ASSESSMENT IN GENERAL TERMS

Dwight D. Harley, Ph.D.Division of Studies in Medical Education

Learning, Teaching and Assessment“Both assessment and instruction ought to reflect significant, agreed on goals for students. Assessments should measure important, classroom objectives; assessment results should represent how students perform on broad knowledge and skills domain reflected by those objectives; and classroom instruction should provide students with the opportunity to learn and attain the knowledge and skills.”

J. Herman, 1992

Instructional Triad

Learning Primary focus of all educational activity Self-active process Learner effort and activity is necessary Activity component differentiates learning from

developmental growth or maturation

Teaching Primary purpose of teaching is to foster learning Successfully achieve instructional outcomes and

learning outcomes Outcomes must be clearly articulated and

understood

Assessment Many different functions and forms Without assessment there is no adequate way to

determine the value or effectiveness of learning Fundamental to student learning and must be an

integral part of the educational process

Assessment as a Composite

Linking Assessment to Objectives Assessment must be aligned with

curriculum Only be achieved when assessment and

instruction are linked to common, significant learning outcomes

Off On A Tangent“Many people continually pursue excellence but are at the same time opposed to or are in fear of evaluation and assessment. However only through clarifying purpose, measuring and judging the impact of action can excellence be determined.”

G. Glass, 1975

A Basic Definition A test is an instrument or systematic

procedure for collecting quality data to support a sound decision making process.

Decisions Served by Testing Instructional Grading Diagnostic Selection Placement Counseling /guidance decisions Evaluation and Administration Research

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT

1. Clearly specify what is to be assessed.2. Select assessment procedures on the basis of

their relevance to the learning objectives.3. Use a variety of assessment procedures.4. Be aware of limitations. 5. Use information effectively and appropriately.

In Terms of Test Items Test items must

have direct links with instruction assess important and relevant learning outcomes

A Test Blueprint Links assessment and instructional objectives Identifies the objectives and skills to be tested and

their relative weights aka Table of Specifications or TOS

At its Simplest A blueprint …

Is a graphic organizer that relates learning objectives to intended domains

Lists instructional objectives on its vertical axis and taxonomic levels of one or more appropriate taxonomies on the horizontal axis

Can be as simple as a list of learning objectives and their relative weight or importance

An Simple Illustration…

You have a course of 36 one-hour lectures on dinosaurs. The objectives are: Students will be able to describe the rise and fall of the

dinosaurs – their evolutionary history. Students will be able to classify dinosaurs into their classes

and sub-classes, on the basis of sketches

The illustration continued Students will explain the ecology by which herbivorous and

carnivorous animals co-existed Students will have a general knowledge of the geography of

the earth during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods

Weight each objective Evolutionary history Identification Ecology Paleogeography

40%30%20%10%

If you have a 100 item MCQ…

Blueprint 40 questions on evolutionary history 30 questions on identification 20 questions on ecology 10 questions on paleogeography

With items to be distributed across the lecture hours

Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

Knowledge/Comprehension Knowledge

Remembering information List, define, describe, identify, name, quote, when,

where, label, match, reproduce, outline, select Comprehension

Ability to grasp the meaning of material Summarize, infer, estimate, predict, convert, defend,

discuss, differentiate, contrast, extend, translate

Application Use learned material in new and concrete situations Application of rules, methods, concepts, laws,

theories, principles Apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, solve examine,

modify, classify, relate, produce, show, prepare, use, change, discover, manipulate, operate

The HOTS Higher Order Thinking Skills Critical thinking

Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Analysis Analysis – break down material into its

components to understand structure Identification of parts, analysis of relationships

between parts, recognition of the organizational principles involved

Analyze separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, explain, infer

Synthesis Put parts together to form a new whole. Use old to create new, writes a new speech or essay,

formulates a new classification scheme Categorize, combine, compile, compose, create,

devise, design, plan, rearrange

Evaluation Judge the value of material Compare and discriminate between ideas, make

choices based on reasoned argument, verify value of evidence, recognize subjectivity

Appraise, compare, conclude, contrast, assess, support, justify, judge, measure, recommend, convince

Two Dimensional BlueprintKnowledge

Comprehension20%

Application45%

HOTS35%

Evolutionary History 40%

Identification 30%

Ecology 20%

Paleogeography 10%

Generally The more thoughtful and carefully worked out the

objectives, the more the blueprint will reflect the course content and the fairer will be the examination.

If we don’t have a blueprint, we test what is easy to test, and the result will be of doubtful validity.

EVALUATING A TEST SCORE The scores need to be reliable, that is “Does the

test yield the same or similar scores consistently?”

The scores need to be valid, that is “Are we measuring what we think we are measuring?”

If a score is not reliable it cannot be valid.

RELIABILITY & VALIDITY

Neither Valid nor Reliable

Figure 1:

Reliable but not ValidFigure 2:

Reliable and ValidFigure 3:

GENERAL GUIDELINES Items should have direct links with instruction and

assess important and relevant learning outcomes. Design items which test for the application of knowledge

rather than knowledge of isolated facts. Design items that are commensurate with student’s

level of education and experience. Design items to test knowledge that is required for

subsequent education.

Follow the Blueprint Blueprints are essential…

to plan the content of an examination to ensure that different domains are tested equitably and that the balance of subject areas tested is fair

to establish and ensure content validity

And finally .. Blueprints are important because

Lewis Carroll From Alice in Wonderland

If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will take you there.

Questions ?