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CIU’s BEST PRACTICES IN ASSESSMENT
Why Assessment ?
Assessment : Used For learning & Effective Teaching
Assessment is a continuous, interactive & systematic approach to monitoring learning if an individual is performing well or needs improvement in due course. Learning is not complete until students receive feedback on their progress as learners. Teaching is not complete until educators receive feedback on their effectiveness as facilitators of learning.
Validity and reliability
A valid assessment is one which measures what it is intended to measure. For example, it would not be valid to assess driving skills through a written test alone. A more valid way of assessing driving skills would be through a combination of tests that help determine what a driver knows, such as through a written test of driving knowledge, and what a driver is able to do, such as through a performance assessment of actual driving. Teachers frequently complain that some examinations do not properly assess the syllabus upon which the examination is based; they are, effectively, questioning the validity of the exam.
Reliability relates to the consistency of an assessment. A reliable assessment is one which consistently achieves the same results with the same (or similar) cohort of students. Various factors affect reliability – including ambiguous questions, too many options within a question paper, vague marking instructions and poorly trained markers.
A good assessment has both validity and reliability, plus the other quality attributes noted above for a specific context and purpose. In practice, an assessment is rarely totally valid or totally reliable. A ruler which is marked wrong will always give the same (wrong) measurements. It is very reliable, but not very valid. Asking random individuals to tell the time without looking at a clock or watch is sometimes used as an example of an assessment which is valid, but not reliable. The answers will vary between individuals, but the average answer is probably close to the actual time. In many fields, such as medical research, educational testing, and psychology, there will often be a trade-off between reliability and validity. A history test written for high validity will have many essay and fill-in-the-blank questions. It will be a good measure of mastery of the subject, but difficult to score completely accurately. A history test written for high reliability will be entirely multiple choice. It isn't as good at measuring knowledge of history, but can easily be scored with great precision. We may generalise from this. The more reliable is our estimate of what we purport to measure, the less certain we are that we are actually measuring that aspect of attainment. It is also important to note that there are at least thirteen sources of invalidity, which can be estimated for individual students in test situations. They never are. Perhaps this is because their social purpose demands the absence of any error, and validity errors are usually so high that they would destabilise the whole assessment industry. ( Validity and reliability : Extract from wikipedia )
What is Assessment?
Definitions
Various definitions of assessment and the role it plays in teaching and learning:
• Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student learning to refine programs and improve student learning. (Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education by Allen 2004)
• Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. (Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)
• Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development. (Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes by Erwin 1991)
• Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development. (Assessment Essentials: planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education by Palomba and Banta 1999)
IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK ON ASSESSMENT
• It is a misconception that students are only doing courses to pass assignments. They are enrolled in their subjects to learn.
• The stress of the high workload is only worth it if it resulted in higher quality learning.
• They saw that the effort that they put into their projects is not reciprocated in the quality of the feedback they received from the lecturers.
• Students expect to be able to experiment but also to have their ideas challenged and tested
• Feedback helps students to improve and prevent them from making the same mistakes again.
• Feedback is useless if it comes back too late in the semester. Students sometimes wait on the feedback before they feel capable of going onto the next bit.
• Grades do not equal feedback. Examinations are usually a summative form of assessment and therefore not used for feedback. Students who attempt to learn from their examinations are often frustrated that they cannot get copies of their exam papers.
• The quality of the feedback is the same as the quality of teaching by the lecturer. Only the lecturers who really care about their learning provide feedback. The main reason academic give for not providing feedback is because it is too much work
• Poor quality feedback also reflects poorly on the University. It gives the impression of overcrowded classes, a lack of personal help and encourages cheating
• They expect more feedback now they increasingly having to fund their own education. These are questions of accountability and transparency.
• Students argue that there should be two stages of submission of assignments so the can receive formative feedback and improve their assignments
MOTIVES OF ASSESSMENT
• When students enroll in a college/university to pursue certain course. What is the student’s perspective to education? Is it the grade that is important or the placement after the course. ?
• Is the piece of paper from a world-renowned institution after the training tenure counts on student’s academic upliftment or the learning from the course that matters.?
• Is the student’s weaknesses being properly addressed by the faulty or the learning systems of an Institution. ?
• Is your claim for students productivity, quality thinking and high profile literacy is supported by substantial proof of their learning?
• In a nutshell, you are spending time and resources trying to achieve student learning – is it working?
Assessment Criteria
The idea is not complete the education tenure with good grades but to come up with the real outcome of the education. i.e how well we have spent time and resources in gathering knowledge and learning which would reflect directly in your professional career. To meet this we need to have well designed and concrete goal on the clear understanding of the subject/topic/stream of education.
The outcome on learning comes with a proper assessment criteria. Having pre-defined standard of performance is the root requirement of the assessment
As you plan your teaching you will make choices on what you think is the best way to learn a particular skill, knowledge or attribute. If you go a small step further and make these goals clear to your students, then the written objectives used in curriculum design will serve a useful purpose in assisting your students' learning. The most direct way students experience what is needed to achieve the subject's learning objectives is through the assessment criteria.
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