Educational assessment or educational evaluationSome educators and education theorists use the terms assessment and evaluation to refer to the different concepts of testing during a learning process to improve it (for which the equally unambiguous terms formative assessment or formative evaluation are preferable) and of testing after completion of a learning process (for which the terms summative assessment or summative evaluation may be used). is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on the knowledge, skill, attitudes, aptitude and beliefs to refine programs and improve student learning. Assessment data can be obtained by examining student work directly to assess the achievement of learning outcomes or it is based on data from which one can make inferences about learning. Assessment is often used interchangeably with test but is not limited to tests.National council on Measurement in Education http://www.ncme.org/ncme/NCME/Resource_Center/Glossary/NCME/Resource_Center/Glossary1.aspx?hkey=4bb87415-44dc-4088-9ed9-e8515326a061#anchorA Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), a course, an academic program, the institution, or the educational system as a whole (also known as granularity). The word "assessment" came into use in an educational context after the Second World War.
As a continuous process, assessment establishes measurable student learning outcomes, provides a sufficient amount of learning opportunities to achieve these outcomes, implements a systematic way of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well student learning matches expectations, and uses the collected information to give feedback on the improvement of students' learning. Assessment is an important aspect of the educational process, which determines the level of accomplishments of students.
The final purpose of assessment practices in education depends on the theoretical framework of practitioners and researchers, their assumptions and beliefs about the nature of the human mind, the origin of knowledge, and the process of learning.
Types The term assessment generally refers to all activities teachers use to help students learn and gauge student progress.Black, Paul, & William, Dylan (October 1998). "Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment."Phi Beta Kappan. Available at http://www.pdkmembers.org/members_online/members/orders.asp?action=results&t=A&desc=Inside+the+Black+Box%3A+Raising+Standards+Through+Classroom+Assessment&text=&lname_1=&fname_1=&lname_2=&fname_2=&kw_1=&kw_2=&kw_3=&kw_4=&mn1=&yr1=&mn2=&yr2=&c1= PDKintl.org]. Retrieved January 28, 2009. Assessment can be divided for the sake of convenience using the following categorizations: Placement, formative, summative and diagnostic assessment Objective and subjective Referencing (criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, and ipsative (forced-choice)) Informal and formal Internal and external
Placement, formative, summative, and diagnostic Assessment is often divided into initial, formative, and summative categories to address different objectives of assessment practices.
(1) Placement assessment – Placement evaluation may be used to place students according to prior achievement or level of knowledge, or personal characteristics, at the most appropriate point in an instructional sequence, in a unique instructional strategy, or with a suitable teacher conducted through placement testing, i.e. the tests that colleges and universities use to assess college readiness and place students into their initial classes. Placement evaluation, also referred to as pre-assessment, initial assessment, or threshold knowledge test (TKT), is conducted before instruction or intervention to establish a baseline from which individual student growth can be measured. This type of assessment is used to determine the student's skill level in the subject and can also help the teacher explain the material more effectively. These assessments are generally not graded.
(2) Formative assessment – This is generally carried out throughout a course or project. It is also referred to as "educative assessment", which is used to help learning. In an educational setting, a formative assessment might be conducted by a teacher (or peer) or by the learner (e.g., through a self-assessmentHartelt, T. & Martens, H. (2024). Influence of self-assessment and conditional metaconceptual knowledge on students' self-regulation of intuitive and scientific conceptions of evolution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 61(5), 1134–1180. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21938 Andrade, H. L. (2019). A critical review of research on student self-assessment. Frontiers in Education, 4, Article 87. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00087), providing feedback on a student's work and would not necessarily be used for grading purposes. Formative assessments can take the form of diagnostic, standardized tests, quizzes, oral questions, or draft work. Formative assessments are conducted concurrently with instruction, and the results may count. The formative assessment aims to determine whether students understand the instruction before conducting a summative assessment.
(3) Summative assessment – This is generally carried out at the end of a course or project. In an educational setting, summative assessments are typically used to assign students a course grade and are evaluative in nature. Summative assessments are used to summarize what students have learned and determine whether they understand the subject matter well. This type of assessment is typically graded (e.g., pass/fail, 0–100) and can take the form of tests, exams, or projects. Summative assessments are basically used to determine whether a student has passed or failed a class. A criticism of summative assessments is that they are reductive, and learners discover how well they have acquired knowledge too late for it to be of use.
(4) Diagnostic assessment – At the end, the diagnostic assessment focuses on the whole difficulties that occurred during the learning process.
Jay McTighe and Ken O'Connor proposed seven practices for effective learning. One of them is about showing the criteria of the evaluation before the test, and another is the importance of pre-assessment to know what the skill levels of a student are before giving instructions. Giving a lot of feedback and encouragement is another practice.
Educational researcher Robert Stake explains the difference between formative and summative assessment with the following analogy:
Summative and formative assessment are often referred to in a learning context as assessment of learning and assessment for learning, respectively. Assessment of learning is generally summative, intended to measure learning outcomes and report them to students, parents, and administrators. Assessment of learning mostly occurs at the conclusion of a class, course, semester, or academic year, while assessment for learning is generally formative and used by teachers to consider teaching approaches and next steps for individual learners and the class.Earl, Lorna (2003). Assessment as Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximise Student Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press.
A common form of formative assessment is diagnostic assessment. Diagnostic assessment measures a student's current knowledge and skills to identify a suitable program of learning. Self-assessment is a form of diagnostic assessment in which students assess themselves.
Forward-looking assessment asks those being assessed to consider themselves in hypothetical future situations.Reed, Daniel. "Diagnostic Assessment in Language Teaching and Learning." Center for Language Education and Research, available at Google.com . Retrieved January 28, 2009.
Performance-based assessment is similar to summative assessment in that it focuses on achievement. It is often aligned with the standards-based education reform and outcomes-based education movement. Though ideally, they are significantly different from a traditional multiple choice test, they are most commonly associated with standards-based assessment, which uses free-form responses to standard questions scored by human scorers on a standards-based scale, meeting, falling below, or exceeding a performance standard rather than being ranked on a curve. A well-defined task is identified, and students are asked to create, produce, or do something often in settings that involve real-world application of knowledge and skills. Proficiency is demonstrated by providing an extended response. Performance formats are further classified into products and performances. The performance may result in a product, such as a painting, portfolio, paper, or exhibition, or it may consist of a performance, such as a speech, athletic skill, musical recital, or reading.
Objective and subjective Assessment (either summative or formative) is often categorized as either objective or subjective. Objective assessment is a form of questioning that has a single correct answer. Subjective assessment is a form of questioning that may have more than one correct answer (or more than one way of expressing the correct answer). There are various types of objective and subjective questions. Objective question types include true/false, multiple-choice, multiple-response, and matching questions, while Subjective questions include extended-response and essay questions. Objective assessment is well-suited to the increasingly popular computerized or online assessment format.
Some have argued that the distinction between objective and subjective assessments is neither useful nor accurate because, in reality, there is no such thing as "objective" assessment. In fact, all assessments are created with inherent biases built into decisions about relevant subject matter and content, as well as cultural (class, ethnic, and gender) biases.Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). "What Do We Mean by e-Assessment?" JISC InfoNet. Retrieved January 29, 2009 from http://tools.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/downloads/vle/eassessment-printable.pdf
Basis of comparison Test results can be compared against an established criterion, or against the performance of other students, or against previous performance:
(5)Criterion-referenced assessment, typically using a criterion-referenced test, as the name implies, occurs when candidates are measured against defined (and objective) criteria. Criterion-referenced assessment is often, though not always, used to establish a person's competence (i.e., whether they can do something). The best-known example of criterion-referenced assessment is the driving test, when learner drivers are measured against a range of explicit criteria (such as "Not endangering other road users").
(6)Norm-referenced assessment (colloquially known as "grading on the curve"), typically using a norm-referenced test, is not measured against defined criteria. This type of assessment is relative to the student body taking it. It is effectively a way of comparing students. The IQ test is the best-known example of norm-referenced assessment. Many entrance tests (to prestigious schools or universities) are norm-referenced, permitting a fixed proportion of students to pass ("passing" in this context means being accepted into the school or university rather than an explicit level of ability). This means that standards may vary from year to year depending on the quality of the cohort, whereas criterion-referenced assessment does not (unless the criteria change).Educational Technologies at Virginia Tech. "Assessment Purposes." VirginiaTech DesignShop: Lessons in Effective Teaching, available at Edtech.vt.edu . Retrieved January 29, 2009.
(7)Ipsative assessment is self-comparison either in the same domain over time, or comparative to other domains within the same student.