7.5.

Tools and Techniques of Assessment

This section deals with the various tools and Techniques of
assessment including suggestions for construction (preparation) and
their advantages and disadvantages.
 True- false /Alternative Response Items
 Matching Type
 Supply type /Short answer items
 Multiple Choice Examinations
 Interpretive Exercise
 Assessing Essays
 Assessment of practice
 Individual Study (Undergraduate) & Dissertation/Thesis (Postgraduate)
 Oral presentation/Viva vocea
 Group Work Assessment
 Portfolios as an Assessment Tool
 Projects and Reports as Assessment Tools
 Practical and Laboratory Work as Assessment Tools

TYPES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF

EXAMINATIONS
There are different types of examinations used within higher institutions. In these
types of examinations, students are expected to choose their own answers from
alternatives given for each questions asked. There are different ways of classifying
examinations. For the purpose of this guideline, the nature and characteristics,
advantages, limitations and suggestions for construction of multiple choices,
alternate response/true or false, matching, supply items, interpretive exercise and
essay items are identified:

i. True- false / Alternative Response Items

Nature and characteristics of True -false/ Alternative Response Items
The alternative response test item consists of declarative statements that pupils
are asked to mark true or false, right or wrong, correct or incorrect, yes or no, fact
or opinions, agree or disagree etc. But, since the true-false option is the most
common, this item type is frequently referred to as simply true-false test item.
Some of the variations, however, deviate considerably from the simple true-false
pattern and have their own distinctive characteristics. For this reason, the more
general category alternative response is preferred.

The alternative response item is helpful in measuring the following learning

outcomes (abilities of students).

 the ability to identify the correctness of statements of various knowledge

 statements of knowledge of facts:

 statements of knowledge of definition of terms:
 statements of knowledge of principles etc
 the ability to recognize cause and effect relationships
N.B. It is undesirable to use opinion statements to which the pupil is asked to
respond merely true or false because there is no objective basis for determining
whether a statement of opinion is true or false.
E.g., Black is beauty.

Advantages of Alternative Response Items

Some advantages of these item types:

 are easy to construct but good true false construction needs skill

 have wide coverage of the content area

 Are good for young children and/or pupils who are poor readers.

 Can be scored quickly, reliably and objectively by clerks.

 Limitations of Alternative Responses Items
 Pupils’ scores on short true false tests may be influenced by good or poor luck
in guessing (the pupils have a 50% chance of getting correct answers by
guessing).
 They are more susceptible to ambiguity and misinterpretations than any other
selection type objective item, which results in low reliability.
 They lend themselves most easily to cheating.
 They tend to be less discriminating than multiple choice tests.
 Sometimes items are not unequivocally (clearly) true or false.
 Specific determiners (a type of irrelevant clue) are more prevalent in true false
items than in any other objective item format.

Suggestions for Writing Alternative Type Items

 Avoid ambiguous words and statements of broad general statements.

Poor: All men are created equal.

Better: The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal.

 Ambiguity is also introduced when an item deals with qualitative terms such
as more, few, heavier, lighter etc. Since these terms are vague, indefinite and
imprecise, different people may interpret them differently. To avoid such
problems, using quantitative terms is recommended. Examples:

Poor: John received a large number of votes in the election. How much is large?

Better: John received 46 percent of the votes in the election.

 True-false items must be based on statements that are clearly true or
clearly false. This refers to an item consisting of two statements one part correct
the other part wrong. Examples:
Poor: Whales are mammals and, with the exception of humans, they are
intelligent mammals. Here statement (1) is correct, but statement (2) is false
Better: Whales are mammals

 Avoid tricky questions. Examples :

Mt. Everst is the highest mountain.

These types of items may spoil the relation between the students and the teacher
and affect the validity of the test. The trick here is spelling. (Everest)

 When the true-false item is used to test for cause and effect relationships, the
first proposition in the statement should always be true, with subordinate
clauses being written as either true or false.

Example:

Poor: Marble rarely, if ever, contains fossils because it is a metamorphosed

igneous rock.
Better: Marble a metamorphosed igneous rock.
 Avoid specific determiners like most, all, always, sometimes, in most cases
etc
 Avoid making true statement consistently longer than false statement.

 For the correction type of true-false item, underline the word to be corrected.

 Avoid a disproportionate number of either true or false items. Make the

number of true or false equal.
 Avoid trivial statements-statements which have little importance for
knowledge and understanding.
E.g. In an attempt to obtain a statement that is unequivocally true or false, we
sometimes turn to specific statements of facts that fit this criterion but have little
significance in terms of the desired objective to be measured.
 Avoid the use of negative statements and especially double negatives.
E.g., Poor: None of the steps in the experiment was unnecessary.
Better: All the steps in the experiment were necessary.
 Avoid long complex sentences.
 Avoid including two ideas in one statement unless cause-effect relationships
are being measured.
 If opinion is used, attribute it to some source, unless the ability to identify
opinion is being specifically measured.

Matching Type

Matching and multiple choice questions are similar in that they have a stem
question and alternatives. Matching questions have a group of answers to a group
of questions but multiple choices have several alternatives for one question.

The matching item type test consists of two parallel columns with each word,
number, or symbol in one column being matched to a word, phrase or sentence in
the other column. The items in the column for which the selection is made are
called premises and the items in the column from which the selection is made are
called responses.

The basis for matching responses to premises is sometimes self-evident, but more
frequently must be explained in the directions. The students’ task is to identify the
pairs of items that are to be associated.

Again, for each premise in column A, there should be several responses which
could serve as attractive choices for students who are doubtful about the correct
answers. Both homogeneity of the material and plausibility of responses tend to
minimize the opportunity for successful guessing on the part of the students and
should not let students get answers by elimination.
Nature and characteristics of Matching Type Items
Whenever learning outcomes emphasize the ability to identify simple relationships
(associations) between two things (factual information) and when a sufficient
number of homogeneous premises and responses can be obtained, matching type
test seems most appropriate.

We can also present matching type test with picture and word association. Here,
the students are asked to relate picture and word by matching the numbers labeling
different parts of the picture. Alternatively, the students can be asked to identify
positions on maps, charts, and diagrams. Regardless of the form of presentation,
the students’ task is essentially that of relating two things for which there is some
logical basis for association.

Advantages of Matching Type

 It is easy to construct if we get homogeneous material, but still it needs much

Skill to construct valid items.
 It requires relatively little reading time.
 Like true- false or multiple choice, these tests are amenable to machine
Scoring and hand scoring.

Limitations of Matching Type

 they are restricted to the measurement of factual information based on rote
memory of simple relationships.
 they are also highly susceptible to the presence of irrelevant clues. If there is a
lack of plausible responses, it will be difficult to find homogeneous material that is
significant from the point of view of our objectives and learning outcomes.
In teacher made matching type tests, some of the more common faults are found to
be that:
 the set directions are vague
  the items to be matched are excessively long
 the list of responses lacks homogeneity
 the premises are vaguely stated
Suggestions for Constructing Matching Items
 Use only homogeneous material in a single matching item.
 Include an unequal number of responses and premises and instruct
the student that responses may be used once, more than once or not
at all to reduce guessing by elimination.
 Keep the list of items to be matched brief and place the shorter
Responses on the right. This is helpful for both teacher and
Students.
For the teacher
 It is easier to maintain homogeneity in a brief list..
 there is a greater likelihood that the various learning outcomes and
Subject matter topics will be measured in a balanced manner.
For the students
 A brief list enables them to read the responses rapidly and without confusion
 Arrange the list of responses in logical order, for example, in alphabetical
order and number them in sequence. This will contribute to the ease with
which the students can scan the response in searching for the correct
answer.
 Indicate in the directions the basis for matching the response and premises to
avoid ambiguity and confusion, and to save testing time.
 Place all of the items for one matching item on the same page.

This can avoid the problems of:

a) disturbance created by students shifting the page of the test back and forth
 b) overlooking the responses appearing on another page
c) Wasting time by turning pages over. Generally, this factor adds to the
speed and efficiency of test administration.
 Avoid giving irrelevant clues like having the name of one woman among ten
men and asking for the name of the actress who won the Academy Award
in 1963
 Maintain grammatical consistency. E.g. All proper names, all common nouns,
all singulars, all plurals, all men, all women etc.
 Every response in column B should be a plausible answer to some premises
in column A

Supply type /Short answer items

Depending on your objectives, short-answer questions can call for one or two
sentences or a long paragraph. Short answer tests are easier to write, though they
take longer time to score than multiple-choice items. They also give some
opportunity to see how well students can express their thoughts, though they are
not as useful as longer essay responses for this purpose.

Nature, characteristics of supply type /short answer items

Short answer items are somewhat a cross between the essay & other objective test
items. On one hand, like the essay items, they require recall rather than
recognition; on the other hand, they can be objectively scored. Short answer items
are suitable to measure a wide variety of relatively simple learning outcomes. Look
at the points mentioned below.
 Knowledge of terminologies
E.g. Lines on weather map that join points of the same barometric
Pressure are called _____________ (isobars)
 Knowledge of specific facts
 E.g. Ulan Bator is the capital city of ________ (Mongolia).
 Knowledge of principles:
E.g. what happens to pressure as are increases? __________ (decreases)
Short answer items have two varieties:
The question variety: the item is presented as a direct question
E.g. What is the longest river in the world? ___________________
The completion variety: the item is given in an incomplete statement.
E.g. The longest river in the world is ___________.
Advantages:

 efficiency in time and space has compact nature

 relatively easy to construct

 Reduces the possibility of guessing the correct answer.

Limitations:

 Scoring is difficult because of the multiplicity of plausible answers. Unless the

question is phrased (written) very carefully, a variety of answers of varying
degrees of correctness must be considered for total or partial credit
 Limited to measure largely specific facts rather than complex learning
outcomes because answers are restricted to a few words, phrases or numbers.

Suggestions for constructing supply/short answer items

Write the item so that the required answer is both definite & brief to avoid
ambiguous responses. It should be written in such a way that it would have only
one correct answer.

E.g. poor: 15 is a _______number. Possible answers: natural, whole, and Rational

Poor: World War II ended in___. Possible answers: Japan, 1945, Victory.
Do not take statements directly from textbooks/handouts to use as a base for short
answer items.

A direct question is more desirable than an incomplete statement because it is the

usual method of phrasing questions in daily classroom discussion and thus more
natural to the students. Where the answer is to be expressed in numerical units,
indicate the type of answer wanted. This will clarify the item to the student &
simplify of scoring for the teacher.

E.g. Poor: If an orange costs 50 cents, how much would a dozen

Oranges cost?

Better: If an orange costs 50 cents, how much Birr would a

Dozens of oranges cost?

Make the blanks of uniform length to avoid guessing.

Have the blanks occur near the end of the sentence.

E.g. Poor: The ___________ is the smallest particle of matter

Better: The smallest particle of matter is ________

Avoid irrelevant clues (e.g., a, an)

Avoid too many blank statements because their meaning will be lost &

Make students guess.

Omit key words & phrases rather than trivial details.

E.g. Poor: Columbus _______America in 1892(discovered)

Better: Columbus discovered America in (year) ___________.

Avoid statements that may be logically answered by several terms.

Multiple Choice Examinations
Multiple choice examinations can be used either as formal examinations or as class
tests (which may be classified as part of coursework assessment), and are generally
of short duration (e.g. 1 hour) at classroom level and up to 2 to 3 hours in
standardized and national examination sessions. Multiple choice items are widely
used. They can be used to measure both simple knowledge and complex concepts.
Since multiple choice questions can be answered quickly, teachers can assess
students' mastery of many topics on an hour exam. In addition, the items can be
easily and reliably scored.

A multiple choice item consists of two parts.

The stem: The stem contains the problem, which can be stated as a direct question
or an\incomplete one. The direct question format has more advantages. The
response or options: These deal with a list of suggested answers out of which one
is a correct answer and the others are incorrect ones and are called distracters
(distract less knowledgeable students away from the answer/they attract them).
There are two varieties of multiple choice items:-

Best item variety –all are answers but one is the best, the difference is a matter of
degree.
Correct item variety –there is only one answer in e.g. mathematics, spelling etc.
These types of examinations have both advantages and constraints.
Advantages of multiple choice examinations

Multiple choice examinations have the following advantages:

 It is possible to assess simple and complex learning outcomes within the

time given, a more comprehensive measurement of students’ achievement.
 The results are amenable to diagnosis.
 They have wide applicability.
  They provide greater structure to the question
 E.g. South America ____ .a) ---b) ---c) -- d) -- The alternatives make it clear.
 They can test students’ ability to think quickly under pressure, and are less
concerned with examination technique.
 They can be easier to modify in order to test students at the appropriate
level.
 They can reduce the amount of marking time required from internal
examiners, and decrease some of the subjectivity which can be involved in
marking other styles of examination.

Constraints of multiple choice examinations

The following constraints are evident in the multiple choice examination types.
 They are difficult to construct, especially getting plausible distracters is
difficult.
 The distracters should be homogeneous and attract the less knowledgeable
and unprepared students.
 They are not well adapted to measure some learning outcomes in
mathematics, chemistry and physics etc.
 There is a possibility that students may guess the correct answer if it is
subjected to many irrelevant clues.
 It is relatively labour intensive and time consuming to prepare the test.
 As a result of recycling questions, students may get access to the questions
and achieve good marks without achieving the instructional objectives,

Generally, multiple choice items do not allow for the demonstration of more in-
depth knowledge and understanding of a topic. When considering which format to
use for assessing a particular course, or program, it is worth bearing in mind the
possibility of combining a number of examination formats within one assessment
task. For example, it is possible to include in an examination section multiple
choice questions, along with an essay-type question.

Suggestions for Constructing Multiple Choice Items

 The stem of the item must be meaningful by itself (present it in a direct
form).
 The stem of an item should include as many of the items as possible and
should be free from irrelevant material, but be brief.
 A negatively stated item stem should only be used when significant learning
outcomes require it – to avoid the overlooking of the negative word ‘not’.
E.g. Ampicillin should not be used with__________
a) Water b) sugar c) milk d) pepper
 If you use negative words, use capital letters or write them in bold
 Instead of asking the least important factors ask the most important factors
(learning outcomes).
 Specify objectives so the questions can be specific and focused and the
student does not have to guess what to study;
 All of the alternatives should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
 An item should contain only one correct or clearly best answer.
 All distracters should be plausible (homogeneous).
 Reduce frustration for creative students by reducing ambiguities (e.g. "both
a & b" type answers which almost always are subjected to argument).
 Verbal association between the stem and correct answer should be avoided.
e.g. the same word both in the stem and the distracter, clues or definite and
indefinite articles
 The relative length of the alternatives should not provide a clue to the
correct answer.
 The correct answer should appear in each of the alternative positions
 approximately an equal number of times, but in a random order. They
should not be in a pattern.
 Use special alternatives such as ‘none of the above’ and ‘all of the above’
sparingly.

Interpretive Exercise
An interpretive exercise consists of objective test items that depend on a common
data. The data could be a reading passage, a map, a picture figure, chart, table etc.
Items interpretive exercise are called context dependent because they depend on
external sources. Interpretive exercise can measure a range of outcomes ranging
from simple knowledge to application level (Yalew, 2006).
Interpretive exercises make it possible to control the amount of factual
information given to students. We can give them as much or as little information as
we think desirable in measuring their achievement of a learning outcomes. In
measuring ability to interpret mathematical data, for example, we can include the
formula needed or require the students to supply them. In other areas, we can
supply definitions of terms, meaning of symbols and other facts or expect students
to supply them. The flexibility makes it possible to measure various degrees of
proficiency in any particular area.
Forms and uses of interpretive exercise
There are many forms and uses of interpretive exercise that it is impossible to
illustrate all of them. Interpretive exercises are used for the ability to:
 recognize Inferences( drawing inferences by interpreting the data given to
them);
 recognize Warranted and unwarranted generalizations(be able to determine
which conclusions the data support, which the data refute, and which the
data neither support nor refute;
  recognize assumptions (ability to pinpoint underlying assumptions of a
given fact);
 recognize the relevance of information(an outcome important to all subject-
matter areas and that can be measured at all levels of instruction);
 Apply principles (presented with a certain phenomenon, the students may
be asked to identify a principle that can explain it).

Advantages of interpretive exercises

The introductory material makes interpretive exercises capable of measuring the
ability to interpret written materials, charts, graphs, maps, pictures and other
communication media encountered in everyday situations.

 They measure more learning outcomes than can be measured with single
objective test item.
 They minimize the influence of irrelevant factual information on the
measurement of complex learning outcomes.

Limitations
 It is difficult to construct the source material.
 They demand heavy d reading ability.
 Since they use objective test items, it is unsuitable to measure students’
ability to organize their ideas.

Suggestions for constructing interpretive exercises

Constructing good interpretive exercises requires having a good introductory
material and a list of items that depend on them. Therefore, the following
suggestions relate to these two points.
 Select introductory material that is relevant to the objectives of the course.
 Select introductory material that is appropriate to the students’ curricular
experiences and reading level.
 Select introductory material that is new to the students.
 Select introductory material that is brief and meaningful.
 Revise introductory material for clarity, conciseness, and greater interpretive
value.
 Make the number of test items roughly proportional to the length of the
introductory material.
 In constructing test items for an interpretive exercise, consider the suggestions
given for constructing objective test items.
 Construct test items that require analysis and interpretation of introductory
material. According to Gronlund (2000) two errors in interpretive test items are
common. These are:
a. items that can be answered directly in the introductory material ,and
b. Those that can be answered without reading the introductory material.

Interpretive exercises should be reserved for higher order objectives. They should
require students to provide knowledge beyond that is presented in the exercise or
interpretations limited to the factual information provided. In both cases, test items
should depend on the introductory material.

Assessing Essays
In assessing teaching-learning in general and a course in particular, guidelines are
as important as blue prints in designing and constructing for an engineer. In this
section, guidelines for course work assessment will be studied.

Nature and Characteristics of Assessing Essays

This section presents the application of essays as an assessment tool.

Essay assessment is one of the assessment tools mainly used to measure the higher
order knowledge which demands the student to plan, organize, integrate, produce,
and communicate ideas in the form of writing rather than merely identify
interpretations and applications of data. These are not successfully measured using
objective tests.
As essay writing is a difficult task and requires critical thinking to express
feelings, ideas, and etc, in language, students need to focus on the process of
writing rather than on the final product. Furthermore, since essay assessment is a
challenging task for both the learners and instructors, it needs to follow certain
guidelines and correcting rubrics.

Essay assignments generally present students with questions which they must
research and respond to in a coherent and manner. Their answer should show
considered critical thought and be expressed clearly and eloquently. Students are
therefore measured not only on their knowledge, but also on their ability to apply
and to articulate this knowledge effectively.

This type of assessment can be used as a timed task, done under examination
conditions. However, it is more commonly used for open-ended assessments,
where essay questions are given to students with a set date by which the written
assignment is to be submitted.

Essays usually pose a single question, although it is possible to subdivide the task
into a number of individually weighted sections if tutors wish to ensure students
cover several topics. However, when using the latter style of essay question
students must be informed of the relevant mark weightings for each section.

Essay questions can also incorporate reference material (e.g. quotations or articles),
which students are required to analyze and then comment on critically. It is
important that staff ensure essay questions are not repeatedly re-used, and that the
ability of the question to produce successful measurements of learning outcomes is
constantly evaluated.
According to Lin and Gronlund (2000) essay tests allow for freedom of responses.
Students are allowed to select, relate and present ideas in their own words. But the
freedom is a matter of degree. In some instances that freedom is delimited to
specific size. In other cases, no restriction is put .So, based on the extent of
freedom, essay tests can be classified into restricted response essay tests and
extended response essay tests.

1. Restricted response essay tests usually limit both the content and the form of
the response. The content is usually restricted by the scope of the topic to be
discussed. Limitations on the form of the response are generally indicated in
the question. E.g.
a) Why is multiple choice items considered the most versatile type? Answer
in a brief paragraph.
b) Describe two situations that demonstrate the application of the
Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Do not use those examples
discuss in class.
2. Extended response essay tests put no restriction in either form or content.
Students can provide answers by organizing the way they like. However, in
spite of the fact that THIS freedom allows for the measurement of higher
order skills, scoring difficulties come into play. Examples of extended
response essay tests. E.g.

a) Describe the influence of film on the behavior of children.

b) Write your own your own evaluation of the value of the New pre- service
Teacher Education System overhaul (TESO) in preparation of qualification or well
trained secondary school teachers.

Advantages of Essays:
As this is a commonly used form of assessment, both staff and students are familiar
with the tool.
 They involve less continuous staff supervision.
 By allowing students a greater length of time to complete the assessment,
essays provide students with the opportunity to produce carefully planned
and detailed answers.
 They allow free responses.
 They provide students with sufficient scope to demonstrate the depth and
breadth of their knowledge.

 They eliminate guessing.

 They are easy to construct.

 They can measure complex learning objectives.

They have desirable effects on the learners study habit.

Suggestions for Construction Essay Items

1. Restrict the use of essay questions to those learning outcomes that cannot be
measured satisfactorily with objective items.
2. Construct questions that will call forth the behaviour that is specified in the
learning outcomes.
3. Phrase the questions so that the student’s task is clearly indicated.
E.g.
a) Poor: How does human kind come to this world?
Better: Explain from the viewpoint of evolution how human kind
came to this world.
b) Poor: Compare Coalition for Unity and Democracy and the
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Front.
Better: Compare the land policies of Coalition for Unity and
 Democracy and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
Front in view of resulting in sustainable development.
Scoring Essay Items
 Prepare an outline of the expected answer in advance
 Use the scoring method that is most appropriate.
 Decide how to handle factors that are irrelevant to the learning outcomes
being measured (factors that influence our evaluation of answers that are not
directly pertinent to the purpose of the measurement(such as legibility of
handwriting, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation)
 Evaluate the responses of all students to one question before going to the
one.

Constraints of Essays:
The emphasis on written technique may place some students at a disadvantage.
 It can take effort and experience to create effective essay questions.
 Marking essays can be time consuming for tutors (scoring is unreliable).
 The longer word limits and time frame involved in essay writing can lead
students to be less succinct in their responses, and therefore affect the
validity of the assessment.
 Students are more likely to include plagiarized material than some other
types of assessment.
 They cannot measure a large amount of content or objectives.
 They are subjected to bluffing.

Suggestions for Construction and scoring of Essay Items

Assessing Individual Studies and Dissertations
This session of the module examines with individual study and dissertation as an
assessment of coursework. It represents a single piece of work that students do
independently under the supervision of the advisor of their coursework. The focus
of this part is on higher level writing skills as in senior project proposals, the actual
project work and other extended essay assignments.

Individual studies and dissertations require higher level writing that students are
expected to produce in undergraduate and graduate programs. This implies that
students would be judged in light of their ability to plan, organize, write and edit
the final text in order to produce a comprehensive and readable material. Besides,
students would be assessed in terms of their ability to come up with sound
arguments. Thus, individual studies and dissertations will allow them to be
acquainted with the knowledge of writing projects, term papers and reasoning.

Assessment of practice
Assessment of practice is a method of assessing practice in which students measure
their skills attitudes against a framework of relevant standards and competency in
relation to a particular set of skills and attitudes. It is developed with due attention
to relevant professional and /or regulatory body requirements. Therefore, it is
important for students to be armed with the knowledge and skills of assessment of
practice and its application in the university setting.

Assessment of practice actually represents students’ practical experience relevant

to their training area and fitting to professional practice in the community setting,
which is the actual working environment .Therefore, assessment of practice as one
component of coursework assessment requires consistent input in experience
sharing and exchanging of feedback between students and the practice supervisor
so as to demonstrate the necessary skills that students should develop.

Individual Study (Undergraduate) & Dissertation (Postgraduate)

The individual study and the dissertation are two of the largest single pieces of
work students are required to produce during their studies and represent the
culmination of their learning experience on undergraduate and postgraduate
programs respectively. They constitute flexible tools which are adapted for use
throughout the majority of disciplines. They can also encompass a variety of
formats, for example extended essays, reports, or projects.

At undergraduate level most BA/BSC programs encourage or require students to

produce an individual study at the end of the degree program, consisting of
approximately 15,000 words.

a) Students, in consultation with tutors and/or advisors, are expected to select an

area on which to focus their research from within the subject boundaries of the
program.

b) They must then submit a proposal for their research, including a provisional
title, for consideration by advisors. These proposals should outline any (required)
practical and/ professional elements of the proposed study, and the balance must be
approved by advisors.

c) Once the proposals have been agreed students are expected to engage in
thorough research on the agreed topic.

d) This research should then be presented as a substantial piece of written work

which demonstrates, through a reasoned and constructive response, the depth and
breadth of their knowledge and understanding) Students’ individual studies are
assessed in terms of ability to engage in constructive (and largely independent)
research, and also on use of writing skills and capacity to articulate and support
sound arguments. Through this type of assessment students are also expected to
demonstrate their organizational abilities i.e. effective use of time and resources in
order to complete the task on time and thorough documentation of research and
findings/data (demonstrated through their references, bibliography, and literary
review ).
Individual studies demonstrate not only students’ ability to collate research and
findings on a particular topic, but also to apply their knowledge in analyzing this
information and incorporating it into a written response. This aspect of the
assessment provides advisors with evidence of both the process of students’
research, as well as the final product.
During the production of individual studies, students should receive regular tutorial
guidance from staff, which must have sufficient specialist knowledge of the
particular subject area. The roles and responsibilities of students and staff in
relation to these sessions should be set out explicitly in the information provided to
both parties, and to external examiners. This information should include, where
appropriate, the number of tutorial hours students should expect to receive from
their instructors.
The primary functions of these tutorials sessions are:
 to offer formative feedback opportunities to students throughout the period
of study; and
 to enable advisors to oversee draft copies of students’ work, monitor their
progress, and ensure they understand and are fulfilling their responsibilities.
For these sessions, students will be expected to provide evidence of their progress
through plans, drafts, working papers, and/or notes. Students may also be required
to produce written or verbal presentations on their research area in front of
advisors, and, where appropriate, peers. Students must be informed of any such
requirements in advance of the assessment.
In some cases, students may also be expected to engage in group-based research
discussions. These sessions enable students to acquire additional feedback on their
work and to develop and clarify their arguments. These sessions can either be
informal formative opportunities for discussion and feedback, or alternatively
(where appropriate) a formal, summatively assessed aspect of the course, module
or program, constituting a proportion of the students’ overall mark (e.g. 10%).

Dissertation
This type of assessment encompasses largely the same purposes as the former, and
measures similar learning outcomes and assessment criteria. However, this tool is
designed primarily to measure students at the graduate level and involves writing
over more extended periods of time. Dissertations are also physically larger,
usually consisting of around 15-30,000 words.
Unlike individual studies, the subjects that students choose to focus their
dissertations are not dependent on course, module or program content. Students are
responsible for selecting a topic which interests them. In this method of
assessment, students have much more freedom in selecting topics for research.

Students must submit a formal proposal for their research to their supervisor,
including a provisional title and illustrative bibliography. The submission date
should be made clear in advance, in conjunction with information detailing any
summative aspects of the task and applicable mark weightings.

Students will be expected to submit their finished dissertation, in the appropriate

format, for summative assessment within the allotted time. The marking
procedures set out for dissertations in the graduate programs should be clearly
outlined to students and staff in advance of the assessment, i.e. whether the
student’s supervisor will act as the first marker or not, or whether the work will be
first, second and externally marker.

Dissertations require a greater degree of autonomous research and writing than

individual studies, which therefore, necessitates the provision of a more structured
and consistent system of supervision and support. Students must meet regularly
with their individual dissertation supervisors, ensuring that they receive sufficient
opportunities to discuss, and (where possible) resolve problems or issues relating
to their work.

Students and tutors must agree on a schedule1 for tutorial sessions at the start of the
process, including dates of subsequent meetings, and (where possible)
requirements from, or responsibilities of both students and advisors in relation to
each session. During these tutorial sessions, it may be helpful to organize work
schedules or agendas with students in order to provide a framework from which

1
they can base their research and writing. The formative benefits of these tutorials
can be supplemented by the incorporation of peer group sessions, i.e. student
presentations of research findings to peers.

Advantages of Individual Studies and Dissertations:

Through tutorials sessions students have an opportunity to discuss research and
ideas with specialists, and can thereby receive valuable feedback which will inform
their progress. Both tools evaluate to different degrees students’ all-round
academic ability, i.e. research, expression, and knowledge.

 The extended word limit and time-frame involved in these assessments

allow students to produce in-depth written work.

 Both types of assessment (to differing degrees) allow students to focus their
research on an area of study of particular interest to them.

 Writing extended pieces of work independently encourages students to

develop their organisational skills and acquire sound time management
skills.

 Discussing research with advisors and peers can encourage students to

clarify their thoughts and arguments, therefore improving the overall quality
and validity of their research.

 Individual studies are good preparation for those students considering

postgraduate study.

 These types of assessment tools are good preparation for students who may
be required to produce extended reports in their future employment.

Constraints of Individual Studies and Dissertations:

Students may feel overwhelmed by the scope which this type assessment can
encompass, the work involved and/or the independent research and writing
involved.
The varieties of topics covered in these types of assessment may lead to problems
concerning supervision i.e. finding tutors with sufficient specialist knowledge to
support students.

Some students may have difficulty with the emphasis placed on organization and
presentation skills in these types of assessment.

Dissertations particularly, require staff to invest significant amount of time

supervising and supporting students.

The inevitable variations in style and content which occur in these types of
assessment may make the creation and application of assessment criteria which
consistently and accurately measure student’s work difficult.

The length and complexity of these types of assessment require staff to spend
longer marking than other methods.

Oral presentation
In this section we will discuss oral presentations. A brief description of oral
presentation is set out below and includes some of its advantage constraints. This
type of assessment requires students’ to produce an oral presentation on a specific
topic or question, in front of an audience of peers and internal examiner(s). Oral
assessment is a flexible tool, which may involve.

This type of assessment requires students’ to produce an oral presentation on a

specific topic or question, in front of an audience of peers and internal examiner(s).
Oral assessment is a flexible tool, which may involve presenting a research paper,
a report, a review, or perhaps provide a relevant practical or clinical demonstration.

The main function of an oral presentation is to assess not only students’ knowledge
of a subject area, but also their ability to communicate their thoughts and relevant
information in a clear, coherent and confident manner. This function provides
tutors with evidence of students’ level of understanding regarding the subject
matter involved, especially if students’ are expected to participate in a discussion
or question session after the formal presentation.
Workload involved, and/or the independent research and writing involved.

The variety of topics which can be covered in these types of assessment may lead
to problems concerning supervision, i.e. finding supervisors or advisors with
sufficient specialist knowledge to support students.

Some students may have difficulty with the emphasis placed on organization,
writing and organization this type of assessment.

The inevitable variations in style and content which occur in this type of
assessment may make the creation and application of assessment criteria, which
consistently and accurately measure students’ work, difficult.

Dissertations particularly, require staff to invest significant amounts of time

supervising and supporting students.

These presentations can be either individual or group, depending on the purpose of

and criteria for the task and the number of students being assessed. Arrangements
for both types of assessment must be made clear to students beforehand, including
details of the division of marks and the time allocated for each student (either
individually, or within a group).

Oral presentation is believed to be the appropriate procedure for assessing student

performance at higher education institutions. Compared to other paper and pencil
tests, this procedure is a kind of performance assessment. It helps to measure
higher order levels of the domain. This is not, however, without limitations.

There are several constraints associated with this form of assessment.

Advantages of Oral Presentations:

 The feedback students receive from peers listening to their presentations is

generally immediate and therefore extremely valid in offering guidance on
improvements and strengths.
  This type of assessment offers students experience of the skills required for
public speaking, which will undoubtedly be valuable in the work
environment.
 The limited time given to each student to present their work requires
students to present their thoughts in a clear and accurate manner.
 Tutors have the opportunity, through question and discussion sessions
associated with the presentation, to gather evidence that the students have
understood the subject, and have used their own thoughts and research.
 Group oral presentations require students to work collectively to achieve the
best result and therefore provide valuable team building experience.
 Oral presentations are primarily marked during the session and as such
reduce the quantity of written work tutors must mark after the assessment.

Constraints of Oral Presentations:

 Oral presentation takes time to conduct and it is highly influenced by

communication skills not solely on the achievement of the learning
outcomes. In this evaluation method, it is difficult to have common criteria
for all students.
 Some students may find the element of public speaking involved in this type
of assessment extremely stressful, adversely affecting the work of otherwise
skilled students.
 Tutors must be aware of the time restrictions associated with this type of
assessment and plan sessions accordingly in order to sufficiently examine all
necessary learning outcomes.
 The selection of suitable space is essential in light of the length of time
required for this type of assessment and the need for specific audio/visual
equipment.
  Students who may be ill or otherwise unable to present at the specified time,
may have to be assessed at a different time, with few or no peers present.
 Feedback given to earlier presenters (verbal or written) can assist the
performance of students later in the presentation schedule, and some
allowance for this may have to be made in terms of marking; this moves the
assessment slightly away from being clearly criteria- based.

Group Work Assessment

Assessment methods need to be diversified to make students grasp and master
skills and knowledge expected of them in each course. This type of assessment
requires groups of students to work collaboratively in order to complete a task,
such as an oral presentation, report, poster or practical project. Group assessment
may have more than one purpose: that is, to judge both the process and/or product
of the work. Therefore, it must be made clear which element is being assessed in
each task.

If the process is to be assessed as well as the product, there must be a clear strategy
for collecting written and/or verbal evidence to support any judgments staff must
make. For example, these assessments may involve students being required to
include minutes of group meetings, individual reflections, peer and/or self-
assessment of group contributions, personal logs, or to participate in interviews
and/or viva voce sessions. These types of tools are useful for collecting evidence of
individual student’s participation and performance within the group environment
and can aid tutors in assessing the group as a whole.

When assessing group work, there are a number of ways in which marks may be
allocated. Therefore, it is essential that students understand in advance how
marks are to be allocated within the group.

For example:
  A single piece of work may be submitted, and each member of the group is
given an identical mark.
 A single piece of work may be submitted, with each individual in the group
receiving a different mark.
 The group work together, but each produce a piece of work which is
individually assessed.
 The group work together to produce a joint submission for which they
receive identical marks, however, they also produce individual pieces of
work which are separately assessed.

Advantages of Group Work

 This type of assessment may help reduce the workload for staff
 Group assessments often allow tutors to set substantial tasks that would be
unreasonable if set for an individual assignment.
 Group work allows students to acquire valuable interpersonal experience,
applicable to future work environments.
 By encouraging students to work as a team and delegate responsibility, this
 Type of assessment integrates formative opportunities which are not viable
in other methods of assessment.
 Group work can encourage students to co-operate and engage with each
other, thus enriching their overall learning experience.
 When group work is successful the outcome is better than any individual in
the group would have been able to manage on their own
 Students who perform less well in written assignments may flourish in a
group work environment.
 Group work encourages creative thinking.
 Cooperative learning experiences, compared to competitive and
individualistic ones, promote higher achievement, greater motivation, more
 positive interpersonal relations among students, more positive attitudes
toward the subject area and teacher, greater self-esteem and psychological
health, more accurate perspective taking and greater social skills
 Groups can effectively cover large parts of the curriculum previously done
by the lecture method

Constraints of Group work

 There is always the danger that some students may not willingly participate,
or make sufficient effort towards completing a task, thus putting the other
members of the group at a constraint.
 Some students may be incapable, for one or more reasons, of participating in
this form of assessment and appropriate allowances will have to be made.
 This type of assessment requires detailed and explicit organisational
instructions and monitoring by staff to ensure the validity, equity and
reliability of the assessment.
 Group work requires students to organise themselves, and find sufficient
time to research the assessment subject and collaborate to complete the
assignment.
 Students who perform exceptionally well or those who struggle with a
subject or skill, may feel constrained (in different ways) by the process of
group work.
 Assessment of group work has to be carefully thought through and
articulated to the programme team and to the students.
 Sometimes each member loses concentration and the quality of group work
becomes less than the quality of individual works.
 Students have come to expect their progress to be compared against criteria
and against each other on an individual basis.
  There is evidence to suggest that students view individual evaluation as
being fairer than group evaluation, at least in the early stages of their
experience with cooperative learning.

Portfolios as an Assessment Tool

A portfolio is a collection of student work that assists the student and teacher to
make judgments about student learning progress. Samples of work to be included
may be selected by the student, by the teacher, or by the student and teacher in
consultation.

Copies of assignments, contracts, assessments of presentations, assessments of the

performance of skills and processes, quizzes, and tests are all examples of items
that may be included in portfolios. In addition, samples of students’ day- to-day
work may become part of the portfolio. Samples of work completed on an
individual basis may be included along with work completed in groups. Copies of
self-assessment instruments and peer-assessment instruments may also become
part of the portfolio.

A portfolio is one of the techniques that instructors use to assess the progress of
their learners on a continuous basis. The growing body of literatures supports the
pros of portfolios in assessing the performance of students. However, this doesn't
mean that it is free of limitations. As a result, this section is designed to equip
instructors with the knowledge and skill of using a portfolio in assessing students'
performance.

Portfolio is a portable collection of items which demonstrate the individual's

achievements and experiences. In recent years, portfolios have increasingly been
used in a wide variety of disciplines including engineering, social sciences,
business studies, law, languages, etc. Through portfolios students are able to
demonstrate the breadth of their individual experiences and the quality of their
work. By and large, portfolios have made a paramount contribution in providing
students opportunities of evaluating their performance in relation to the targeted
learning outcomes.

Projects and Reports as Assessment Tools

Instructors have a variety of assessment tools to choose from. Which one to
employ depends on a number of competing contingencies of which some are time,
management demands, availability of information-communication technology,
need to verify student identity, staff expertise and student expectations (Knight and
Yorke, 2003). This section contains three assessment tools, i.e., project, report
and review. Like other forms of assessment, these can be used for formative and
summative purposes.

In other words, projects can be used to monitor students’ progress and achievement
and reports/reviews measure students’ achievement of learning outcomes with the
purpose of making progression and qualification for awards.

This section addresses the following issues:

 factors that determine the choice of assessment tools and
 Project and report as assessment tools.

Assessing Student Learning through Projects

Project work is a relatively broad term for a more extended form of summative
assessment designed to test students’ knowledge and skills in a comprehensive
manner. A project, which may be prescribed by instructors or initiated by students,
generally consists of a substantial piece of research, in which students are required to
collate, analyze, and evaluate relevant theoretical and practical information through
their course of study or practical placement. This work must then be shaped into a
structured conclusion, i.e. a report, or review which presents the methods employed
and the results investigated.
Assessing Student Learning through Reports
A report is a kind of assessment tool which requires students to produce a written
work in response to a single question or task. The question or task is given expecting
students to produce a more focused and lengthy report, following a certain format.

Practical and Laboratory Work as Assessment Tools

Learning outcomes determine the methods and instruments of assessment to be
employed. Since students are engaged in different activities depending on the type
of courses, varied assessment methods are required for assessing these different
activities. One of the methods and instruments of assessment is coursework. Under
coursework, there are several instruments of assessment of which practical and
laboratory work is one.

Practical and laboratory works can be accessed through a variety of ways although
it is most commonly done through the submission of written evidence of students’
experience and performance. The tools used are largely dependent on departmental
requirements and the level being assessed.

This section, therefore, deals with assessment issues in practical and laboratory
works. Under both sections, the concepts, advantages and disadvantages will be
discussed

Practical work Assessment

This section presents practical work assessment. First, it defines the term itself
with an illustrative example. The session also discusses the advantages and
constraints of practical work assessment. Practical work assessment is the process
of checking one’s ability or skill of performing a certain task usually in workshops
and field sites. Basically, the task intends to develop the individual’s skills and
understanding of the task performed. For example, assessing students’ school
practicum can be seen as practical work assessment.
Practical work can be assessed either through timed exercises (usually one and half
hours), which are conducted in the same manner as formal examinations, or
through more open ended practical assignments. The practical skills assessed can
include scientific laboratory work, computer programming, or practical clinical
scenarios. Despite the departmental variations, there is a general underlying
purpose to practical assessments, which is to provide evidence of students’
practical skills and their ability to apply these skills to specific situations. It is
important when designing practical assessments that the criteria measure not only
the final product of the question/task, but also provide evidence of the process of
achieving that product. This may involve requiring students to include working
notes from their practical work, or a form of self review which students write as
part of the assessment task.

Practical assessments can be flexible in measuring both the breadth and depth of
knowledge and skill which students have acquired. Instructors can use different
formats to test students with a number of short and relatively simple tasks which
can provide evidence of their abilities concerning the breadth of topics or skills.
For instance, if you want to assess a student’s typing skill on a computer, you may
use the following format.

Values
Poor (1) Fair (2) Good (3) Very good (4) Excellent (5)
Accuracy
Speed
Layout
Alternatively, by setting students a single task and providing a greater length of
time to complete the assessment, instructors can achieve a measurement of
students’ ability to work on complex problems and thoroughly test their knowledge
and understanding of a particular topic/area/skill.

Advantages of Practical Work

 It provides both tutors and future employers with evidence of students’
abilities to perform
 Within a work environment and to apply their academic knowledge to
practical situations.
 By assessing practical skills, students may gain confidence in their ability to
perform these skills in later employment situations.
 By assessing both the process and product of practical work, the assessment
fulfils a valuable formative function by allowing students to gain experience of
applying the theory they have been taught.
 By assessing both the process and product of practical work, the assessment
fulfils a valuable formative function by allowing students to gain experience of
applying the theory they have been taught.

Constraints of Practical Work Assessment

 Assessing more complex tasks/problems takes up a considerable amount of
time.
 There is a high demand for appropriate and sufficient facilities for operating
these types of assessments needs to be taken into account in the planning of
them.
 It may be difficult to assess the process of practical work, as well as the
product.
Laboratory Work Assessment
In this section, laboratory work assessment is dealt with. Firstly, the term
laboratory work assessment is defined. Then, the advantages and constraints of
this particular assessment are presented. Please try to do the following activity
before you read the text that follows it. Laboratory work assessment is the process
of checking one’s ability, knowledge or skills of testing the practicability of certain
theories usually in laboratories. The assessment of the way a student mixes starch
and iodine to get blue black iodine solution is a good example.

There are a variety of ways in which practical laboratory work can be assessed
although it is most commonly through the submission of written evidence of
students’ experience and performance. The tools used are largely dependent on
departmental requirements, and the level being assessed.

Exercise

1. What is assessment?
2. What is the purpose of assessment?
3. How many types of assessments do you know?
4. What are the principles of assessment?
5. List and describe the various tools of assessment, including their
constructions, advantages & limitations
6. Are assessment, evaluation and measurement the same or different
things?
7. What is evaluation?
8. What is measurement?