MODULE 2

Norm and Criterion

Referenced
Interpretations
High Quality Assessment

Quality student performance indicates success of the teaching-

learning process. However, the methods used by the teachers could only
approximate the true measure of student performance. Teacher-made tests
had been overly used in most classroom situations. While teacher-made tests
provide a quick and easy data on student performance, it should be so designed
to qualify its purpose of improving the teaching-learning process. Educationist
outlined the following principles to be observed in the development of
assessment tools:

1. Clarity of learning targets

Assessment should be basically based on learning objectives. These
Learning targets should be clearly understood by the students and the means
by which their attainment of the desirable levels of performance is judged. Do
the students have s full grasp of the competencies to be included in the
assessment?

2. Appropriateness of assessment methods

The learning targets, once clearly identified, shall then be the basis of
the assessment method to be employed. Variations in the competencies to be
tested require variations in the assessment method. For example, factual
knowledge may be tested through selected-response and brief-constructed
response items. Analysis, synthesis, evaluation skills may be matched with
essay items. Student journals may do well with affective targets and
performance-based assessments will be best for skill evaluation.

3. Validity
Validity refers to the appropriateness, correctness and usefulness of
the measuring instrument. Teacher-made tests are usually judged by the
teacher to be content valid, the basis of which is the Table of Specifications.
For more valid measures, other evidences of validity such as construct validity,
concurrent validity, predictive validity and criterion validity may be sought.

4. Reliability
A test must not only be valid. It should also be reliable. This is the
quality of a test which ensures its consistency when several items measure the
same thing and stability when the same measures are given across time
(Raagas, 2009). Reliability measures the errors in testing which may be
categorized as internal (tester-related) and external (non tester-related).

5. Fairness
If teachers need to be fair, so is assessment. It should be viewed as
an
Opportunity to learn rather than to weed out poor/slow learners. Assessments
should be free from stereotyping and biases of any sort.

6. Usability
Planning the assessment tool should include such factors as the ease
in
Administration, scoring and interpreting test results. It should also be clearly
printed with the intention on quality and clarity of the pictures or diagrams.

What is the purpose of classroom assessment?

Assessment works best when its purpose is clear. Without a clear
purpose, it is difficult to design or plan assessment effectively and
efficiently. In classrooms, teachers are expected to know the instructional
goals and learning outcomes, which will inform how they will design and
implement their assessment. In general, the purpose of classroom assessment
may be classified in terms of the following:

1. Assessment of Learning. This refers to the use of assessment to

determine learner’s acquired knowledge and skills from instruction and
whether they were able to achieve the curriculum outcomes. It is generally
summative in nature.

2. Assessment for Learning. This refers to the use of assessment to

identify the needs of learners in order to modify instruction or learning
activities in the classroom. It is formative in nature and it is meant to
identify gaps in the learning experiences of learners so that they can be
assisted in achieving the curriculum outcomes.

3. Assessment as Learning. This refers to the use of assessment to help

learners become self-regulated. It is formative in nature and meant to use
the assessment tasks, results, and feedback to help learners practice self-
regulation and make adjustments to achieve the curriculum outcomes.
 Assessment serves as the mechanism by which teachers are able to determine
whether instruction worked in facilitating the learning of students. Hence, it is
very important that assessment is aligned with instruction and the identified
outcome for learners. Knowing what will be taught (curriculum content,
competency, and performance standards) and how it will be taught (instruction) are
as important as knowing what we want from the very beginning (curriculum
outcome) in determing the specific purpose and strategy for assessment. The
alignment is easier if teachers have clear purpose on why they are performing the
assessment. Typically, teachers use classroom assessment for assessment of
learning more than assessment for learning and assessment as learning. Ideally,
however, all three purposes of classroom assessment must be used. While it is
difficult to perform an assessment with all three purposes in mind, teachers must
be able to understand the three purposes of assessment, including knowing when
and how to use them.

Ethics in Assessment

1. Free from harm or danger. Assessments should not expose the taker to
risks of injury (For example, giving items which requires strenuous bodily
movements may not be ideal for students who have physical deficiencies)

2. Confedentiality of results. It is not ethical for a teacher to announce the

poor performances of a student even with the purpose of inspiring others
to do good in class.

3. Deception of the objectives of the assessment. Students have the right to

know the reason for the assessment with which they will be subjected.
This will also help the students prepare better and enable the teacher to
achieve the desired results of the assessment.

4. Assisting testers. Some testers need assistance as regards the ambiguity

of the instructions to be done before the test. Assisting the tester while
the test is going is not only unethical. It will also annoy other testers and
will affect the reliability and validity of the test.
Interpreting Performance

Test performance expresses, to a certain extent, the ability of a

student in a particular learning task. Whether it is written or not, test
performance does not represent the actual ability of the student. There is an
ability which the teacher is not able to measure through tests. These
abilities are not readily observable or easily measurable. However, tests,
when planned and conducted properly, can tell the teacher how far the
student has learned and how the teacher could make instructional designs to
help the learner achieve the learning targets.

Frames of Reference For Interpreting Performance

Reference Interpretation Conditions
Ability-referenced Do the students Good measures of what
perform on the basis of the students can
what they can do? actually do.
Growth-referenced Has the student Pre and post measures
improved/not improved of student
in performance over a performance
certain period?
Norm-referenced Is the student able to Criterion must be
perform as required of clearly defined
the population?
Criterion-referenced What can a student do Content Domain must
and not do? be clearly defined

Criterion vs Norm-referenced Interpretation

1. Criterion-referenced means that the score is being interpreted in term of

the skills that the test measures
 Example: A student can solve problems involving radicals; can
deliver a poem well, etc.

2. Norm-referenced means that the score is being compared against a

typical range of performance.

Example: A student can solve better than half of the other

students in the class; can best deliver a poem than the other
students in the class etc.

3. Criterion-referenced includes items of reasonable length either the item

is answered by all or missed totally.

Example: The purpose of the criterion-referencing is to

determine mastery of a learning task. i.e. determining the main
idea of a selection (very specific skill)

4. Norm-referenced discards the easiest and most difficult questions.

Example: The purpose of the norm-referencing is to spread out

the individuals to know how one differs from the others; i.e.
how a student scores above/below the other students in a class

5. Criterion-referenced identifies the strong and weak points of individual

performance

6. Norm-referenced does not provide a way of identifying whether the slow

learner could have done better since there is no basis of meeting the
individual needs.
Choosing the Appropriate Interpretations
Target Target Target
Interpretation Interpretation Interpretation
Preliminary Evaluation Overall assessment vs assessment of what the
what is typical for a student can or cannot do
group of student
Diagnostic Evaluation Very appropriate because If the student’s inability
it will tell what the is typical
student can or cannot do
Formative Evaluation Comparison of student What students can or
performance to that can’t do; clear domains
observed in previous
class
Summative Evaluation General content domains Portfolios (samples of
student’s work represent
well-defined domain)

Preparing a Criterion-Referenced Measure (Gronlund, 1998)

1. Define clearly the instructional objectives. Objectives should be clear,
expressed in behavioral terms (SMART). Stating the objectives should take
into consideration the foolowing:
 Audience or learner. This specifies the group of learners for
which the objective is directed.
 Behavior. This is the specific target behavior called for in the
objective.
 Conditions of learning. This identifies the conditions which
should be present in the performance of the behavior.
 Degree of performance. This indicates the level of performance
as an evidence of successful learning.
2. Prepare the Table of Specifications.
3. Construct the test items.