Kalinga State University

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Social Studies
TOPIC 1 –INTRODUCTION TO ASSESSMENT &
EVALUATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
The topic deals with the concept of assessment for learning. It starts with discussion
of the purpose of assessment in Social Sciences and proceeds with description of various
forms of assessment and their use in assessing scholastic as well as co-scholastic abilities
of learners in Social Sciences. The important methods of assessment, which are particularly
used in constructivist classroom of Social Sciences like Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation
(CCE), peer and group assessment and use of portfolio are discussed with suitable examples.
The Unit also provides you a clear understanding to analyze content of Social Science text
for developing an achievement test. As per the content analysis, the Unit discusses how to
prepare blueprint of an achievement test in Social Sciences and how to write the items as
per the blueprint.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Describe what is assessment;

2. Determine the importance of assessment in learning;
3. Explain why evaluation is necessary; and
4. Identify the differences between assessment and evaluation.

ASSESSMENT

Concept of Assessment
Literally assessment means the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or
event. It is the classification of someone or something with respect to its worth. Assessment
is a general term that includes the full range of procedures used to gain information about
student learning (observations, ratings of performances or projects, paper-and-pencil tests)
and the formation of value judgments concerning learning progress. A test is a particular
type of assessment that typically consists of a set of questions administered during a fixed
period of time under reasonably comparable conditions for all students. (Linn and
Groundlund, 2000) Assessment may include both quantitative descriptions (measurement)
and qualitative descriptions (non-measurement) of students. In addition, assessment always
includes value judgments concerning desirability of the results. Assessment may or
may not he base on measurements; when it is, it goes beyond simple quantitative
description.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES | 1

 Kalinga State University
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Social Studies
The process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting information to aid in decision
making is called assessment. For many people, the, words, classrooms, assessment evoke
images of pupils taking paper-and-pencil, test, teachers scoring them, and grades being
assigned to the pupils based upon their performance. Assessment, as the term is used here,
includes the full range of information that teacher gather in their classrooms; information that
helps them understand their pupils, monitor their instruction, and establish a viable
classroom culture. It also includes the variety of ways teachers gather, synthesize, and
interpret that information.' Assessment is a general term that includes all the ways through
which teachers gather information in their classrooms.

Need for Assessment in Education

As long as there is need for the educator to make some instructional decisions,
curricular decision, and selection decision. Placement or classification decisions based on
the present or anticipated educational status of the child so long will there be need for
assessment in educational enterprise. To the modern educator, the ultimate goal of
assessment is to facilitate learning. This could be done in a number of ways, in each way a
separate type of decision is required. The assessment decision also determines which of
tests is to be used for assessment. Thus there is a close relationship between the purpose of
evaluation, evaluate decisions and types of tests to be used for them.

ACTIVITY 1:
1. Describe “Assessment” in your own words.
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2. Why is Assessment of learning important?
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EVALUATION
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Literally, the term evaluation means “appraisal”, “Judgment” or “assessment”,

“calculation”, “estimation” or “rating” of a thing.
According to the International Dictionary of Education (by G Terry & JB Thomas)
evaluation means “value judgment” on an observation, performance test or any data whether
directly measured or inferred. Evaluation is the qualitative assessment of a thing. It answers
the question “How good”?

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES | 2

 Kalinga State University
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Social Studies
A. D. Jones defines evaluation as “the process of finding the value of something”. He
further says “the process of evaluation is the attempt to find the worth of any enterprise.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the term “Evaluate” as to find out
or form an idea of the amount or values of something. When we evaluate something, we
mean to determine the value or worth of that thing. Evaluation is, actually, the process
through which we collect information of something and then make a decision in the light of
that information.
So we can say that evaluation is concerned with making judgments about things.
When we act as evaluators, we attribute “value” or “worth” to behavior, objects and
processes. In the wider community, for example, one may make evaluative comments about
a play, clothes, restaurant, a book or someone’s behavior. We may enjoy a play, admire
someone’s clothes, to speak about some restaurant and so on and so forth. Invariably, these
are rather simple, straight forward comments of value or worth because this judgment is not
based on appropriate and relevant data.
According to William Wiersma and Stephen G. Jurs, “The more effective evaluation
requires the judgment which is based on appropriate and relevant data”. For example, to say
that a film is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is not the judgment based on appropriate and relevant data. It is,
therefore, not the exact evaluation of the film. It well-written script, tight direction mood-
enhancing music, suitable characters and so forth; because this judgment is based on some
appropriate and relevant data. These are the characteristics upon which we can make a
judgment about something.

Need or Importance of Evaluation

Evaluation plays pivotal role in teaching-learning process. It helps in providing
information about the success or failure of an educational objective. It shows whether the
student has achieved the required objective or not, and to what degree has the goal been
reached? So evaluation provides relevant information to the decision-makers need about
input, output, operation of a programs, and placement of student in programs. Levels of
understanding can be assessed. and future educational objectives set, based on student
needs. Similarly, appropriate activities can be planned by the teacher based on the
knowledge of the attributes of the student. Evaluation also makes it easy for the teacher to
form objective, select content, and plan for learning experiences. It also provides a guideline
about all aspects of the teaching- learning process. Without evaluation we cannot be aware
of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of an educational program or objective.

Evaluation is as necessary for student as for teacher or decision-makers. Its

importance for the student is great because the whole process of education is for the benefit

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 Kalinga State University
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Social Studies
of the student. The student is the centre of interest in the teaching learning process. For the
student, evaluation provides feedback regarding better strengths and weaknesses. It
encourages the student for better study and increases his motivation. Improvement of the
teacher's teaching and the student's learning through judgment, using available information
is the ultimate need of the evaluation process.

In a nutshell, evaluation plays central role in the teaching learning process. It serves
as a guiding principle for the selection of supervisory techniques and also as a means for
improving school-community relation.

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