TESTING MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

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Assessment

Any of a variety of procedures used to obtain information about student performance includes traditional paper and pencil tests as well as extended responses (e.g. essays) and performances of authentic tasks (e.g. laboratory experiments). Assessment answers the question, “How well does the individual perform?”.

Test

An instrument or systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behaviour by posing a set of questions in a uniform manner. Because a test is a form of assessment, tests also answer the question, “How well does the individual perform – either in comparison with others or in comparison with a domain of performance tasks?”.

Measurement

The process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic. Measurement answers the question, “How much?”.

• Test is used to gather information.
• That information is presented in the form of measurement.
• That measurement is then used to make evaluation.

Concept of Evaluation

• Science of providing information for decision making.
• Includes measurement, assessment and testing
• Information gathering
• Information processing
• Judgement forming
• Decision making

1. 1. Evaluation is a concept that has emerged as a prominent process of assessing, testing and measuring. Its main objective is Qualitative Improvement.
   2. Evaluation is a process of making value judgements over a level of performance or achievement. Making value judgements in Evaluation process presupposes the set of objectives.
   3. Evaluation is the process of determining the extent to which the objectives are achieved.
   4. Concerned not only with the appraisal of achievement, but also with its improvement.
   5. Evaluation is continuous and dynamic. Evaluation helps in forming the following decisions.

Types of Decisions

• Instructional
• Curricular
• Selection
• Placement or Classification
• Personal

1. 1. Evaluation assists in taking certain instructional decisions like :

• to what extent students are ready for learning experience
• to what extent they can cope with the pace of Learning Experiences provided.
• How the individual differences within the group can be tackled.
• What are the learning problems of the students ?
• What is the intensity of such problems ?
• What modifications are needed in the instruction to suit the needs of students, etc.

Fig. 1 Evaluation Process related to Teaching Learning Process

Role of Evaluation in Decision Making

• Decision regarding intended ends
• Decision regarding intended means
• Decision regarding actual ends
• Decision regarding actual means

Components of Evaluation Process

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General Principles of Evaluation

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1. 1. Clarify specifying what is to be evaluated has priority in the evaluation process.
   2. An evaluation procedure should be selected because of its relevance to their characteristics or performance to be measured.
   3. Comprehensive evaluation requires a variety of procedures.
   4. Proper use of evaluation procedure requires an awareness of their limitations.
   5. Evaluation is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Short Answer Type

DIRECT QUESTION, a specific direction, or a stimulus which produces a response of upto 3 t 5 points, or a diagram, or a numerical making.

Useful to test

• to knowledge of vocabulary
• names, dates, terminology
• identification of concepts
• ability to solve numerical problems

Rules

Wording of the questions should be so frame that the response would be definite.

Eg. What kind of process is vapourisation ? (poor) To what does a liquid change when it evaporates ? (better)

Questions should be so worded that there is only one correct answer.

Eg. What is the place of where a plant or an animal lives is known as ? (Habitat)

Multiple Choice

• Direct question
• Stem of the Item
• Incomplete statement
• Words
• Alternatives
  • Numbers
  • Phrases
  • Symbols

Rules for constructing Multiple Choice Items

1. 1. The stem of the item should be meaningful by itself and should present a definite problem.
   2. Stem of the item – should be free from irrelevant material.
   3. Eg. Most of the animals and plants live in some sort of a place or other. What do you call a place where an animal or plant lives ?

a) Environment b) Habitat c) Dwelling place d) Shelter

1. 1. Use a negatively stated stem only when significant learning outcomes require it.

Eg. Which one of the following is not a herbivore ?

a) Cow b) Horse c) Lion d) Sheep

1. 1. All of the alternatives should be grammatically consistent with the stem of the item.
   2. All distractors should be plausible.
   3. Items used to measure understanding should contain some novelty, but beware of too much novelty.
   4. The relative length of the alternative should not provide due to the answer.

Alternative Response or True-False Type Items

Competency

1. 1. Identifies various kinds of shelters of different kinds of animals.
   2. Identifies the use of different animals to man.

Time-False type items

a) Cows are used for riding.

b) Ducks give us eggs.

c) Skins of all animals is used as leather.

d) Dog lives in a stable.

e) Fish lives in water.

(To see cause and effect relationship).

1. Leaves are essential because they shade the tree trunk

2. Whales are mammals because they are large.

3. Some plants do not need sunlight because they get food from other plants.