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DPE 104
Measurement and Evaluation

Course Description:

This is a course that focuses on the principles, development and utilization of

conventional assessment tools to improve the teaching-learning process. It emphasizes on the
use of assessment of, as, and for, in measuring knowledge, comprehension and other thinking
skills in the cognitive, psychomotor or affective domains. It allows students to go through the
standard steps in test construction and development and the application in grading system.

Module 1 – Measurement and Evaluation

This module presents the meaning, scope, principles of evaluation in educative process,
and forms of evaluation in the classroom, test as evaluative device and kind of tests.

At the end of this module, the students can:

1. differentiate measurement, evaluation and assessment;

2. discuss the characteristics of the different concepts in assessment of learning;
3. distinguish measurement, evaluation and assessment given at the classroom
settings;

BASIC CONCEPTS IN ASSESSMENT

1.0 Introduction

As teachers, we are continually faced with the challenge of assessing the progress of
our students as well as our own effectiveness as teachers. Assessment decisions could
substantially improve student’s performance, guide the teachers in enhancing the teaching-
learning process and assist policy makers in improving the educational system. At the same
time, however, poor assessment procedures could adversely affect the students, teachers
and administrators. Assessment of learning is a tricky business, indeed, for it requires
measuring concepts, ideas and abstract constructs quite unlike the assessment of physical
quantities which can be done with appropriate degree of accuracy. In assessment of
learning, we deal with intangibles and attempt to characterize them in a manner that would
be widely understood.

The most common method assessing student learning is through tests (teacher-made
or standardized). Despite some criticisms leveled against using tests in determining if
students are learning or if schools are successful, these tests will continue to be used in the
foreseeable future (Shepard, 2000). Test results provide an easy and easily understood
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means of informing the student about his progress or the school about his performance.
Standardized tests, in particular, provide clear targets to aim for when teachers and
administrators want improvement (Jason, 2003). Tests, coupled with other observational
performance-based techniques, provide a powerful combination for objective and precise
assessment procedure.

1.1 Educational Measurement

The first step towards elevating a field of study into a science is to take
measurements of the quantities and qualities of interest in the field. In the Physical
Sciences, such measurements are quite easily understood and well-accepted. For instance,
if we want to measure the length of a piece of string with a standard ruler or meter stick; to
find the weight of an object, we compare the heaviness of the object with a standard
kilogram or pound and so on. Sometimes, we can measure physical quantities by combining
directly measurable quantities to derived quantities. For example, to find the area of a
rectangular piece of paper, we simply multiply the lengths of the sides of the paper. In the
field of educational measurement, however, the quantities and qualities of interest are more
abstract, unseen and cannot be touched, they cannot be observed thus makes the
measurement process in education much more difficult.

For instance, knowledge of the subject matter is often measured through standardized
test results. In this case, the measurement procedure is testing. The same concept can be
measured in another way. We can ask a group of experts to rate a student’s (or teacher’s)
knowledge of the subject matter is measured through perceptions.

1.1.1 Types of Measurement

Measurements can therefore be objective (as in testing) or subjective (as in

perceptions). In the example above, testing produces objective measurement while expert
ratings provide subjective measurements. Objective measurements are more stable than
subjective measurements in the sense that repeated measurements of the same quantity or
quality of interest will produce more or less the same outcome. For this reason many people
prefer objective measurements over subjective measurements whenever they are available.
However, there are certain facets of the quantity or quality of interest that cannot be
successfully captured by objective procedures but which can be done by subjective methods
e.g. aesthetic appeal of a product or project of a student, etc. It follows that it may be best to
use both methods of assessments whenever the constraint of time and resources permits.

Objective measurements are measurements that do not depend on the person or

individual taking the measurements. Regardless of who is taking the measurement, the
same measurement values should be obtained when using an objective assessment
procedure. In contrast, subjective measurements often differ from one assessor to the next
even if the same quantity or quality is being measured.
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1.2 Assessment

Once measurements are taken of an educational quantity or quality of interest, then

the next step is to assess the status of the educational phenomenon. For example, suppose
that the quantity of interest is the level of Mathematics for Grade VI pupils in the district. The
proposed measurements are test in Mathematics for Grade VI pupils in the district. The
District Office decided to target an achievement test results, the school officials can assess
whether their Grade VI pupils are within a reasonable range of this target i.e. whether they
are above or below the achievement level target.

Assessment FOR, OF and AS Learning

The preposition “for” in assessment FOR learning implies that assessment is done to
improve and ensure learning.
This is referred to as Formative assessment that is given while the teacher is in the
process of student formation (learning).
Formative assessment includes the pre-test and post-test that a teacher gives to insure
learning. This is also termed pre-assessment.

Assessment OF learning is usually given at the end of a unit, grading period or a term
like a semester. It is meant to assess learning for grading purposes.
It is summative assessment and done at the end of a unit, task, process or period.
Its purpose is to provide evidence of a student’s level of achievement in relation to
curricular outcomes.
It provides the foundation for decision on student’s placement and promotion.

Assessment AS Learning is associated with self-assessment. Assessment by itself is

already a form of learning for the students.
It employs tasks or activities that provide students with an opportunity to monitor and
further their own learning – to think about their personal learning habits and how they can adjust
their learning strategies to achieve their goals.

Characteristics of Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment

Formative assessment

1. May be seen as assessment for learning so teachers can make adjustments in their
instruction.
2. It is also assessment as learning wherein students reflect on their own progress.
3. Refers to the on-going forms of assessment that are closely linked to the learning
process.
4. It is characteristically informal and is intended to help students identify strengths and
weaknesses in order to learn from the assessment experience.
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5. May be given at any time during the teaching and learning process. It is also a way to
check the effectiveness of instruction.
6. It involves teachers using evidence about what learners know and can do to inform and
improve their teaching.
7. The result of formative assessments will help teachers make good instructional
decisions so that their lessons are better suited to the learner’s abilities.
8. It is important for teachers to record formative assessment by documenting and tracking
learners’ progress using systematic ways that can easily provide insight into a student’s
learning.
9. Provide students with immediate feedback on how well they are learning throughout the
teaching-learning process.
10. Enables students to take responsibility for their own learning, and identify areas where
they do well and where they need help.
11. As a result, students will appreciate and make their own decisions about their progress.

Summative Assessment

1. May be seen as assessment of learning, which occurs toward the end of a period of
learning in order to describe the standard reached by the learner.
2. Takes place in order for appropriate decisions about future learning or job suitability to
be made.
3. Judgments derived from summative assessment are usually for the benefit of people
other than the learner.
4. Measures whether learners have met the content and performance standards.
5. The results of summative assessments are recorded and used to report on the learners’
achievement.
6. The results of summative assessment are reported to the learners and their
parents/guardians.
7. These are reported to principal/school heads, teachers who will receive the child in the
next grade level, and guidance teachers who should help students cope with challenges
they experience in school.

1.2.1 Various Roles of Assessment

Assessment plays a number of roles in making instructional decisions:

Summative Role. An assessment may be done for summative purposes as in the

illustration given above for grade VI mathematics achievement. Summative assessment tries
to determine the extent to which the learning objectives for a course (like Grade VI
Mathematics) are met and why.

Diagnostic Role. Assessment may also be done for diagnostic purposes. In this case,
we are interested in determining the gaps. Thus, on the topic of sentence construction, a
diagnostic examination may reveal the difficulties encountered by the students in matching
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subject and verb or identifying subject and predicate, in vocabulary etc. This function of
assessment is akin to a medical doctor trying to perform laboratory tests to determine a
patient’s illness or disease.

As in a medical doctor, a teacher needs to be extra careful in making diagnoses of

learning difficulties. Accurate diagnosis leads to appropriate teaching measures and
intervention programs but a single misdiagnosis can also have potentially disastrous
consequences. For instance, a pupil who is unable to read and unable to score well in a test
for grammar may not actually have difficulties in the language per se but could, in fact, be
suffering from physical disabilities like dyslexia. Consequently, the teacher may provide for
tutorial sessions believing that the student may just be a slow learner or having language
difficulties thus wasting precious resources to no avail.

Formative Assessment. Another purpose of assessment is formative. In this role,

assessment guides the teacher on his/her day-to-day teaching activity. Should a topic be
taught again? Should there be more drills and exercises? In the context of teaching-learning
situation, the formative value of assessment is perhaps the most important. It allows the
teacher to redirect and refocus the course of teaching a subject matter.

Placement. The final role in assessment in curricular decisions concerns placement.

Assessment plays a vital role in determining the appropriate placement of a student both in
terms of achievement and aptitude. Aptitude refers to the area or discipline where a student
would most likely excel or do well. Thus, an aptitude test determines if a student would do
well in scientific or humanities courses; in technical-vocational or academic courses etc.
Placement examinations also determine if a student’s ability is equivalent to, say, a typical
3rd year or 4th year high school student. The Department of Education has this type of
placement examination and it used such as examination to calibrate the placement of such
personalities such as many Pacquiao and other famous personalities on TV or widescreen.

The defunct NCEE (National College Entrance Examination) was an academic

placement examination.

1.3 Evaluation of Learning and Programs

Evaluation models are important in the context of education. Evaluation implies that
measurements and assessments of an educational characteristic had been done and that it
is now desired to pass on value judgment on the educational outcome. In evaluating an
outcome, we consider the objectives of the educative process and analyze whether the
outputs and outcomes satisfy these objectives, if they do not, then we need to find the
possible reasons for our failure to meet such objectives. The possible reasons can, perhaps,
be identified from the context, inputs, process and outputs of the educational system.

Figure 1 illustrates these ideas:

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CONTEXT INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUT OUTCOMES

→ → → → →

FIGURE 1
A Systems Model for Evaluation

Evaluation provides a tool for determining the extent to which an educational process or
program is effective and at the same time indicates directions for remediation processes of the
curriculum that do not contribute to successful student performance. To this end, evaluation
enhances organizational efficiency by providing focus for teacher and administrator efforts as
well as allows resources to be directed to areas of greatest need.

Improving student performance is inextricably linked to improvement in the inputs and

processes that shape the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Evaluation, therefore, is of
greatest interest to both teachers and administrators who plan orchestrate the entire learning
activities.

According to Brainard (1996), effective program evaluation is a systematic process that

focuses on program improvement and renewal and discovering peaks of program excellence.
Program evaluation needs to be viewed as an important ongoing activity, on that goes beyond
research or simple fact-finding to inform decisions about the future shape of the program under
study. Program evaluation contributes to quality services by providing feedback from program
activities and outcomes to those who can introduce changes in the program or who decide
which services are to be carried out effectively.

Program evaluation need not be limited to evaluation of educational processes and

systems. Program evaluation is also important in many programs of government agencies. For
instance, agencies of the government undertake programs with the assistance of foreign
funding agencies to target specific social concerns poverty reduction or governance and
empowerment at the local government level. Such programs normally involve millions and it is
very important that proper evaluation be undertaken to ensure that resources invested in these
programs are not wasted. In such cases, the method called PERT (Program Evaluation
Review Technique) is an indispensable quantitative evaluation tool.

SUMMARY
Evaluation - Is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence regarding the problems and
progress of individuals in achieving desirable educational goals?
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Chief Purpose of Evaluation - The improvement of the individual learners.

Other Purposes of Evaluation

- To maintain standard
- To select students
- To motivate learning
- To guide learning
- To furnish instruction
- To appraise educational instrumentalities

Function of Evaluation

- Prediction
- Diagnosis
- Research

Areas of Educational Evaluation

- Achievement
- Aptitude
- Interest
- Personality

A well-defined system of evaluation:

- Enable one to clarify goals

- Check upon each phase of development
- Diagnose learning difficulties
- Plan carefully for remediation

Evaluation & the Teaching-Learning Process

Teaching, Learning and Evaluation are three interdependent aspects of the educative
process. (Gronlund 1981) This interdependence is clearly seen when the main purpose of
instruction is conceived in terms of helping pupils achieve a set of learning is outcomes which
include changes in the intellectual, emotional or physical domains. Instructional objectives or in
other words, desired changes in the pupils, are brought about by planned learning activities and
pupil’s progress is evaluated by tests and other devices.

This integration of evaluation into the teaching-learning process can be seen in the
following stages of the process:

- Setting instructional objectives

- Determining pupil variables that can affect instruction
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- Providing instructional activities that are relevant and necessary to achieve the desired
learning outcomes
- Determining the extent to which desired outcomes are achieved

Principles of Educational Evaluation

- Evaluation must be based on previously accepted educational objectives.

- Evaluation should be continuous comprehensive and a commutative process.
- Evaluation should recognize that the total individual personality is involved in learning.
- Evaluation should be democratic and cooperative.
- Evaluation should be positive and action-directed.
- Evaluation should be positive and action-directed
- Evaluation should give opportunity to the pupil to become increasingly independent in
self-appraisal and self-direction.
- Evaluation should include all significant evidence from every possible source.
- Evaluation should take into consideration the limitations of the particular educational
situations.

Measurement - is a part of the educational evaluation process whereby some tools or

instruments are used to provide a quantitative description of the progress of students towards
desirable educational goals?

Test or Testing - is a systematic procedure to determine the presence or absence of certain

characteristics or qualities in a learner.

Types of Evaluation

- Placement
- Formative
- Diagnostic
- Summative
(These types show that evaluation is integrated with the various phases of instruction)

Placement - Evaluation accounts for a student’s entry behavior or performance. It determines

the knowledge and skills he possesses which are necessary at the beginning of instruction in a
given subject area.

Formative - Evaluation provides the students with feedback regarding his success or failure in
attaining instructional objectives. It identifies the specific learning errors that need to be
corrected and provides reinforcement for successful performance as well. For the teacher,
formative evaluation provides information for making instruction and remedial work more
effective.

Pointers in Formative Evaluation

1. There should be an achievement continuum at a very level of instruction.

2. Criteria and standards are well-defined at the beginning of the learning process.
3. Criterion-referenced tests should be administered.
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4. Students should always be informed of their progress

5. Enrichment/remedial/opportunities should be made available.

Diagnostic - Evaluation is used to detect students’ learning difficulties which are not revealed
by informative tests or checked by remedial instruction and other instructional adjustments.
Since it discloses the underlying causes of learning difficulties, diagnostic tests are therefore
more comprehensive and detailed.

Summative - Evaluation is concerned with what students have learned. This implies that the
instructional activity has for the most part been completed and that little correction of learning
deficiencies is possible.

Stages of Teaching- Learning in which Educational Evaluation is integrated:

1. Clarifying objectives
2. Identifying variables that affect learning
3. Providing relevant instructional activities to achieve objectives
4. Determining the extent to which the objectives are achieved.

Distinguishing features of:

Measurement-
It comes from the Old French word “mesure” which means “limit or quantity”.
It is a quantitative description of an object’s characteristics or attributes.
In science measurement is a comparison of an unknown quantity to a standard.
It is the process of determining or describing the attributes or characteristics of physical
objects generally in terms of quantity.
Use such instruments as ruler, scale or thermometer.
Used to determine the distance of a location.
Usually expressed in quantities.

Assessment-
Comes from the Latin word assidere which means “to sit beside a judge” (Wiggins,
1993). This implies that assessment is tied up with evaluation.
It is the process of gathering evidence of student’s performance over a period of time to
determine learning and mastery of skills.
Miller, Linn and Gronlund (2009) defined assessment as any method utilized to gather
information about student performance.
It pertains to all activities undertaken by teachers – and by their students in assessing
themselves – that provide information to be used to modify the teaching and learning activities
in which they are engaged.
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Over-all goal is to provide information regarding the extent of attainment of student

learning outcomes.
Can determined skill attainment easier than attainment of understanding.
Results show the more permanent learning and clear picture of student’s ability.

Evaluation-
French word “evaluer”.
It comes in after the data had been collected from an assessment task.
According to Russell and Airasian (2012). It is the process of judging the quality of a
performance or a course of action.
Originates from the root word “value” and so when we evaluate, we expect our process
to give information regarding the worth, appropriateness, goodness, validity or legality of
something for which a reliable measurement has been made.
It is a process designed to provide information that will help us to make a judgement
about a particular situation.
Can help educators determine the success factors of academic programs and projects.
Process designed to aid educators make judgment and indicates solutions to academic
situations.
Objects of study may be instructional programs, school projects, teachers or tests
results.

See next page for the Activity.