Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation

This is an all-embracing term covering any of the situations in which an aspect of learning is
measured. Assessment help in evaluation. educational assessment is the process ascertaining the
extent to which learners have acquired specific knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Measurement and evaluation can be provided through formal and informal assessment. In non-
formal assessment, tests and examination are not used. learners are assessed mainly through
observation.

Non formal assessment is untimed and taken under varying situations .it not perceived as a test
and it is individualized. Formal assessment is timed, taken under similar conditions or situations
by the learners, is seen as test, and is usually performed in a group.

The best approach to assessment is to use combination of both formal and non-formal methods.

Purpose of measurement, assessment and evaluation.

The following are some reasons why assessment, measurement and evaluation are done.

a. To promote and classify learners -promotion to the next grade id dependant on the learner’s
achievement. classification comes in form of streaming leaners ability or grouping.
b. In educational and career guidance. This is important in secondary schools where learners
are expected to choose career based on their performance in class.
c. To indicate the performance of the curriculum implementation, especially during school
supervision.
d. To rate teachers and select employees, for example through aptitude tests.
e. To guide teachers on the approaches and methods to use for instruction because they can pin
point learner’s indifferences.
f. To identify areas in which learners need remedial teaching.
g. To compare the performance of learner’s in different schools.
h. To motivate learners to work harder, promote healthy competition and enhance learning.
i. To provide data which headteachers when placing new leaners.
j. To evaluate school efficiency.
k. To provide feedback on the school achievement or otherwise of instructional objectives.

1
l. To compare old and new teaching materials.

Examinations and Tests

Examinations

It is a formal test of somebody ‘s knowledge and ability in a particular subject, especially by

means of written questions or practical exercise .it can also be oral. Examinations can be
school based like terminal, mid -year, end of year, mock/trial examinations may be
administered by a legalized examination body like the examination council of Zambia.

Types of examinations

These include;

I. Written tests /examination e.g., junior secondary leaving examination, grade seven
examination etc.
II. Oral test /examinations e.g., candidates give oral responses to questions presented
orally by the examiner.
III. Performance tests -an individual test in which the pupil is expected to manipulate
objects, pictures, blocks or mechanic apparatus .it is useful in assessing pupils who
are hand capped to some way on verbal tests e.g., nursery pupils, hearing challenged
pupils etc.

Purpose of examination

An examination should have a purpose. the main purpose of examining is to;

a. To get feedback on pupils ‘areas of weaknesses and strengths.

b. To grade pupils.
c. For certification
d. To promote pupils to the next level or grade.
e. To promote and classify learners -promotion to the next grade id dependant on the
learner’s achievement. classification comes in form of streaming leaners ability or
grouping.
f. In educational and career guidance. This is important in secondary schools where
learners are expected to choose career based on their performance in class.

2
 g. To indicate the performance of the curriculum implementation, especially during
school supervision.
h. To rate teachers and select employees, for example through aptitude tests.
i. To guide teachers on the approaches and methods to use for instruction because they
can pin point learner’s indifferences.
j. To identify areas in which learners need remedial teaching.
k. To compare the performance of learner’s in different schools.
l. To motivate learners to work harder, promote healthy competition and enhance
learning.
m. To provide data which headteachers when placing new leaners.
n. To evaluate school efficiency.
o. To provide feedback on the school achievement or otherwise of instructional
objectives.
p. To compare old and new teaching materials.

Types of Tests items.

There ae two main types of test items. they are;

Objective tests items

a. Essay test items

b. Objective test items

Objectives tests items call for short answers which consist of one word, a phrase or sentence.

Objective tests items include;

 Multiple choice items

 True or false test items
 Matching test items
 Completion items

True or false test items

Here-A factual statement is made and the learner is required to respond wit a true or false
depending on the concerns of the statement.

3
True or false statements are easy to prepare, can be marked objectively and can cover a wide
range of topics.

Guidelines in constructing objective tests;

i. Do not provide clues by determinants such as all, never, absolutely or none because they
signal that the statements are true. If such words are to be used, they must be balanced
and used in both true or false statements.
ii. Statements must be irrevocably true or false as they must be in unambiguous.
iii. Use of negative statements should be avoided
iv. Limit true of false statements to a single concept. True or false test items may require the
learner to underline a word close in statement; correct a false statement or trace a path in
a maze.

Matching test items

Matching test items involves connecting contents of one list to the contents in another list. the
learners are presented with columns of items. for example; column A and B. They are asked to
match item that appears to column A with an appropriate item from column B with such
questions an equal number of premises (what is in the left hand column )and the responses (what
is in the right hand column ) may be provided for a balance or a perfect matching .When an
equal number of promises and responses are provided ,this is called un balanced or imperfect
matching .to control guessing it is better to have more responses and fewer premises.

When writing the items in the column, it is important to;

 Keep the questions homogeneous

 Make the items relatively short.
 Use a heading for each column that accurately describes its contents.
 Specify the basis for matching.

4
 A B
 Harare  Zambia
 Nairobi  Uganda
 Gaborone  Zimbabwe
 Pretoria  South Africa
 Swaziland
 Dar-es-salaam  Kenya
 Maseru  Malawi
  Tanzania
 Lesotho

Questions

The words in column A are capital cities for Africa and the words in Column B are countries
in Africa. Therefore, the basis for matching will be: Match the capital cities to their
countries.

Completion or short answer test items

In completing test items learners are required to supply the words or figures which have been
let out.

They may be presented in the form of questions or phrases in which a learner is required to
respond with a word or several statements.

Questions must be specific and unambiguous for example; Jomo Kenya was born in …

This question is ambiguous because since it is not clear whether, it is his date of birth, or the
country or place where he was born that is required.

Besides this, statements that leave out too many key words may not carry the intended
meaning. if the answer is numerical or a quantity, the unit must be indicated. the answer

5
 required should be related to the main point or statement. In constructing completion items,
the blank should come last to ensure that the learner read the whole question before
answering. Unintentional help should not be given in the question.

For example, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was an__________________

In this question an Provides an intentional help to the learners as it means the answer must
begin with a vowel.

Ordering or rearrangement of test items

In ordering test items, a series of words or statement s are given and learners are asked to
arrange them in order for example arrange the following in order, starting from the earliest to
appear as a plant grows above the ground.

a. Flowers b. stem

c. fruits d. leaves

The order in which the options are written must not give a clear clue.

Multiple choice test items

In a multiple choice question a statement of fact is made .it followed by four or five
alternative responses from which only the best or correct one must be selected. The statement
or question is termed as the stem., the alternative choices are options and the key is the
correct alternatives. The other options are called distractors. Multiple choice questions are
easy to score and elicit both recall and judgement.

They however take time to prepare.

The following are guidelines that a teacher should use when preparing multiple choice
questions

Draw a table of specifications showing topics or sub topics and the skills to be tested. The
table of specifications come from the subject syllabus. The test items should be based on the
three domains of learning. The areas emphasized during teaching would have more items.

6
 Questions should be based on blooms taxonomy, of the six levels of the cognitive objectives,
multiple choice questions should reflect comprehension, application and analysis. There
should be minor closes of knowledge, synthesis and evaluation. Knowledge is too basic
while synthesis is too complete. Evaluation is subjective and it should be tested the last

Skill Percentage
Knowledge 12%
Comprehension 16%
Application 32%
Analysis 20%
Synthesis 20%
Evaluation 8%
Total 100%
a. The stem of the question should state the problem clearly .it should not contain
unnecessary information.
b. Options should be carefully selected and must include the best answer or key.
c. Each question should have only one key.
d. All options should almost be almost equal in length. the distractors should be relevant
not far-fetched.
e. Placement of the key should be unpredictable and should not follow a pattern.
f. No test item or option test should provide clues or be answers to another question in
the same test.
g. The reading difficulty and vocabulary level of the test item should correspond to the
level of the learners.
h. All items should be independent. The answer to one item should not be required as a
condition to solving the next or another item. Avoid tricky questions.
i. Ensure instructions to learners are clear
j. Edit the papers carefully

Advantages of objective test items include;

 They are practical and handy for relatively large classes.

7
  They are objective. They eliminate bias on the part of the examiner or marker.
 They are easy to mark and can be computer scored
 They offer wide coverage of topics the topics studied. (syllabus)
 Students get feedback on their performance faster.
 The test can be reused
 They are more reliable than the essay type items.

The weakness or limitation of the objective tests include:

 They cannot be used to test writing and literacy skills.

 If not well set, they can easily test recall or simple understanding of facts, rather than
higher order skills.
 They can encourage guessing.
 They are difficulty to construct.
 The choice of content coverage is subjective.

Essay test items.

Essay questions are also known as open ended questions. They test recognition recall and
higher order mental process. They have no single correct answer. A number of equally
perhaps acceptable alternative answers are expected.

Essay questions require learners to type or write the answers in a paragraph. the learners use
their own words and organise the information or materials as they see fit. Usually, they
answer a few of the questions with varying degree of completeness and correctness.

The scoring is subjective and time consuming. However, essay type test items are easy to set.

The teacher should prepare a marking scheme for use with all items. This reduces
subjectivity during marking and therefore makes it more reliable.

In writing essay type items, clear and unambiguous language should be used. words such as
how, why, contrast, describe, and discuss are useful. The question should clearly define the
scope of the answer required.

The time provided for the learner to respond to the question should be sufficient for the
amount of writing required for the satisfactory response. the validity of questions should be

8
 enhanced by ensuring that the questions correspond and closely to the goals or objectives
being tested. An indication of the length the answer requires should be given.

Essay items include;

 Open books where learners are allowed carry books into examination room.
 Take away assignment
 Projects

There are two main types of essay tests They are;

a. Extended responses essay type which requires learners to write at length in responses
to a very general question.
b. Restricted responses tests where learners are required to give a a shorter response to a
more specific question; for example, briefly describe three factors that that have led to
an increase primary school enrolment.

Essay tests can be used when;

 groups are small and the test is not to be reused.

 The tr wants to encourage and reward the development of skills in written expressions
and presented of arguments.
 The tr is more interested in exploring learners’ attitudes or opinions than in measuring
achievement.
 The time available for preparing tests is shorter than the time available for marking.

When marking essay items, it is better to mark one question through for all scripts of the
learners rather than the entire script of one learner. This reduces the hallow effect where
certain effects of impressions of non-answer factors can be about the learner influence the
marker. This may lead to the awarding of lower or higher marks than the answer deserved.
the hallo effect can also be reduced by having the learners ‘index number on the answer sheet
rather than the learner’s names. marking one question through all the scripts also reduces the
inter-question contamination.

General impression approach

9
 In this approach, the tr read through the answers, forms a general opinion (impression) of
how far the answer fits the idea answer and then assigns marks on this basis. This approach is
based on the assumption that there is particular knowledge which put together forms the
answer.

To be effective the examiner or teacher must have a good command of knowledge, which he
or she seeks to identify in the learner answers. the teacher’s impression and the final awarded
are affected by the tr s own experience and knowledge relative to the topic or question at
hand. This makes the approach very subjective

Detailed scheme approach,

In this approach the examiner writes out the detailed list of the major points that answers the
question. Mark are assigned to the major points. The marking scheme is discussed with
colleagues and modified or moderated accordingly. This ensures all the relevant points of the
question are included .it also ensures that points are given their weightings in terms of marks.
This produces consistent results as the items are marked on the same basis.

The advantages of essay tests include;

a. They enable learners to organize their facts and ideas on their own way and to express
them clearly in their own words.
b. Questions are fewer and take less time to prepare in comparison to objective items.
c. Learners re given an opportunity to apply their skills in thinking and problem solving
in an original and creative manner.
d. Essay questions by their very nature influences the way in which learners revise or
prepare for their examination because they call for broader and wider coverage of all
the content as well as the integration of knowledge required.
e. They are good for testing understanding, attitudes, opinion or insight.
f. They discourage guess work.

The limitation of essay tests include:

a. In terms of marking for the teacher and writing for pupils, essay tests are time
consuming.

10
 b. Marking is subjective to a larger degree.
c. The tests just cover a limited amount of content
d. More time is spent on writing than doing critical thinking
e. The tests greatly disadvantage the learners who do not have good writing skills.

Test construction and administration

Measurement of abilities involves two distinct steps. These are securing the performance
(test) and describing the performance (score or mark)

Test construction

Tests should be constructed and administered in such a way that the scores (marks) the
yield reflect the ability they are supposed to measure. The type of tests to be constructed
depends on the nature of the ability it meant to measure and the purpose of that test.

Understanding Blooms taxonomy (six skills in the cognitive domain)

Benjamin Bloom ‘s taxonomy on cognitive domain is classified in six skills ascending

order from simple to complex or most difficult as follows

a. Knowledge (the simplest or easiest)

b. Comprehension
c. Application
d. Analysis
e. Synthesis
f. Evaluation (The most complicated or difficult)

Characteristics of a well-constructed test include:

a. It must be reliable (reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the

same individual in different occasions or with different sets of equivalent items.
 The greater the consistency the higher the reliability of a test or examination.
 Measurement based on a single score is un reliable due to chance factors such
as health of the learner, the time when the examination was taken,
environmental distractors and state of mind.

11
  b.It must be valid. validity describes the degree to which the tests actually
measure what it purports to measure. How well the test fulfills this function
and what the test is measuring .it has to do with accuracy. When constructing
a test, the tr should ensure that the test covers content that has been taught. for
example, if the topic was on urbanization in Zambia questions on causes of
population growth would be invalid

NOTE A valid test is reliable but a reliable test is not necessarily valid.

1. It must be well constructed.

2. It must be accurately or objectively marked.
3. Its objectives must be clear
4. It must be well timed
5. Questions must be well spread along the cognitive domain skill.
6. There should be no error and omissions
7. It should be written to the level of the learners.
8. It should make use of the language appropriately
9. It should cover the content taught and be tested in line with the syllabus.

Test administration

Test administration contributes to the final scores. Its importance is to enhance

control of the conditions under which the test is taken.

 The teacher should ensure that;

 There are no materials in the examination room that learners may source
answers from.
 Leaners have ample sitting space and there is adequate spacing between
them.
 The chalkboard is clear. Learners are able to time themselves. A clock that
can be seen from the back of the room and by all the learners should be
availed.
 Distractors such as noise are kept to a minimum.
 Instructions on mode of conduct are clearly stated

12
  The room where the examination is taking place is well lit and ventilated
 All learners start and stop at the same time. call out for attention and then
start, call out for attention and then stop.

Correcting errors

Correction means assisting learners to identify their mistakes in order that they
may rectify them. the tr must indicate the error show its nature and provide hints
on correcting such errors. The efforts that learners make should be appreciated
despite the errors. The tr should lead the learners so that they make their own
corrections. The corrections should be done on a fresh space and not squeezed,
where the errors were or in the margins. When correcting tests, the following
should be borne mind.

The tr should be firm and consistent

The tr should develop his or her own symbols for indicating specific errors. This
is especially important when marking essay questions and compositions.

Symbols adopted should be consistent and simple enough for the learners to
understand.

The system adopted should not discourage learners. the tr should decide exactly
what to correct. Do not correct each and every error. This is because work that is
red all over tend to demoralize learners.

Errors should ultimately be discussed with the whole class.

item analysis

Item analysis involves determining how well each question was handled by the
learners by determining the numbers of learners who passed it and those that
failed it .a large number of passes on a particular question ,indicates that the
question was easy .in a well prepared test ,questions should be arranged so that
easy ones appear first in the question paper .the questions should progress in
difficulty towards the end of the paper .placing easy questions first makes
learners feel confident

13
 To make meaningful from the date, information should be organized in a concise
and summarized form by means of statistics.

Other forms of assessment

Observations and recording

 Observation and recording are usually carried out during informal tests.
 Observation involving passing judgement on a learner to determine
whether a learner get a passing or falling mark.
 Observation goes hand in hand with recording. They are commonly used
when testing skill performance.
 Ideally the performance of various candidates should be observed over an
agreed period of time and under comparable or similar conditions.
 The criteria or characteristic against which judgement of performance is to
be made clearly defined and agreed upon by teachers who are testing the
same skill. This however, does not guarantee that judgement will be
objective .to a great extent, it is still subjective.
 It is important that the recording of the of the performance is done
accurately. This ensures judgement hence, the mark or grade given is
backed by adequate evidence .

Advantages of recording and observation

The following are the advantages of observation and recording assessment.

 The tr is able to get first-hand information.

 Since the observer is in the same environment as the learner, the observer
is able to relate differences in performance to the effect of the test
conditions for different learners.

Disadvantages of observation and recording.

 The disadvantages of observation and recording include;

 The assessment test situation introduces artificially in performance which
in turn may introduce distortations in measurements.

14
  This is especially important if observations was meant to measure the
candidates typical behaviour.
 If the observer has previous knowledge of the learner, it may interfere
with the accuracy of the observation and grading.
 It introduces biasness as it is subjective.

Oral type test

Oral tests are commonly used in languages, creative arts and music

They are a formal type of testing. In oral testing. the learners are called upon
to participate verbally and their performance is judged, marked and graded.

Oral testing are usually an extension of class work and written tests.

Oral test makes it easy for the teacher to observe a special aspect of a learner’s
behaviour or performance and asses it against an accepted standard. for the
same performance under controlled condition

Advantages of oral testing

The following are some of the advantages of oral tests,

 The performance of a skill being tested is observed and graded.

immediately. learner may obtain immediate feedback.
 Well prepared and courageous learners are able to put up their best
performance.

Disadvantages of oral tests

Disadvantages of oral tests include;

 They are subjective.

 Test conditions are likely to affect the learner’s performance and
distort the value of measurement.
 They may not be valid and or reliable.
 They may cause stress that may affect the learner’s performance.
15
  Quantification of results is difficult as there may not be a control group
or comparison.

Practical assessment

Description of performance is necessary during practical assessment. A

learner’s performance may not be described as right or wrong or partially
right.

It becomes, necessary therefore to construct a quality scale which can be

used to describe quality or to describe the various types of assessment.

Areas in the school curriculum that call for practical assessment include
hand sewing, drawing, and craft.

The quality scale is a collection of samples which display varying degree

of quality from the lowest to the highest quantity. samples are arranged in
order of increasing quantity ,and each quantity is described numerically .

Such a scale is used matching a performance to a scale which most

closely resemble it in quantity .This kind of matching makes the process
of measuring very subjective .appropriate training is crucial before
marking to reduce subjectivity .

A quality scale is constructed in three steps;

1. Collecting samples of performance which represent as a wide

range of the quality to be described possible.
2. Selecting from this collection a limited number od samples (10-20)
which represent the entire range of quality and which differ from
each other by approximately equal increment of quality.
3. Determining the quantitative description of the quality of each
sample with reference to an established zero -point and arranging
the samples in form of a scale.

16
17