PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL TESTING
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13.3 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL TESTING
13.3.1
Introduction
Philosophy
of educational testing refers to the study of the nature and meaning placed on
a testing program or the results of the system. It also refers to particular
set or system of beliefs resulting from the search of knowledge about a testing
program
Teachers
constantly make hypotheses and it is through educational testing that they are
confirmed or rejected. If teachers can see and analyze problems as they occur,
they can make appropriate modifications immediately or the next day rather than
delaying until they can collect formal evaluative information
13.3.2
Reasons / Rationale for Carrying out Educational Testing
1. Testing is a
part of learning, and lets students “show what they know” and what they can do
2.
Tests results show
student strengths
3.
Tests results show
student weaknesses.
4.
Testing each year helps a
student become a strong test-taker and hence get better prepared for future tests
5.
Tests
help students face real life situations when they are adequately prepared. We
can’t avoid tests. People of all ages must sometimes take tests.
6. All tests,
including national examinations, provide information about student learning
that help us (teachers and parents) instruct students better and help them
succeed.
7. The purpose of a test is for the student to show what he/she has
learned.
8. Test results are important indicators of academic progress.
9.
Tests
help educators with determining student grade level placement
10. Tests help in designing specialized
instructions
11. Tests help in setting learning goals and
monitoring progress.
12. Tests help train
student to do their best on testing day or in future tasks.
13. Tests help younger students practice and
build confidence before taking exams as part of their graduation requirements.
Students have multiple opportunities to take any of the sections of the high
school state assessment.
14. Testing
provides adequate data for planning
15. Tests help the students to know their choices and
choose a realistic option for reaching student goals.
13.4 When to Test
1.
Frequent testing encourages the retention of information and appears to be more
effective than a comparable amount of time spent reviewing and studying the
material
2.
Tests are especially effective in promoting learning – If you students take a
test on material soon after they learn it, then retest on the material later.
The retesting should be spaced further apart
3.
The use of cumulative questions on tests is a key to effective learning
·
Cumulative questions asks students to
apply information learned in previous units to solve a new problem
13.5 Factors to Consider in Judging Text Book Tests Items
The following questions will help in making
appropriate judgments:
·
Are questions similar to the teacher’s
objectives?
·
Are the questions similar to the lesson’s
instructional emphasis?
·
Do the questions require learners to
perform the behaviours they were taught?
·
Do questions cover all or most of the
important objectives taught?
·
Is the language level and terminology
appropriate for the students?
·
Does the number of items for each
objective provide a sufficient sample of student performance?
·
Are the mark loads appropriate to the
expected key points to be given?
13.6.1 Introduction
A rubric is an assessment tool
that clearly indicates achievement criteria across all the components of
any kind of student work, from written to oral to visual. It can be used for
marking assignments, class participation, or overall grades.
A
rubric is a chart or plan that identifies criteria for evaluating a piece of a
student's work, be it an essay test, a paper, or some other student production.
The rubric offers a description of the qualities or characteristics of
performance for several levels (such as: beginning,
intermediate, or advanced, or needs
improvement, adequate, or outstanding) that the teacher or other
evaluator may assign.
The
best rubrics offer the clearest details for each category of evaluation so that
a student's products can be evaluated consistently.
13.6.2
Types of Rubrics
1.
Holistic Rubrics
Holistic rubrics group several
different assessment criteria and classify them together under grade headings
or achievement levels.
2.
Analytic Rubrics
Analytic rubrics separate
different assessment criteria and address them comprehensively. In a horizontal
assessment rubric, the top axis includes values that can be expressed either
numerically or by letter grade, or a scale from Exceptional to Poor (or
Professional to Amateur, and so on). The side axis includes the assessment
criteria for each component. Analytic rubrics can also permit different
weightings for different components.
13.6.3
How to Make a Rubric
- Decide what criteria or essential elements must
be present in the student’s work to ensure that it is high in quality. At
this stage, you might even consider selecting samples of exemplary student
work that can be shown to students when setting assignments.
- Decide how many levels of achievement you will
include on the rubric and how they will relate to your institution's
definition of grades as well as your own grading scheme.
- For each criterion, component, or essential
element of quality, describe in detail what the performance at each
achievement level looks like.
- Leave space for additional,
tailored comments or overall impressions and a final grade.
13.6.4
Developing Rubrics
1.
Look at models e.g. KNEC format
2.
List criteria i.e. put a tick on the point
3.
Articulate gradations of quality i.e. describe the best and worst levels of
quality, then fill in the middle levels based on your knowledge of common
problems and the discussions of not so good work
4.
Practice on models
5.
Use self and peer assessment i.e. give students their tasks. As they work, stop
them occasionally for self and peer assessment
6.
Revise – always give students time to revise their work based on the feedback
they get in the earlier steps
7.
Use teacher assessment i.e. use the same rubric students used to assess their
work yourself
13.7
Classroom Assessment
1.
If you consider testing important, it is
probably a good idea for you to test frequently over short time spans
2.
Be clear about learning objectives – to
avoid running into problems like content validity
3.
Take care that you allow students ample
time to finish a test unless time is a relevant factor
4.
If you intend to test over the entire
course content, be sure that your test samples equally from different parts of
the course
5.
On the other hand, if you wish to stress
certain contents, alert students to this so that they can adjust their
preparations accordingly
6.
Try to maintain some balance between essay
tests and objective tests, because certain students do notably better on one
type of test than the other, independent of course content
7.
Mix questions of varied item difficulty
levels
8.
Always sequentially arrange your question
items from the easy ones to the difficult ones
13.8 Test Taking Skills
1.
General test skills and knowledge
·
Be comfortable and sit where you can write
easily
·
Pay attention to the teacher when he or
she talks or gives instructions
·
The teacher can help you understand how to
work on the test but cannot tell you the answer to a problem on the test
·
Always strive to learn and adapt
appropriate test taking skills in school
2.
Doing your best should be the motivating
factor
·
Try to do your best
·
Your best will vary based on the mental
abilities of each learner
·
If you finish a section before time is up,
go back and check your answers. Don’t disturb others; instead work quietly at
your desk
·
Before you begin, remember to listen
carefully, be quiet, take a deep breath and relax
3.
Be motivated by the Expectancy reassurance
principle
·
Always strive to do your best and avoid
unnecessary worries even if the test is very difficult
·
If you are not sure what the right answer
is – choose the answer you think is best. It is better to guess than to avoid
doing the questions.
·
It is better to do your best in the
questions that you can even if you don’t finish
4.
Test taking strategy and problem solving
skills
·
Have confidence in your ability to answer
the questions well
·
There is only one best answer
·
Do what you know first
·
If you can’t answer a problem or its
taking a lot of time, move on to the next one. You can come back later if you
have time
·
Don’t rush – if you work too fast, you can
make careless errors. You have to work carefully
·
Don’t work too slowly – do the problem at
a moderate rate
·
Pay close attention to your work
·
Keep track of where you are working on the
page by keeping one hand on this spot
5.
Interpret questions correctly
·
A question is an interrogative sentence
used in testing candidate’s knowledge
·
To interpret means to bring out the
meaning of or to make understandable
·
Understand the demand of the question
·
Identify and understand the stem of the
question
6.
Be cognizant of the mark load of the question
·
Mark load refers to the maximum marks to
be scored when a good response is made to a question
·
It is always indicated at the end of the
question
·
The mark load should give you a rough idea
on how much time to spend on a question
·
The mark load also gives direction on how
much details to include in the answer
13.9 Guidance and Counseling in Passing in Examinations
1.
Devise a study habit.
·
Make a list of the days and study hour
available until the examination.
·
Allocate the lessons or topics to study
sessions.
·
Leave some time to revise everything.
·
Be careful and realistic – include a
little time for resting
2.
Study activity.
·
Study using outlines and summaries or
short notes known as ‘Mwakenya’.
·
Constantly use paper and pencil,
underlying important ideas, draw graphs and do exercises.
·
Ask yourself questions and look for
answers.
·
Particularly Mathematics concepts are
mastered through constant and frequent practices by the concerned students
3.
Learn more than you need to.
·
Great academic achievements are only
possible when you study much more than the minimum levels required.
·
Many research studies show that the fear
of examinations may disappear when the material has been studied in depth
4.
Practice under examination conditions.
·
Take past paper questions and do it and
take it for marking or check for answers.
·
The more practice you have in such a
situation the better.
5.
Talk to your teacher.
·
Begin to study in good time and when you
have doubts go to your teacher and clarify your ideas.
·
Teachers are always ready to assist
students who show interest
6.
Put sometime for recreational activities.
·
Good planning will allow you time to work
reasonably without reaching high levels of stress.
·
To achieve this you should include
sometime for leisure and relaxation in your programme.
·
In this way your tired mind can be given a
rest.
7.
Look after yourself well during the
preparation days.
·
Get enough sleep, eat moderately and
exercise your muscles
8.
Arrive in good time on the examination day
to prepare yourself mentally for the task
9.
Breathe deeply five times before starting
an examination and you will feel calm
10. Read
the instructions and questions carefully.
·
If you have doubts, ask the examiner
11. Before
beginning to write, think about how you are going to answer.
·
Make short outlines with the basic points
of your answer.
·
Do not leave questions unanswered unless
you know absolutely nothing about the question
12. Keep
in mind the examiner’s preferred language / terms and style.
·
This varies from subject to subject
13. Allocate
adequate time for each question.
·
Re-read each question before you start
attempting to write the answer.
·
Start with easy questions to give you the
needed motivation
14. Use
a few minutes to go over the examination at the end.
·
When you re-read the paper, you may find
mistakes, incomplete sentences or forgotten ideas.
·
Re-write these answers to ensure more
points
15. Never
cheat in an examination since the repercussions are more devastating and are
lifelong.
·
Avoid such a trap.
13.10 Summary
Philosophy
of evaluation testing refers to the study of the nature and meaning placed on a
testing program or the results of the system. It is a particular set or system
of beliefs resulting from the search of knowledge about a testing program. If
teachers can see and analyze problems as they occur, they can make appropriate
modifications immediately or the next day rather than delaying until they can
collect formal evaluative information. Frequent testing encourages the
retention of information and appears to be more effective than a comparable
amount of time spent reviewing and studying the material. A rubric is a
chart or plan that identifies criteria for evaluating a piece of a student's
work, be it an essay test, a paper, or some other student production. This
should always be developed and followed in order to act professionally. Teachers
should always train their learners in the desired examination taking
techniques.
13.11 Learning Activities
1.
Discuss the rationale for carrying out
educational testing?
2.
Discuss how you can make text book test
items to be relevant for test construction.
3.
How should a teacher develop rubrics for a
particular subject?
13.12 Further Reading
Coon, D. (2005). Psychology:
A journey. Belmont: Vicki Knight.
Good, T.L. & Brophy, J.E. (1990). Educational Psychology. (4th
ed.). London. Longman
publishers.
Facione, P. & Facione,
N. (1994). The holistic
critical thinking rubric [PDF]. Insight
Assessment/California Academic Press.
https://uwaterloo.ca>grading-and-feedback>rubrics
Rhodes, T. (2009). Assessing
outcomes and improving achievement: Tips and tools for
using the rubrics. Washington, DC:
Association of American Colleges and
Universities.
Stevens, D. & Levi, A. (2013). Introduction). to rubrics: An assessment
tool to save grading
time, convey effective feedback, and promote
student learning (2nd ed.). Virginia:Sylus.
Stevens, D., & Levi, A. Introduction to rubrics
companion site.
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