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Assessment
One of the primary measurement tools in education is the assessment. Teachers
gather information by giving tests, conducting interviews and monitoring behavior.
The assessment should be carefully prepared and administered to ensure its
reliability and validity. In other words, an assessment must provide consistent
results and it must measure what it claims to measure.
It is an essential component of the teaching and learning cycle. Assessment
for, assessment as and assessment of learning are approaches that enable teachers
to gather evidence and make judgements about student achievement. These are not
necessarily discrete approaches and may be used individually or together and
formally or informally.
Measurement
The word measurement, as it applies to education, is not substantially different
from when it is used in any other field. It simply means determining the attributes
or dimensions of an object, skill or knowledge. We use common objects in the
physical world to measure, such as tape measures, scales and meters. These
measurement tools are held to standards and can be used to obtain reliable results.
When used properly, they accurately gather data for educators and
administrators.
Formative assessment
The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing
feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by
students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments:
o help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that
need work
o help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems
immediately
Formative assessments are generally low stakes, which means that they have low or
no point value. Examples of formative assessments include asking students to:
o draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topic
o submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture
o turn in a research proposal for early feedback
Summative assessment
The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an
instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.
Summative assessments are often high stakes, which means that they have a high
point value. Examples of summative assessments include:
o a midterm exam
o a final project
o a paper
o a senior recital
Types of Reliability
Why is it necessary?
Types of Validity
2. Construct Validity is used to ensure that the measure is actually measure what it
is intended to measure (i.e. the construct), and not other variables. Using a panel of
“experts” familiar with the construct is a way in which this type of validity can be
assessed. The experts can examine the items and decide what that specific item is
intended to measure. Students can be involved in this process to obtain their
feedback.
Example: When designing a rubric for history one could assess student’s
knowledge across the discipline. If the measure can provide information that
students are lacking knowledge in a certain area, for instance the Civil Rights
Movement, then that assessment tool is providing meaningful information that can
be used to improve the course or program requirements.
5. Sampling Validity (similar to content validity) ensures that the measure covers
the broad range of areas within the concept under study. Not everything can be
covered, so items need to be sampled from all of the domains. This may need to be
completed using a panel of “experts” to ensure that the content area is adequately
sampled. Additionally, a panel can help limit “expert” bias (i.e. a test reflecting
what an individual personally feels are the most important or relevant areas).
1. Make sure your goals and objectives are clearly defined and
operationalized. Expectations of students should be written down.
2. Match your assessment measure to your goals and objectives. Additionally,
have the test reviewed by faculty at other schools to obtain feedback from
an outside party who is less invested in the instrument.
3. Get students involved; have the students look over the assessment for
troublesome wording, or other difficulties.
4. If possible, compare your measure with other measures, or data that may be
available.