The Nature of Educational Assessment

The purpose of classroom teaching is to influence pupil behavior in the desired direction. The desired direction
is guided by the educational objectives formulated by the school and the teacher.

The teacher must be:

1. conscious of the goals and aims of education and formulate instructional objectives for various lessons
and units in the systematized and rearranged syllabus in a subject of study.
2. in a position to construct effective learning experiences on the basis of student learning and the modes of
effective communication channels.
3. able to determine the extent to which these objectives are being achieved.

Hence, three major elements in the education process are objectives, learning experiences and learner appraisal.

As soon to be teachers, you will be faced with the challenge of assessing the progress of your students as well as
your own effectiveness as teachers. (De Guzman-Santos, 2007)
That is, the progress of a student is often equated with how effective a teacher is.

WHY DECIDE FOR ASSESSMENT?

1. Assessment decisions could substantially improve student’s performance.
2. It guide the teachers in enhancing the teaching-learning process.
3. It assist policy makers in improving the educational system.

Poor assessment procedures could adversely affect the students, teachers and administrators.

Assessment of learning is a tricky business, (WHY?) indeed, for it requires measuring concepts, ideas, and
abstract constructs quite unlike the assessment of physical quantities which can be done with appropriate degree
of accuracy.

In assessment of learning, we deal with intangibles and attempt to characterize them in a manner that would be
widely understood.

Traditionally, assessment of learning was confined to techniques and procedures for determining whether or not
cognitive knowledge (e.g. Memorization of facts and theories) was successfully acquired.

BLOOM, 1954 – “Assessment was essentially confined to pencil-paper testing of the cognitive levels of
learning.”

However, educators recognized that not only we are expected to know facts and figures in today’s society, but
we are also expected to function effectively in the modern world, interact with other people, and adjust to
situations.

In the 1990s – It was proven that students identified with high potential cognitive level through traditional
pencil-paper test have not been successful in coping with the demands of modern world. Therefore, paper-
pencil testing is inadequate to measure other important skills needed for people to function effectively in
today’s world.

As educators, we need to have a thorough grasp of the why, what, and how of assessing student’s learning. The
underlying philosophy is that of “assessment for learning” rather than “assessment of learning” per se.

Assessment for learning Assessment of learning Assessment as learning

• Students are assessed in • The building block by • can be used in conjunction
order to enhance the which we introduce the idea to support student
teaching-learning process of assessment for learning in achievement
guided by the principle that Philippine schools. • is used for the purposes of
education is a lifelong greater learning achievement
activity and does not cease • is a process of developing
after one’s graduation from and supporting students’
school. active participation
• is used for purposes of
providing evidence of
achievement for reporting.
 • diagnostic and formative • self-assessment • summative

• Teacher assessment, student • the development of self- • Grading and Report Cards
self-directed assessment assessment skills
and/or student peer • teacher assessment
assessment

https://www.slideshare.net/SircDb/assessment-lecture1

Assessment
Assessment: The process of obtaining information that is used for making decisions about students, curricula
and programs, and educational policy.  It includes the full range of procedures used to gain information about
student learning.  These procedures may be formal (pencil and paper tests) or informal (observations). 
Certain concepts and terms are associated with assessment.  These are tests, measurement and evaluation.
Test:  A task or series of tasks, which are used to measure specific traits or attributes in people.  In educational
settings, tests include paper and pencil instruments, which contain questions that students and pupils respond
to.  The responses provided to the questions help the test giver to obtain an estimate of the specific trait being
measured.  It answers the question, ‘How well does the individual perform?’ 

Two interpretations of scores from tests. 

1. Norm-referenced interpretation:  These describe test scores or performance in terms of a person’s
position in a reference group that has been administered the assessment.  The reference group is called
the norm group.  For example, a student’s performance may place him/her as the 15 th out of 45. Or a
student doing better than 90% of the class.
2. Criterion-referenced interpretation:  These describe test scores or performance in terms of the kinds
of tasks a person with a given score can do.  The performance can be compared to a pre-established
standard or criterion.  For example, a student may be able to solve 8 problems out of 10 concerning
fractions.  A level of performance can be established at 6.
Assessment Methods
There are four considerations to examine when designing an appropriate assessment method that will reflect the
established learning goals and activities:
1. Reliability is the extent to which a questionnaire, test, observation or any measurement procedure
produces the same results over a period of time.  
2. Standardization establishes a set precedence, therefore enhancing an assignment, test or
projects’ reliability. 
3. Validity indicates whether an assessment tool is measuring what it intends to measure. Validity
estimates indicate whether the latent variable shared by items in a test is in fact the target variable of the
test developer. Validity is the ability of a scale or test to predict events, relationship with other measures,
and representativeness of item content. 
4. Practicality refers to the action of the assessment method and its relevance to the overall learning goals
in the course. It also addresses whether or not the workload for the instructor is reasonable.

https://www.algonquincollege.com/profres/assessing-students/qualities-of-good-assessment-practices/

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlo-
Magno/publication/277405724_Designing_Written_Assessment_for_Student_Learning/links/556a8f5208ae
fcb861d5f61c/Designing-Written-Assessment-for-Student-Learning.pdf

ASSESSMENT
- Is a process by which information is obtained relative to some known objective or goal.
- Is a broad term that includes testing.
o A test is a special form of assessment.
o Tests are assessments made under contrived circumstances especially so that they may be
administered.

IMPORTANT POINT TO PONDER

 In other words, all tests are assessments, but not all assessments are tests. We test at the end of a lesson
or unit. We assess progress at the end of a school year through testing.

Once measurement are taken of an educational quantity or quality of interest, then the next step is to assess the
status of that educational phenomenon.

FOR EXAMPLE:
– Suppose that the quantity of interest is the level of performance of 4th Year High School
students of Dona Carmen Denia National High School in English subject.
– The proposed measurements are test scores obtained by administering a standardized
achievement test in English for 4th Year students in the said school.
– The Division EPS in English decided to target an achievement level of 80% with a descriptive
equivalent of Progressing for the 4th Year students of DCDNHS.
– Based on the achievement test results, the school officials of DCDNHS can assess whether
their 4th Year students are within the reasonable range of this target, that is to say, whether
they are above or below the achievement level target

• Ranges:
Percentage Descriptive Equivalent
70-75 Struggling Level
76-80 Progressing Level
80-85 Mastering Level

Assessment is the systematic gathering and analyzing of information (excluding course grades) to inform and
improve student learning or programs of student learning in light of goal- oriented expectations

Why Is It Important To Assess?

1. To find out what the students know (Knowledge)
2. To find out what the students can do, and how well they can do it (Skill; Performance)
3. To find out how students go about the task of doing their work (Process)
4. To find out how students feel about their work (Motivation, Effort)
5. To know if students can apply what they have learned in authentic situations. (Application)

What Are The Functions Of Assessment?

1. Diagnostic: Determining the gaps in learning or learning processes, hopefully, to be able to bridge this
gap.
• Tells us what the student needs to learn.
2. Formative: Allows the teacher to redirect and refocus the course of teaching a subject matter
• Tells us how well the student is doing as work progresses.
3. Summative: Determine the extent to which learning objectives for a course are met and why.
• Tells us how well the student did at the end of a unit/task.
4. Placement: • Determining the appropriate area where the student could do well both in in terms of
achievement and aptitude
• Tells us where a student would most likely excel

What Is Authentic Assessment?

Authentic assessment aims to:
1. Ensuring that learners receive specific, constructive, and timely feedback regarding their progress
2. evaluate students' abilities in 'real-world' contexts. In other words, students learn how to apply their
skills to authentic tasks and projects.

In Authentic Assessment, Students: a) Do science experiments b) Conduct social-science research c) Write

stories and reports d) Read and interpret literature e) Solve math problems that have real-world applications

Measurement
EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT - Refers to the use of educational assessments and the analysis of data
such as scores obtained from educational assessments to infer the abilities and proficiencies of students. It is the
science underlying the valid and reliable assessment of teaching and learning for individuals in grades K
through 12, higher education, and certain professions, such as for licensing and certification.
The approaches overlap with those in Psychometrics - The science of educational measurement
Educational measurement is the assigning of numerals to traits such as achievement, interest, attitudes,
aptitudes, intelligence and performance.
Measurement:  The process of assigning numbers to the attributes or traits possessed by persons, events or a
set of objects according to specific rules.  Educational measurement is the assignment of numerals to such traits
as achievement, aptitude, and performance.  It is limited to the quantitative descriptions of students.  It answers
the question, ‘How much?’
Steps in Measurement:
1. Identifying and providing a clear definition of the attribute/trait to be measured.
2. Determining the set of procedures/operations by which the attribute is to be manifested.
3. Establishing a set of procedures/rules for quantifying the attribute/trait.
Scales of Measurement 
Depending upon the traits/attributes/characteristics and the way they are measured, different kinds of data result
representing different scales of measurement.  For example, the number 4 can be interpreted in different ways
depending on the source.
Four (4) types of measurement scales:
1. Nominal Scales:         A nominal scale classifies persons or objects into two or more categories.
Whatever the classification, a person can only be in one category, and members of a given category have
a common set of characteristics.  For identification purposes, categories are numbered.
For example:
Gender,          Male 1, Female 2.
Residence:     Nangka 1, SSS Village 2, Sta. Elena 3

2. Ordinal Scales: An ordinal scale not only classifies subjects but also ranks them in terms of the degree
to which they possess a characteristic/attribute of interest. An ordinal scale puts subjects in order from
highest to lowest, from most to least. With respect to height, 5 students can be ranked from 1 to 5, the
subject with rank 1 being the shortest. The assigning of grades based on scores is also an example of this
scale, with for example the observation that a grade of "A" represents not only a different value than a
grade of "C" but that it also represents a higher or greater value.
Though ordinal scales do indicate that some subjects are higher or better than others, they do not
indicate how much higher or better. i.e. intervals between the ranks are not equal.
3. Interval Scales: An interval scale has all the characteristics of both nominal and ordinal scales and in
addition has equal intervals. The zero point is arbitrary and does not mean the absence of the
characteristics/trait. Values can be added and subtracted to and from each other. But not multiplied or
divided.  Examples include Celsius temperature, academic achievement.

4. Ratio Scales:    A ratio scale has all the advantages of the types of scales and in addition it has a
meaningful true zero point.  Height, Weight and time are examples.  Values can be added, subtracted,
multiplied and divided. 60 minutes can be said to be 3 times as long as 20 minutes.

https://lms.komendacollege.edu.gh/unit/unit-1nature-of-assessment/

Assessment is therefore quite different from measurement, and has uses that suggest very different
purposes. When used in a learning objective: Measure - defines as to apply a standard scale or measuring
device to an object, series of objects, events, or conditions, according to practices accepted by those who are
skilled in the use of the device or scale. In the field of educational measurement, the quantities and qualities
of interest are more abstract, unseen, and cannot be touched. They cannot be observed thus makes the
measurement process in education much more difficult.
TESTING – The most common procedure in measuring student’s knowledge of the subject matter.
PERCEPTION – Student’s knowledge of the subject matter is measured by asking group of experts to rate
them in a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest.

INDICATORS, VARIABLES, and FACTORS

1. VARIABLES – A quantity or function that may assume any given value or set of values.
– An educational variable (denoted by an English alphabet, like X) is a measurable characteristic of a
student.
– It may be directly measurable (e.g. X=age of student, X=height of student).
– Most often cannot be directly measured ( e.g. X=class participation of a student).

2. INDICATORS – The building blocks of educational measurement upon which all other forms of
measurement are built.
– A group of indicators constitute a variable
– They were introduced when direct measurements are not feasible
– An indicator I=denotes the presence or absence of a measured characteristics. Thus:
I=I, if the characteristic is present
I=0, if the characteristic is absent
– For the variable X=class participation, we can let I₁, I₂, ........ I┐ denote the participation of a student
in n recitations and let X=sum of the I’s divided by n recitations. Thus, if there were n=10 recitations
and the students participated in 5 of theses 10 then X=5/10 or 50%.

3. FACTORS – A group of variables form a construct or a factor – Formed through a group of variables,
and the variables which form a factor correlate highly with each other but have low correlations with
variables in another group
Example:
– The following variables were measured in a battery of tests:
X1 = Computational Skills
X2 = Reading Skills
X3 = Vocabulary
X4 = Logic and Reasoning
X5 = Sequences and Series
X6 = Manual Dexterity

– These variables can be grouped and be referred to as follows:

Group1 : X1, X4, X5 = Mathematical ability Factor
Group2 : X2, X3 = Language Ability Factor
Group3 : X6 = Psychomotor Ability Factor

In educational measurement, we shall be concerned with indicators, variables, and factors of interest in the
field of education.

TYPES OF MEASUREMENT
1. OBJECTIVE – More stable type of measurements in the sense that repeated measurements of the same
quantity or quality of interest will produce more or less the same outcome (e.g. Testing) – It is the most
preferred type of measurement whenever they are available, and it does not depend on the person or
individual taking the measurements, regardless of who is taking it, the same measurement values should
be obtained when using it.
2. SUBJECTIVE – Unstable and dependent on the perception of the one doing the rating, and it differs
from one assessor to the next even if the same quantity or quality of interest is being measured.

Evaluation
Evaluation: Stufflebeam (1973) defined evaluation as “the process of delineating, obtaining, and providing
useful information for judging decision alternatives”.  The main concern of evaluation in the classroom is to
arrive at a judgment on the worth or effectiveness of teaching and learning.  Evaluation may either be formative
or summative.
1. Formative evaluation is the process of judging the worth of teaching and learning constantly during the
period of instruction.  It requires the gathering of detailed information on frequent occasions through
such means as teacher observations, classroom questions, home assignments and short tests or quizzes. 
The main purpose is to provide feedback to both the teacher and the learner about progress being made.
 2. Summative evaluation is the process of judging the worth of teaching and learning at the end of the
period of instruction.  It is judgmental in nature.  It attempts to determine to what extent the broad
objectives of teaching and learning have been attained. 
Evaluation helps to build an educational programme, assess its achievements and improve upon its
effectiveness.
It serves as an in-built monitor within the programme to review the progress in learning from time to time. It
also provides valuable feedback on the design and the implementation of the programme. Thus, evaluation
plays a significant role in any educational programme.

Evaluation plays an enormous role in the teaching-learning process. It helps teachers and learners to improve
teaching and learning. Evaluation is a continuous process and a periodic exercise. It helps in forming the values
of judgement, educational status, or achievement of student. Evaluation in one form or the other is inevitable in
teaching-learning, as in all fields of activity of education judgements need to be made.

In learning, it contributes to formulation of objectives, designing of learning experiences and assessment of

learner performance. Besides this, it is very useful to bring improvement in teaching and curriculum. It provides
accountability to the society, parents, and to the education system.
Let us discuss its uses briefly:
1. Teaching: Evaluation is concerned with assessing the effectiveness of teaching, teaching strategies,
methods and techniques. It provides feedback to the teachers about their teaching and the learners about
their learning.
2. Curriculum: The improvement in courses/curricula, texts and teaching materials is brought about with
the help of evaluation.
3. Society: Evaluation provides accountability to society in terms of the demands and requirements of the
employment market.
4. Parents: Evaluation mainly manifests itself in a perceived need for regular reporting to parents.

In brief, evaluation is a very important requirement for the education system. It fulfills various purposes in
systems of education like quality control in education, selection/entrance to a higher grade or tertiary level.

It also helps one to take decisions about success in specific future activities and provides guidance to further
studies and occupation. Some of the educationists’ view evaluation virtually synonymous with that of learner
appraisal, but evaluation has an expanded role.

It plays an effective role in questioning or challenging the objectives.

A simple representation explaining the role of evaluation in the teaching-learning process is shown below:

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/statistics-2/evaluation-in-teaching-and-learning-process-
education/92476

http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/46937/1/Unit-1.pdf

Characteristics of 21st Century Assessment

The following eight characteristics of 21st century assessment, are essential guide for the preparation of
assessment activities by educators. It is necessary to refer to these characteristics to ensure that the learners are
being assessed towards the skills and demand of the 21st century.
1. RESPONSIVE – Visible performance-based work (as a result of assessment) generates data that inform
curriculum and instruction. (Eg. Formative assessment given to students)
2. FLEXIBLE – Assessment need to be adaptable to students’ settings. Rather than the identical approach
that works in traditional assessment, 21st century approaches are more versatile. (Eg, groupings of
students based on learning styles or multiple intelligences)
3. INTEGRATED – Assessments are to be incorporated into day-to-day practice rather than as add-ons at
the end of instructions or during a single specified week of the school calendar. (Eg, giving of formative
tests (when necessary) and summative tests)
4. INFORMATIVE – The desired 21st century goals and objectives are clearly stated and explicitly taught.
Students display their range of emerging knowledge and skills. Exemplars routinely guide students
toward achievement of targets. (Eg. Enumeration of objectives before the start of lesson)
5. MULTIPLE METHODS – An assessment continuum that includes a spectrum of strategies is the norm.
(Eg. Use of varied teaching techniques)
6. COMMUNICATED – Communication of assessment data is clear and transparent for all stakeholders.
(Eg. Returning of test papers/outputs and attending PTC)
7. TECHNICALLY SOUND – Adjustments and accommodations are made in the assessment process to
meet the students’ needs and fairness. (Eg. Principle of inclusive education)
8. SYSTEMIC – 21st century assessment is part of a comprehensive and well-aligned assessment system
that is balanced and inclusive of all students, constituents, and stakeholders and designed to support
improvement at all levels. (Eg. Localization and contextualization of discussion)

https://www.slideshare.net/sarahmgmoniva/characteristics-of-21st-century-assessment