Principles of assessment (part 1)  (Page 2/2)

Types of assessment

There are many different ways to categorize assessments, some of which we addressed earlier in the module. These include the relationship between thetest and instruction (formative vs. summative), the rigor of the assessment procedures (formal vs. informal), the type of student performance desired(maximum vs. typical), the type of test items used (supply vs. selection), whether time is a factor in evaluating performance (speed vs. power), how thetest is administered (individual vs. group), how the test is scored (objective vs. subjective), and how grades are assigned (norm referenced vs. criterionreferenced). We previously addressed the first two qualities: the relationship between the test and instruction and the rigor of assessment procedures.Assessments can be given during instruction in order to provide feedback to the student and teacher about learning, formative assessment , or at the end of instruction as a final evaluation of what was learned, summative assessment . The development, administration and scoring of an assessment can be highly structured and systematic, formal assessment , or have little structure and be unsystematic, informal assessment (Linn&Miller 2005).

Another method of classifying assessments is based on the type of studentperformance a teacher is trying to evaluate. We can assess our students’ typical performance , their ability on an average day with no preparation like in a pop quiz. Or, we can assess their maximum performance , their peak performance given ample time to study and prepare for the assessment as in a final exam (Linn&Miller 2005).

In addition to classifying assessments based on the type of performance a teacher wants to assess, we can classify assessments based on the way studentsshow their knowledge of information. Specifically, do we want students to recognize information or recall information? An assessment containing selection questions asks student to recognize the correct answer that is provided in a list of options. These types of questions include multiple choice, true/false,and matching. Supply questions are questions that require students to recall the answer from memory without alternatives being provided – such as in short answer or essayitems (Linn&Miller 2005).

The next two methods of classifying assessments relate to the administration of the test. The first is whether or not the amount of time it takes to completethe assessment is important. In a speed test the amount of time it takes a person to complete the assessment is important. These tests usually contain a large number of questions and a short time limit.These assessments are often used to measure fluency, or someone’s ability to complete simple tasks automatically and quickly (e.g. simple addition orletter identification). In a power test the amount of time it takes to complete the assessment is not important. However, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a time limit, only thatthe time limit doesn’t impact most students’ performance on the exam. For instance, Mr. McMorris, a 5 ^th grade teacher, may give his students 1 hour to complete a 30 question multiple choice end of chapter exam in science. While this test has a time limit,virtually every 5 ^th grade student can complete 30 multiple choice questions in under one hour without rushing (Linn&Miller 2005).

The other method of classifying assessments related to administration is whether the test can be given to more than one person at a time. In an individual assessment the teacher must give each student the exam one-on-one. For instance, high school foreign language teachers often assess students’ oral languagefluency through one-on-one oral exams. In a group assessment the teacher can give the exam to multiple students at the same time. The vast majority of tests you have taken in school are group assessments because theentire class takes the test at the same time (Linn&Miller 2005).

The last two methods of classifying assessments deal with the grading. The first deals with the amount of interpretation that is required in scoring. An objectively scored assessment contains questions that require no interpretation on the part of the grader. For instance, on a multiple choice test the option selected is eithercorrect or incorrect. In subjectively scored assessments the grader must interpret the response given by a test taker to determine its level of correctness. For instance, in an essay exam there arenumerous ways to phrase the same correct answer. The grader must read the test taker’s answer and determine to what extent the answer meets therequirements of the question (Linn&Miller 2005).

Once the individual items on an assessment have been scored, the students must be assigned grades. Grades can be assigned using one of two methods –norm referencing or criterion referencing. In a norm referenced test, a student’s grade is based on how his or her performance compares to other students who took the same exam. For instance, Ms. Tang, a high schoolmath teacher with a class of 10 students, may decide to assign the student who does the best on the algebra exam an A, the next 2 highest scoring students Bs,the middle 4 scoring students Cs, the next 2 highest scores Ds, and the lowest performing students an F. You will notice that there is no mention of thenumber of questions each student answered correctly, only the relationship between their overall performance and that of the other students in the class.All of the students could have answered 90% or more of the questions correctly or none of the students could have answered more the 50% of the questionscorrectly (Linn&Miller 2005).

In a criterion referenced test, a student’s grade is based on how his or her performance compares to an absolute standard. For instance, a B being awarded to students who answer80%-89% of the questions correctly on an exam. In Ms. Tang’s example, she could have implemented a criterion referenced grading system by awarding any studentwho answered 90%-100% of the questions correctly an A, 80%-89% correct a B, 70%-79% correct a C, 60-69% correct a D, and less than 60% correct an F. Youshould notice that there is no mention of the number of students who will earn each grade. All of the students could earn As or they could be evenlydistributed across the letter grades (Linn&Miller 2005).

References

Airasian, P. W. (2005). Classroom Assessment: Concepts and Applications (3rd ed). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B.&Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box.: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86 (1) 9-21.

Linn, R. L.,&Miller, M. D. (2005). Measurement and Assessment in Teaching (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.