The Language of Assessment

Based from the behavioural educational theories, higher learning institutions has been using assessment to measure the quality or success of a taught course and to evaluate whether the students have achieved (Ellery, 2008) the minimum standard that is acceptable to be awarded with the degree. An assessment can be conducted by means of paper and pencil, presentations, lab work, case studies, essays, multiple choice questions, true/false statements, short essays, etc. During the semester, students may be tested to improve their learning experience; this is called a formative test (continuous assessment), whereas a summative test (final assessment) is done at the end or completion of the course or program. A test can be used to measure students' ability or to determine the basic mastery or skills or competencies acquired during a course. There are several types of tests; such as, placement test, diagnostic test, progress test, achievement test, and aptitude test. A placement test is done to place students in teaching groups or classes so that they are within the same level of ability or competency. A diagnostic test is done to identify students' strengths and weaknesses in a particular course. A progress test is done during the semester to measure the progress of students in acquiring the subject taught. An achievement test is done to determine students' mastery of a particular subject at the end of the semester. Whereas an aptitude test is done to determine the students' ability to learn new skills or the potential to succeed in a particular academic program. A good assessment should be valid, reliable, and practical. In terms of validity, an assessment should test what it is intended to measure. For example, content validity is when the test items adequately cover the syllabus. A valid assessment measures achievement of the course learning outcomes. In terms of reliability, does the assessment allow the examiners to evaluate it consistently and differentiate between varying levels of performance? Whereas in terms of practicality, we need to ensure that the length given to students for their assessments are appropriate. There are two types of tests, objective and subjective. For objective, we can choose multiple choice questions, true/false, or fill in the blanks; whereas for subjective we can choose either short or long essay. Although there are objective and subjective tests, I would like to focus on subjective test (essays) because we use this type most often; especially in final exam. When constructing an assessment, we need to bear in mind the objectives of learning of a particular course. Specifically, we need to refer to the course information of the course learning outcomes before constructing the exam questions. In addition, we need to understand Bloom's Taxonomy or classifications of objectives. The three classifications are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The six levels of cognitive domain are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The levels for affective domain are receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and characterizing. Psychomotor levels are imitation, manipulation, precision, articulation, and naturalization. I have discussed in detail about the levels of each domain in the previous issue; thus, in this issue I would like to discuss on cognitive domain because this is the most frequently used in final exam and we are quite familiar with it.

2013

This chapter has as its focus the assessment of learning. Assessing learning has taken many forms, and understanding its history helps to explain the educational systems that are in place currently. Defining the term, assessment, can be difficult because some definitions focus on diagnostic approaches that learning specialists use to assess learning disabilities or differences while others take it to mean evaluation. More recently, assessment has taken on an accountability emphasis. Assessment of learning may mean standardized testing that is mandated by the state. In higher education, assessment has a distinctly bureaucratic flavor, as it is required for accreditation. With assessment taking on this administrative focus, some of its value to improve the learning/teaching process is lost. This chapter addresses the history of assessment in education and provides examples of authentic assessment tools. Future trends in assessment are also presented.

It's not a stretch to say that assessment is a hot button issue in education; however, you'd be hard pressed to find an educator who doesn't see the value in measuring student progress.

Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 2020

Professor Gordon argues for a significant reorientation in the focus and impact of assessment in education. For the types of assessment activities that he advocates to prosper and positively impact education, serious attention must be paid to two important topics: (1) the conceptual underpinnings of the assessment practices we develop and use to support learning and instruction, and ( ) the arguments and evidence we establish for their validity given the intended interpretive use. Such a focus highlights fundamental concepts that have long existed in the broader assessment literature -carefully defining and operationalizing our constructs and then validating the assessments of those constructs. What differs now are the conceptual frameworks, briefly outlined here, that can and must be used to guide both aspects of such work.

1991

This paper is intended to raise questions and identify some of the problems posed by assessment within an educational setting. The principal aim is to offer a springboard for discussion, rather than to propose a specific plan of action. It is also worth stressing that assessment designates more than just examinations (public or otherwise). As teachers and educators, we are constantly making assessments of our students, passing official, unofficial, conscious and unconscious judgements. These are judgements which inevitably influence our attitudes to our jobs, our performance and our teaching or administrative styles. They also have wide-ranging repercussions on the attitudes, performances and future of our students. They are judgements based on a complex series of assumptions which we habitually make about, for instance, what education involves, the nature of schooling, school structures and their aims, the learning process as it relates to human development. What follows is largely inspired by a desire to identify and scrutinize some of the most recurrent of these assumptions.

OBJECTIVES 1. To understand assessment in the outcomes-based curriculum: its nature, purposes, process and implementation in the classroom 2. To explore the emerging trends in classroom assessment. 3. To develop high-quality classroom assessment 4. To develop Table of Specifications in preparation for a classroom test 5. To construct and administer classroom tests. 6. To design scoring rubrics. for performance-based tests.