In Education, Measurement and Evaluation is an important tool to assess the students progress. In this topic, we will going to learn about the concepts of Measurement, Assessment and Evaluation in Education, their meanings, definitions, objectives, types of evaluation in education etc.
Assessment
In Education, the term assessment refers to the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students.
Assessment is the action of assessing someone or something. It is the classification of someone or something with respect to its worth. It is the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or event. Assessment is an integral part of instruction.
Assessment is the process of gathering quantitative and qualitative data of what a student can do, and how much a student possesses.
Measurement
Measurement in education refers to the process or method of determining attributes of educational methods and processes. It refers to the use of educational assessment and the analysis of data such as scores obtained from educational assessment to infer the abilities and proficiencies of students.
Educational measurement is the science and practice of obtaining information about characteristics of students, such as their knowledge, skills, abilities and interests. It included administration and scoring or tests, scale construction, validation and standardisation and application of statistical techniques in the interpretation of obtained measure or test results.
Definition of Measurement
a. According to Campbell, “The assignment of numerals to objects or events according to certain rules is called measurement.”
b. Tylor defines measurement as, “Assignment of numerals according to rules.”
c.
According to Nunnally, “Measurement consists of rules for assigning
numbers to objects in such a way as to represent quantities of
attributes.”
Evaluation
Evaluation in education is the process of characterising and appraising some aspects of an educational process. It is the process of identifying whether or not an educational method or process will yield information about the educational methods’ appropriateness, worthiness, validity, goodness, etc.
Evaluation is the act of placing value of something. It is the process by which value judgement of educational status or achievement of students are formed. Thus, to evaluate means to form judgement or the level of achievement and this pre-supposes that there is a pre-determined level available. It is the systematic process of collecting and analysing data in order to make decisions. Evaluation is both quantitative and qualitative process.
Mathematically, evaluation may be stated as–
Evaluation=
Quantitative description of pupils’ achievement + Qualitative
description of pupils’ abilities + Value judgement about
achievement and abilities.
Definition of Evaluation
a. Bloom defined, “Evaluation as a tool in the educational practice for ascertaining whether alternative procedures were equality effective or not in achieving a set of educational ends.”
b. According to Hanna, “The process of gathering ans interpreted evidence changes in the behaviour of all students as they progress through school is called evaluation.”
c. Goods defines, “Evaluation is a process of judging the value or something by certain appraisal.”
d.
According to Wesly, “Evaluation indicates all kinds of efforts and
all kind of means to ascertain the quality, value and effectiveness
of desired outcomes. It is a compound of objectives evidence and
subjective observation.”
Types of Evaluation
There are three types of evaluation in the teaching-learning process based on the function of evaluation. They are:-
a. Formative Evaluation
b. Summative Evaluation
c. Diagnostic Evaluation
Formative Evaluation
Formative evaluation in education is carried out during the formation of knowledge or during the teaching-learning process. Formative evaluation is a potentially transformative
instructional tool that if clearly understood and effectively used, can benefit both educators and their students. It is ongoing and process oriented. It is a process used by both teachers and students during instructions that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning with a view to improve student’s achievement.
The key attributes of this conception of formative evaluation are:-
i. A planned process:- Formative Evaluation is a planned process in which evaluation based evidence of students’ achievement is used by the instructors to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students’ to adjust their current learning tactics.
ii. Instructional adjustment:- Relying on evaluation based evidence of students’ current status, such as test results showing that students are weak in their mastering of a particular cognitive skills, and instructor might decide to provide additional or different instruction related to that particular skill.
iii.Student’s learning tactics adjustment:- Within the formative evaluation process, students may also take a look at evaluation based evidence and if needed they can make changes in how they are trying to learn.
Thus formative evaluation is concerned with how learning is going on. It is process not any particular tests
Objectives of Formative Evaluation in Education
The main objectives of formative evaluation are-
a. Know the degree of mastery over a given learning task.
b. Motivate pupil for learning.
c. Identify the areas which requires modification or change.
d. Provide feedback to teachers to change the style of teaching.
e. Check the capabilities of the students.
f. Determine the pupils’ progress in the right direction.
g. Provide feedback to the pupils.
h. Check the effectiveness of the learning experience provided in the classroom.
i. Make teaching-learning process more effective.
j. Point out the strong and weak areas of the learners in order to provide remedial measures for that.
Tools of Formative Evaluation:-
Oral test, written test, periodical test etc. based on the objective of a unit or a topic.
Teaching of Formative Evaluation:-
The techniques used for formative evaluation are the achievement tests namely- Objective Type Test, Short Answer Type Test, Very Short Answer Type Test, Essay Type Test etc.
Summative Evaluation
Summative Evaluation in education is carried out at the end of a session or at the end of a course of study. Summative evaluation in performed on a period basis to recognise or determine what students actually know and what they not know. In general, summative evaluation provides quantitative data and the main focus of summative evaluation is based on the outcome. It is a type of evaluation that judges the worth of the task by the end of the session. So it is used to evaluate students’ learning, skill acquisition and academic achievement at he conclusion of a defined instructional period- typically at the end of a project, course, semester, programme or a school year.
In general, summative evaluation are defined by three major criteria–
1. The test, assignments or projects are used to determine whether students have learnt what they were expected to learn, i.e to determine whether and to what degree students have learnt the material they have been taught.
2. Since summative evaluation are done at the conclusion of a specific instructional period, therefore, they are generally evaluative rather than diagnostic.
3. Summative Evaluation results are often recorded as scores or grades that are then factored into a students’ permanent academic record.
Thus, summative evaluation is carried out what has been learnt by the students at the end of a course or session.
Objectives of Summative Evaluation in Education
a. Determine whether the course has been successfully completed or not.
b. Gauge the qualty of learning.
c. Determine the overall picture of the child’s progress.
d. Provide overall grades or marks or certificates.
e. Check the efficiency of the teacher.
f. Determine change or modification of curriculum or syllabus.
g. Determine the effectiveness of the tools and techniques of evaluation.
Tools of Summative Evaluation:-
The tools for summative evaluation are- Final Examination, Annual Examination etc. based on the objectives of a particular course of study.
Techniques of Summative Evaluation:-
All the achievement tests are the Techniques for Summative Evaluation.
Diagnostic Evaluation
Diagnostic Evaluation in education is a form of evaluation that allows a teacher to determine students’ individual strength, weakness, knowledge and skills prior to instruction. It is primarily used to diagnose students’ difficulties and to guide lesson and curriculum planning.
Diagnostic Evaluation benefits both the instructors and the students in the following ways-
1. Planning meaningful instruction:- Diagnostic evaluation allows the teachers to plan a meaningful and efficient instruction in the teaching-learning process. When a teacher knows what the students exactly know or do not know about the topic, he/she can focus on that particular topics that the students still need to learn rather than what they already know.
2.
Creating baseline for future learning:- Diagnostic
evaluation shows both the teachers and the students what is known
before the instruction has occur. Thus it sets a baseline for future
instruction.
3.
Individualised Instruction:- Diagnostic
evaluation provides information that a small group of students needs
additional instruction on a particular portion of a unit or course of
study. The teacher can then provide a remediation for those group of
pupils so that they can fully engage with the new content. Similarly,
if a teacher discovers that a group of students has already mastered
a large portion of a unit, he/she can design activities that allows
that group to go beyond
the standard curriculum for that topic through independent or small
group study.
Objectives of Diagnostic Evaluation
The objectives of diagnostic evaluation are-
a. Identity the weak areas of the learner.
b. Know the causes of the weakness of the learner.
c. Provide remedial measures to remove the causes of weaknesses.
d. Adopt improved method of teaching and technique.
e. Use a variety of tools and techniques.
f. Change or modify the method of teaching or procedures etc.
Tools for Diagnostic Evaluation:-
The tools for diagnose evaluation are- Oral Test, Written Test, Performance Test, Assignment etc.
Techniques of Diagnostic Evaluation:-
The
techniques in the diagnostic test may be either supply type or
selection type, i.e. Essay Type Test, Short Answer Type Test and
Objective Type etc.
