Testing & EvaluationTypes of Assessment

By: Ola Sayed Ahmed

Assessment

Assessment is the ways instructors gather data

about their teaching and their students’

learning (Hanna & Dettmer, 2004).

E.g. pre-tests, observations, and examinations.

Evaluation: a judgment of the instructor on the

overall outcome of a certain student based on

the assessment data.

Informal Assessment

Informal assessments are those assessments that result from teachers spontaneous day-to-day observations of how students behave and perform in class.

Non-standardaized

Students are not aware of them

No scores.

No comparing to other students.

Classroom environment.

Less structured.

May not be validated or tested for reliability.

Informal Assessment

Examples of informal assessment are:

Observation

5 minute quiz

Writing activity

Interviews

Performance reviews

Can you provide more examples?

Strength of Informal Assessment

Without a lot of planning

less stressful for the students

receive immediate data and then plan

accordingly

give the most accurate measure of a

students true ability.

Weakness of Informal Assessment

any hidden prejudices

Students are not giving their 100 %

motivation

Formal Assessment

a systematic way to evaluate how well students are

progressing in a particular instructional program.

Standardized tests

Students are aware of them

Scores are considered

Scores are compared

Could go beyond classroom environment.

structured

Are validated or tested for reliability.

Formal Assessment

Examples of formal assessment are:

Final exams

Graded homework

Chapter tests

Research paper

Can you provide more examples?

Strenght of Formal Assessments

Concrete and measurable evidence of

learning.

Formal Assessment helps to sort students.

Weakness of Formal Assessments

Formal Assessment may be stressful.

Flawed test construction.

Diagnostic Assessment

Diagnostic assessment can help you identify your students’ current knowledge of a subject, their skill sets and capabilities, and to clarify misconceptions before teaching takes place (Just Science Now!, n.d.).

can involve:

formal measurements (e.g. IQ/aptitude tests, fitness tests) that are used to establish a starting point or baseline.

informal measurements (e.g. observation, discussions, questioning)

Diagnostic Assessment

Types of Diagnostic Assessment:

Pre-tests

Self-assessment

Discussion Responses

Interviews

Formative Assessment

“it takes a good deal of support and

courage for teachers to turn around their

practices from being test oriented to

being learning-oriented”

Harlen 2005

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment provides feedback and

information during the instructional process,

while learning is taking place, and while

learning is occurring.

Formative Assessment

Types of Formative Assessment:

Observation during class activities

Homework exercises

Question & answer session (formal & informal)

Warm ups

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment takes place after the

learning has been completed and provides

information and feedback that sums up the

teaching and learning process.

It is product-oriented focusing on the last product

of teaching.

Rubrics are often involved to tell the students

what is expected from them.

Summative Assessment

Types of Summative Assessment:

Examination

Final examination

Term papers

Course evaluation

Projects

Performance

Standardized testing:

TOEIC - Test of English for International Communication

TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language

IELTS - International English Language Testing System

Refrences

Harlen, Wynne. "Teachers' summative practices and assessment for learning–tensions and synergies." Curriculum Journal16.2 (2005): 210.

Just Science Now! (n.d.). Assessment-inquiry connection.http://www.justsciencenow.com/assessment/index.htm

http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/assessment/formative%20and_summative_assessment.pdf

Ola Sayed Ahmed