to
establish the validity of classroom tests, the most
important of which is content-related evidence.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
3. Validity.
 The teacher's professional judgment is
needed to ensure that there is adequate
content-related evidence. Construct-related
evidence is provided by theoretical, logical
and statistical analysis.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
4. Reliability
 Reliability is used to measure the error in
testing. It measures the degree of
consistency when several items measure
the same thing and stability when the same
measures are given across time.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
4. Reliability
 Different sources of errors should be taken
into consideration when interpreting test
results.
 Errors maybe internal (e.g. fatigue, anxiety,
test-taking skills, health, mood) or external
(e.g. directions, item ambiguity, scoring bias,
test interruptions, heat in room, lighting).
Principles of High Quality Assessment
5. Fairness
 Assessment is fair if it is unbiased and provides
students with a reasonable opportunity to
demonstrate what they have learned.
 The key components of fairness include;
student knowledge of learning targets and
assessments, opportunity to learn, prerequisite
knowledge and skills, avoiding stereotypes and
bias.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
6. Positive consequences
 Positive consequences for both teachers
and students enhance the overall quality of
assessment, particularly the effect of the
assessment on student motivation and
study habits.
Principles of High Quality Assessment
6. Positive consequences
 A goal of high-quality assessments is that
they will lead to better information and
decision making about students.
 Will the assessment help the teacher make
more valid judgments, or will it tend to make
judgments on students more difficult?
Principles of High Quality Assessment
7.Practicality and efficiency
 Assessments need to take into
consideration the teacher's familiarity with
the method, the time required, the
complexity of administration, the ease of
scoring and interpretation, and cost to
determine the assessments' practicality and
efficiency.
The logic of using assessment to
improve learning appears relatively
simple;
1. Assessments can communicate meaningful standards to
which school systems, schools, teachers, and students
can aspire.
2. These standards can provide focus and direction for
teaching and learning.
3. Results from the assessment support important insights
on the nature, strengths, and weaknesses of student
progress relative to the standards.
4. Educators and students will use this feedback to
understand and direct their attention to relevant aspects
of student learning.
5. Coupled with appropriate incentives and/or sanctions
(external or self motivated and directed), assessments
will motivate students to learn better, teachers to teach
better, and schools to be more educationally effective.
6. Assessment then can provide valuable focus to the
school system and has the potential to be a powerful
and beneficial means of change.
Reference:

 Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning

(Concepts and Applications) 3rd Edition