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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
PENGENALAN PENGUKURAN DAN PENILAIAN
(MPF 1213)
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE AND GRADING & REPORTING REPORT
NOR SAHIDAH BINTI MOHAMAD ALI
880522-01-5516
JB MP121197
DR. HAMIMAH BTE ABU NAIM
FALKULTI PENDIDIKAN
SEMESTER 1 SESI 2012/2013
21 DECEMBER 2012
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ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE
What is Assessment?
To many teachers (and students), assessment simply means giving students tests
and assigning them grades. This conception of assessment is not only limited, but
also limiting (see section below on Assessment versus grading). It fails to take into
account both the utility of assessment and its importance in the teaching/learning
process.
In the most general sense, assessmentis the process of making a judgment or
measurement of worth of an entity (e.g., person, process, or program). Educational
assessmentinvolves gathering and evaluating data evolving from planned learningactivities or programs. This form of assessment is often referred to as evaluation(see
section below on Assessment versus Evaluation). Learner assessmentrepresents a
particular type of educational assessment normally conducted by teachers and
designed to serve several related purpose (Brissenden and Slater, n.d.). These
purposed include:
motivating and directing learning
providing feedback to student on their performance
providing feedback on instruction and/or the curriculum
ensuring standards of progression are met
Learner assessment is best conceived as a form of two-way communication in which
feedback on the educational process or product is provided to its key stakeholders
(McAlpine, 2002). Specifically, learner assessment involves communication
to teachers (feedback on teaching); students (feedback on learning);curriculum
designers (feedback on curriculum) and administrators (feedback on use of
resources).
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For teachers and curriculum/course designers, carefully constructed learner
assessment techniques can help determining whether or not the stated goals are
being achieved. According to Brissenden and Slater (n.d.), classroom assessment
can help teachers answer the following specific questions:
To what extent are my students achieving the stated goals?
How should I allocate class time for the current topic?
Can I teach this topic in a more efficient or effective way?
What parts of this course/unit are my students finding most valuable?
How will I change this course/unit the next time I teach it?
Which grades do I assign my students?
For students, learner assessment answers a different set of questions (Brissenden
and Slater, n.d.):
Do I know what my instructor thinks is most important?
Am I mastering the course content?
How can I improve the way I study in this course?
What grade am I earning in this course?
Why Assessment is Important
First and foremost, assessment is important because it drives students
learning (Brissenden and Slater, n.d.). Whether we like it or not, most students tend
to focus their energies on the best or most expeditious way to pass their tests.
Based on this knowledge, we can use our assessment strategies to manipulate the
kinds of learning that takes place. For example, assessment strategies that focus
predominantly on recall of knowledge will likely promote superficial learning. On the
other hand, if we choose assessment strategies that demand critical thinking or
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creative problem-solving, we are likely to realize a higher level of student
performance or achievement. In addition, good assessment can help students
become more effective self-directed learners (Angelo and Cross, 1993).
As indicated above, motivating and directing learning is only one purpose of
assessment. Well-designed assessment strategies also play a critical role in
educational decision-making and are a vital component of ongoing quality
improvement processes at the lesson, course and/or curriculum level.
Types and Approaches to Assessment
Numerous terms are used to describe different types and approaches to learner
assessment. Although somewhat arbitrary, it is useful to these various terms as
representing dichotomous poles (McAlpine, 2002).
Formative Summative
Informal Formal
Continuous Final
Process Product
Divergent Convergent
Formative vs. Summative Assessment
Formative assessment is designed to assist the learning process by providing
feedback to the learner, which can be used to identify strengths and weakness and
hence improve future performance. Formative assessment is most appropriate
where the results are to be used internally by those involved in the learning process
(students, teachers, curriculum developers).
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Summative assessment is used primarily to make decisions for grading or determine
readiness for progression. Typically summative assessment occurs at the end of an
educational activity and is designed to judge the learners overall performance. In
addition to providing the basis for grade assignment, summative assessment is used
to communicate students abilities to external stakeholders, e.g., administrators and
employers.
Informal vs. Formal Assessment
With informal assessment, the judgments are integrated with other tasks, e.g.,
lecturer feedback on the answer to a question or preceptor feedback provided while
performing a bedside procedure. Informal assessment is most often used to provide
formative feedback. As such, it tends to be less threatening and thus less stressful to
the student. However, informal feedback is prone to high subjectivity or bias.
Formal assessment occurs when students are aware that the task that they are
doing is for assessment purposes, e.g., a written examination or OSCE. Most formal
assessments also are summative in nature and thus tend to have greater motivation
impact and are associated with increased stress. Given their role in decision-making,
formal assessments should be held to higher standards of reliability and validity than
informal assessments.
Continuous vs. Final Assessment
Continuous assessment occurs throughout a learning experience (intermittent is
probably a more realistic term). Continuous assessment is most appropriate when
student and/or instructor knowledge of progress or achievement is needed to
determine the subsequent progression or sequence of activities. Continuous
assessment provides both students and teachers with the information needed to
improve teaching and learning in process. Obviously, continuous assessment
involves increased effort for both teacher and student.
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Final (or terminal) assessment is that which takes place only at the end of a learning
activity. It is most appropriate when learning can only be assessed as a complete
whole rather than as constituent parts. Typically, final assessment is used for
summative decision-making. Obviously, due to its timing, final assessment cannot be
used for formative purposes.
Process vs. Product Assessment
Process assessment focuses on the steps or procedures underlying a particular
ability or task, i.e., the cognitive steps in performing a mathematical operation or the
procedure involved in analyzing a blood sample. Because it provides more detailed
information, process assessment is most useful when a student is learning a new
skill and for providing formative feedback to assist in improving performance.
Product assessment focuses on evaluating the result or outcome of a process. Using
the above examples, we would focus on the answer to the math computation or the
accuracy of the blood test results. Product assessment is most appropriate for
documenting proficiency or competency in a given skill, i.e., for summative purposes.
In general, product assessments are easier to create than product assessments,
requiring only a specification of the attributes of the final product.
Divergent vs. Convergent Assessment
Divergent assessments are those for which a range of answers or solutions might be
considered correct. Examples include essay tests, and solutions to the typical types
of indeterminate problems posed in PBL. Divergent assessments tend to be more
authentic and most appropriate in evaluating higher cognitive skills. However, these
types of assessment are often time consuming to evaluate and the resulting
judgments often exhibit poor reliability.
A convergent assessment has only one correct response (per item). Objective test
items are the best example and demonstrate the value of this approach in assessing
knowledge. Obviously, convergent assessments are easier to evaluate or score than
divergent assessments. Unfortunately, this ease of use often leads to their
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widespread application of this approach even when contrary to good assessment
practices. Specifically, the familiarity and ease with which convergent assessment
tools can be applied leads to two common evaluation fallacies: the Fallacy of False
Quantification (the tendency to focus on whats easiest to measure) and the Law of
the Instrument Fallacy (molding the evaluation problem to fit the tool).
Assessment versus Evaluation
Depending on the authority or dictionary consulted, assessment and evaluation may
be treated as synonyms or as distinctly different concepts. As noted above, if a
distinction exists, it probably involves what is being measured and why and how the
measurements are made. In terms of what, it is often said that we assess students
and we evaluate instruction. This distinction derives from the use ofevaluation
research methods to make judgments about the worth of educational activities.
Moreover, it emphasizes an individual focus of assessment, i.e., using information to
help identify a learner's needs and document his or her progress toward meeting
goals.
In terms of why and how the measurements are made, the following table
(Apple & Krumsieg, 1998) compares and contrasts assessment and evaluation onseveral important dimension, some of which were previously defined.
Dimension Assessment Evaluation
Timing Formative Summative
Focus of Measurement Process-Oriented Product-Oriented
Relationship Between
Administrator and
Recipient
Reflective Prescriptive
Findings and Uses Diagnostic Judgmental
Modifiability of Criteria,
Measures
Flexible Fixed
Standards of Absolute Comparative
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Measurement (Individual)
Relation Between
Objects of A/E
Cooperative Competitive
From: Apple, D.K. & Krumsieg. K. (1998). Process education teaching institute
handbook. Pacific Crest
The bottom line? Given the different meaning ascribed to these terms by some
educators, it is probably best that whenever you use these terms, you
make yourdefinitions clear.
Assessment versus Grading
Based on the above discussion, grading grading could be considered a component
of assessment, i.e., a formal, summative, final and product-oriented judgment of
overall quality of worth of a student's performance or achievement in a particular
educational activity, e.g., a course. Generally, grading also employs a comparative
standard of measurement and sets up a competitive relationship between those
receiving the grades. Most proponents of assessment, however, would argue that
grading and assessment are two different things, or at least opposite pole on the
evaluation spectrum. For them, assessment measures student growth and progress
on an individual basis, emphasizing informal, formative, process-oriented reflective
feedback and communication between student and teacher. Ultimately, which
conception you supports probably depends more on your teaching philosophy than
anything else.
Observation Techniques
There are several observation techniques that are used within the schools to record
student performance or behavior. This lesson will describe six such observation
techniques, ways to report the information and the role that the paraeducator can
play in the observation and recording of students' performance and behavior.
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These techniques include:
Frequency
Rate
Duration
Interval Recording
Time Sampling
Anecdotal Records
All of these techniques rely on precisely identifying the behaviors in observableand measurable performance terms (as discussed in the previous lesson) to make
the results meaningful and reliable.
The Paraeducators' Role in Observations
As long as the planning for obaservation has been done by a teacher, anyone that is
able to make accurate observations can perform the actual observation of the
behavior. This can include paraeducators, with training in the observation technique
and also a knowledge of the behavior being observed.
The Observations
When developing an observation period, the teacher will take the following
considerations into account. A paraeducator should be aware of these
considerations in order to make consistent and accurate measurements during the
observation.
Defining the Behavior
The target behavior will need to be defined in a way that it is observable an
measurable to anyone that may be observing that student. It is possible that both the
teacher and the paraeducator could observe the same student at the same time and
note different behaviors. Clearly identifying specific behaviors being observed makes
communicating and interpreting the results of the observation more accurate.
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The teacher should be the one to identify and define the behavior. However, the
paraeducator needs to have a clear understanding of the specific behavior.
Where the Observation is to Take Place
Certain behaviors occur in specific locations thoughout the day. It is up to the
teacher to determine where behaviors are occurring so that the time observations
take place will coincide with the behavior. If a student is kicking other students on the
playground, then observing them in the classroom will not provide an accurate
observation. However, if a student is talking out in class, the classroom would be an
appropriate location. The teacher needs to establish the location in order for the
observer to collect accurate information.
When the Observation is to Take Place
The target behavior will also determine the time of the observation. The teacher
should schedule the observation during a time in which the behavior is likely to occur
and for a length of time that will allow opportunity for the behavior to occur.
What Observation Technique is to be Used
In determining the observation technique to use, the teacher will take into
consideation the specific behavior and the information that they will want to gather
from the observation. A paraeducator will need to have an understanding of these
techniques and practice them before they can use them in an observation.
Observation Techniques
Frequency
Frequency counts are a record of the number of times a specific behavior occurs
within a specific time period. Frequency counts are useful for recording behaviors
which have a clear beginning and ending, are of relatively short duration, and tend to
occur a number of times during the specified time period.
In order to perform a frequency count, the following are required:
a specific time period,
a specific behavior, and
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a method for tallying the number of events.
A tally sheet is usually used to identify the behavior being observed and to
record the the frequency or the number of times which the behavior occurs. Below is
an example of a tally sheet and how the frequency of a behavior might be recorded.
Sample of Frequency Record Form
Student: Billy Smith
Behavior: Leaving seat during science class
Date
Time
Start / Stop
Tally of
Observations
Total
Count
2/14/9710:50
am
11:50
am
xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx15
Some examples of a frequency count could be the number of math problems
completed on a math worksheet within 15 minutes, the number of times a
preschooler intentially communicates in an hour, the number of times a student
raises their hand during a 10 minute class discussion, and the number of times a
student leaves their seat during science class are all examples of frequency counts.
A frequency count would NOT be used for those behaviors that occur at a
high rate, such as tapping a pencil on a desk, or when the behavior occurs for an
extended period of time, such as when a student sucks their thumb.
Rate
Rate is very similar to frequency. Recording rates of behavior included gather
information on both the frequency of the observed behavior and the length of the
observation time. Rate is the ratio of the number of times a behavior occurs within a
specific time period AND the length of the time period. The ratio is computed by
dividing the number of events by the number minutes, hours, or days that the
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observation occurred. The frequency or number of times a student leaves their seat
during math class may be reported as a rate if the length of the class or the length of
the observation period is known.
The rate of a behavior can also be averaged across a number of observation
period to report an average rate. From a series of observations it may be determined
that a student's average rate of "out of seat" behavior may be twelve times per hour.
For example, if the list contains 20 words and the student requires five
minutes to write the list, the rate would be four words per minute.
An example follows of how one might record "out of seat" behavior as rate.
Sample of Rate Record Form
Student: Billy Smith
Behavior: Leaving seat during science class
DateTime
Start / Stop
Tally of
Observations
Total
Count
2/14/9710:50
am
11:50
am
xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx15
Rate (count/Length of time) = 15/1 hour = 15 times per
hour
Duration
Recording the duration of a behavior is done by recording the starting and ending
time of a behavior and computing the length of time that the behavior occurs. This
technique is usually used to observe behavior which occur less frequently and
continue for a period of time.
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An example of duration recording could be for a student who has crying
episodes in class. Everytime the student cries in class, you would record the
beginning and ending times, and then calculate the duration of the crying episode. A
few other examples of when duration recording could be used include how long it
takes a student to finish a math assignment, the length of time a student takes
cleaning up, or how long a student spends continuously tapping their pencil on the
desk.
Sample of Duration Record Form
Tally Sheet for Duration of Behavior
Student Name:
Date of
Observation:
Observed
Behavior:
Starting Time:
Ending Time:
Duration:
Interval Recording
Interval recording is a technique that measures whether or not a behavior occurs
within a specific time interval. The total observation time is divided into smaller
intervals, and the observer records whether or not the behavior occurrs within that
interval. By using the interval recording technique, the teacher can get an estimate of
both the frequency and duration of the the behavior. The observer marks only once
whether the behavior occurred at anytime within that interval. Interval recording
requires the observer's undivided attention, since the observation is continuous for a
set period of time.
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An example of interval recording could be for a child who throws their toys
during free-time. If the free-time lasts for 15 minutes, then that time could be broken
into 1 minute intervals. If in the first minute, the child throws the toy the the interval is
marked. If in the next minute, they don't throw a toy then the interval is not marked.
However, if in the third minute, the child throws three different toys, the interval is
only marked once again.
Interval Recording Sheet
Interval Recording
Student Name:
Date of
Observation:
Observed
Behavior:
Starting Time:
Ending Time:
Total Observation
Time
Other examples of when interval recording may be used include, a student who talks
to other students around them during work time, the amount of socializing that a
student does at recess, or if a student is attending to a book during personal reading
time.
Interval recording will work for any behaviors that can be observed, however
there is a strong time demand upon the observer which may make this technique
inappropriate or undesirable to use.
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Time Sampling
Time sampling is similar to interval recording in that the observation time is divided
into intervals, however in time sampling, the behavior is recorded only if it occurs at
the end of the time period. When the specified amount of time has expired, the
observer looks at the student and determines whether or not the behavior is
occurring. In general, this technique is used for behaviors which are longer in
duration.
For example, if the behavior is identified as "being out of seat", the
observation time might be 15 minutes with intervals of 1 minute. The paraeducator
would mark at one minute intervals whether the student being observed was out of
his or her seat.
Sample of Time Sampling Record Form
Since with time sampling the observation is done intermittently, the observer, such
as the teacher or paraeducator, is able to observe a behavior without having to set
an amount of time aside to observe continually. Thus time sampling is a practical
way of getting an estimation of the overall occurrence of a behavior.
Some other examples of behaviors that time sampling can be used with
include, a student reading a book, nail biting, participation in a game during recess,
or working on math assignments.
Time sampling would generally NOT be used with behaviors with a short
duration such as hitting, kicking or spitting. If the behavior does not have a long
enough duration, then it may not be observed at the specified intervals.
The observer may utilize a timer or a tape recorder with beeps to determine when to
record if the behavior is occurring. In a variation of this technique, tapes with random
beeps are sometimes used to record observations at random times during the
observation period. With this variation the observer and the student do not know
ahead of time when the recording will occur.
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Anecdotal Records
Anecdotal records are written notes describing events or incidents that occur. These
notes usually become part of a student's file. Anecdotal records may be used to
document:
a significant event which occurs unexpectedly or infrequently;
the settings or conditions in which a behavior occurred;
the antecedents (what happens before) and the consequences (what happens
after) of a problem behavior; or
a conversation with parents.
If a paraeducator is working with the student at the time of the incident, they
may be asked to assist in completing the anecdotal record.
Effective Anecdotal Records
The purpose of the anecdotal record is to document the event as clearly and
accurately as possible. The following guidelines should be observed when writing the
record:
1. Record observation at the time behavior is observed rather than at a later
time.
2. Utilize a standardized anecdotal record form to record the information to help
insure that all relevant information is included.
3. Record what is actually observed rather than your feelings about the incident.
4. Use performance terms to describe behavior.
5. Be careful about including information about other students (by name) in the
record.
6. Be aware that parents and other professionals will have access to the record.
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What should be included in an anecdotal record?
Anecdotal records are usually recorded on preprinted forms to insure that all relevant
information is included. These anecdotal record usually includes the following:
1. Name of the observer
2. Date of the incident
3. Time when the incident occurred
4. Name of the student involved
5. A description of the incident
6. Location/setting where the incident occurred
7. Notes/Recommendations/Actions taken (be careful here)
8. Signature
Sample Anecdotal Record Form
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Reporting Information
The following are not specific techniques for observing behaviors, however they do
allow the observer to interpret the information that is gathered during the
observation. By calculating the percentage and average, a large amount of
information about the behavior's occurrence can be summarized briefly.
Percentage
Percentage is the ratio of the number of times an event occurs to the number of
possibilities for that event to occur times 100. For example, if we are interested in
determining the percent of math problems a student does correctly while completing
a math worksheet, and the student gets fifteen of twenty items on the sheet correct,then the percentage would be the ratio of the number correct (15) and the number
possible (20) times 100 or 75 percent.
You may be familiar with using percentage in recording academic work, but
percentages are also used with observing behaviors. Following are some of the
observation techniques presented in this lesson, and how a percentage can be
calculated with the information gathered in the observation.
Time Sampling Reported as Percentage
Time sampling a technique which relies on observing behavior at specific intervals
during a predetermined time period. A specific time period such a ten minutes might
be divided into 10 equal intervals of one minute. At the end of each one minute
interval the paraeducator would record whether a specific identified behavior was
occurring. At the end of the ten minute period the number of intervals at which the
behavior was occurring divided by the total number of intervals times 100 will give
the percentage of time that the behavior was occurring. Using the same "being out of
seat" behavior, the paraeducator would mark on a recording sheet at each one
minute interval whether the student being observed was in his/her seat or out of
his/her seat. If the student was out of their seat at six intervals during the ten
observations then it would be determined that the student was "out of seat" 60
percent of the time.
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Percentage may also be determined when observing behaviors of longer duration. If
we observe a student for ten minutes and record whether the behavior is occurring at
each minute, we can compute the percentage of observations (out of a possible ten)
that the behavior occurs. This is discussed further inTime Sampling. Percentage
might be a more effective method for reporting the extent of behaviors which are of a
longer duration, such as writing, thumb-sucking, or crying.
Duration Reported as Percentage
If the observation using a duration technique is done during a specific period of time,
the percentage of time that the behavior occurs may also be computed. All
occurrences and length of time the behavior occurred are recorded. For example, if
the behavior being observed was "being out of seat", the paraeducator could use a
stop watch to measure the number of minutes and seconds during a 30 minute
period in which the student was out of his/her seat. If the number of minutes and
seconds is divided by 30 minutes and taken times 100, the percentage of time that
the student was out of his/her seat can be determined.
Again, recording the percentage requires that the observer record the number of
possible attempts or opportunities divided by the number of times that the studentmeets the criteria. The result is then taken times 100.
Average
Averaging Frequency/Rate
The frequency/rate of behaviors can be averaged across a number of observation
periods to determine the average. For example, if one looks at the student who calls
out without raising their hand during a class for a week, we can calculate an average
rate. If on Monday one tallies 17 times, 5 times on Tuesday, 8 times for Wednesday,
9 times on Thursday, and on Friday one tallies 11 times, then the average frequency
is calculated as follows:
Average Frequency = 17+5+8+9+11 = 50 times total
50 times / 5 observations = an average of 10 times per observation
http://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSamplinghttp://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSamplinghttp://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSampling7/29/2019 Assignment Presentation Report Introduction Measurement N Evaluation
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The following form can also be used for recording and computing the average rate of
behavior over a number of observation periods.
Average Rate Calculation Sheet of Behavior
Observations
1 2 3 4 5 Total
Count
Length
Rate
(Count/Length)
Average Rate
Total
Count/Total
Length
Averaging Duration
The duration of behaviors can be averaged across a number of observation periods
to determine the average. For example, if we look at the student who sucks his or
her thumb during school for a day, we can calculate the average duration for the time
they are observed, as follows:
If the student sucks their thumb for 10 minutes, 7 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes,
then one calculates the average duration of thumb sucking as follows:
Average Duration = 10+7+4+3 = 24 minutes total
Divide 24 minutes / 4 individually observed incidences = an average of 6 minutes
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One can summarize that she or he sucks their thumb on the average six minutes at
a time.
Summary
Although the techniques and strategies for recording behavior are not difficult,
carefully developed procedures and practice are essential in gathering accurate
data. The following guidelines may be helpful:
1. Describe as precisely as possible the behavior you are recording before you
begin to record it. Discuss examples of the behavior to make sure that you
have the same understanding of the behavior as the teacher.
2. Prepare the recording technique ahead of time. Make sure you are familiar
with the form and the method for recording.
3. Carefully observe the time limits and time intervals used in recording.
4. Try to prepare so that you need to make the fewest judgments while
recording. Record the behavior every time it occurs, regardless of how much it
occurs. For example, if you are recording how often a student touches other
students, you should record all touches whether they are gentle or hard. If you
can't tell whether a behavior fits the criteria you and the teacher need to
further refine the criteria so that it matches the intent of the observation and is
observable and measurable.
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ANECDOTAL RECORDS
1.1) Def: factual descriptions of the meaningful incidents and events that teacher has
observed in the pupils life.
- Each incident should be written down shortly after it happens.
- The descriptions may be recorded on separate cards like
1.2) The uses of Anecdotal Record:
- Obtaining data pertinent to a variety of learning outcomes and to many aspect
of personal and social development.
1.3) Advantages of Anecdotal Records:
a) they depict actual behavior in natural situations.b) Records of actual behavior provide a check on other evaluation methods and
enable us to determine the extent of change in the pupils typical patterns of
behavior.
c) Enable gathering evidence on event that are exceptional but significant.
d) Makes us more diligent in observation and increase our awareness of such
behaviors.
1.4) Limitations of Anecdotal Records:
a) Time consuming task
b) Difficulty of being objective when observing and reporting pupil behavior.
1.5) Effective Use Of Anecdotal Records:
a) Determine in advance what to observe, but be alert for unusual behavior.
b) Observe and record enough of the situation to make the behavior meaningful.
c) Make a record of the incident as soon after the observation as possible.
d) Limit each anecdote to brief description of a single incident.
e) Keep the factual description of the incident and your interpretation of it
separate.
f) Record both positive and negative behavioral incident.
g) Collect a number of anecdotes on a pupil before drawing inferences
concerning typical behavior.
h) Obtain practice in writing anecdotal records.
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RATING SCALES
2.1) Def: A set of characteristics or qualities to be judged and some type of scale for
indicating the degree to which each attribute is present.
2.2) The Uses:
a) It will direct observation towards specific aspect of behavioral.
b) It will provide a common frame of reference for compairing all pupils on the
same set of characteristics
c) It will provide a convenient method for recording the observers judgements.
2.3) Types of Rating Scales:
a) Numerical rating scales: the simplest types of rating scales which the rater
checks or circle a number to indicate the degree to which a characteristic is
present.
b) Descriptive Graphic Rating Scale: use descriptive phrases to identify the
points on a graphic scale
2.4) The Uses of Rating Scales:
-Rating scales can be used to evaluate a wide variety of learning outcomes andaspects of development. It classified into three areas:
a) Procedure Evaluation
b) Product Evaluation
c) Evaluating Personal Social development
2.5) Common Errors in Rating:
-Certain types of errors occur so often in rating that speacial effort are needed tocounteract them. These errors due to:
a) Personal bias
b) Halo effect
c) Logical error
2.6) Principles of Effective Rating:
a) Characteristics should be educationally significant.
b) Characteristics should be directly observable.
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c) Characteristics and points on the scale should be clearly defined.
d) Between three and seven rating positions should be provided and raters
should be permitted to mark at intermediate points.
e) Raters should be instructed to omit rating when they feel unqualified to judge.
f) Ratings from several observers should be combined whenever possible.
CHECKLIST
3.1) Def: A checklist is similar in appearance rating the scale or on the other hand
calls for a simple yes-no judgements.
3.2) Uses of Checklist:
a) A method of recording whether a characteristic is present or absent orwhether an action was or was not taken.
b) Useful at the primary level such as
c) Useful in evaluating those performance skills that can be divided into a series
of specific action
PEER APPRAISAL
An approach to the problem of studying interpersonal relationships and the
socio-emotional climate of a classroom.
Plays an important role in revealing and evaluating the social structure of the
group
through the measurement of the frequency of acceptance or non-acceptance
among the individuals who constitute the group.
Criteria Of Peer Appraisal
Peer rating (sociometric tests) may be devised for many types of 'groups andsituations.
Main considerations are that each one must be relevant to a specific life
situation of the group.
Each item or question must require each person in the group to make one or
more definite
Selection revealing certain personal preference, rejection or value.
The technique allows analysis of each person's position and status within the
group with respect to a particular criterion.
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How Peer Appraisal Work?
1.Guess who is the best liked boy in the class? Who is the most generous boy? Who
is the most selfish boy? ctc.
2.Select one of your colleagues you would most like as friend or partner in aparticular activity
3.Name the pupil in your class with whom you would most like to sit at lunch; name
second choice, name the two persons in order of preference, etc.
4.Identification of persons possessing certain specified traits such as the opposites -
"talkative - silent", "neat-unkempt".
5.Identification of dominant individuals, cliques, cleavages (sex; racial, economic,
etc.)
6.Patterns of social attraction and rejection.
7.Opinion test through "word pictures".
Peer Appraisal Technique
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"Guess Who? Technique
In Guess Who" technique, respondents are asked to write names against
each question such as :
Name
1. Guess who is the best liked boy in the class
2. Guess who starts the most arguments
3. Guess who is the most cooperative boy in the
class, etc.
4. There is a boy who is
a) tall and witty
b) interested in cricket
c) most regular in class
Guess who is this boy
The simple way to analyse results is to count the number of times each
student's name appears in the blanks. Such findings may be utilized forhelping individual student and understanding the pattern of existing
interpersonal relationships in the group.
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SOCIOGRAM
Peer ratings about students they would most like as friends or partners in
particular activities may be identified through a sociogram.
The obtained results form a set of choices and these are plotted as a diagram(sociogram) showing the pattern of choices.
In the above figure which depicts a sociogram showing choices of work
partners, you will notice student 7 as an isolate being chosen by none of the
students;
Student 10 is especially popular in the group receiving first choice
nominations of four other students.
Students 2,4 and 8 (and also 3.5.9.10) form a close knit clique.
The student liked by most students is known as a 'star'. Here no.10 is a star
as he has maximum first choices.
Sociometry also helps us study the reciprocity of relationships among the
members of the group.
Between no 3 and 10, reciprocity is both sided while for no.1 and 10 it is one-
sided only. Many other such interesting relalions can be seen in the patterns of choices.
Usually, an individual's sociometric score is simply the number of mentions he
receives or percentage of mentions he receives from others in the group.
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PRINCIPLE IN OBTAINING PEER RATING
Rating of variable to be ranked must be simple and directly understandable to
students. Rating should pertain to students world and asked in a very simple
language
Rater must be assured of annonymity that no one in the class will see their
ratings. This will help elicit honest responses and will protect feelings of
students receiving bad ratings. Raters are knowledgeable i.e, have valid
evidence of what they say
SELF REPORT METHOD
Require the respondent to react to item concerning his own behaviour
or characteristics
The items generally require expression regarding likes, dislikes, fears,
hopes, religious beliefs, ideas about sex and many other matters that
reflect the way in which the person copes with his own needs and
demand of his environment.
Commonly used for measuring the traits pertaining to interest,
adjustrnent, attitude and personality etc.
Sometimes a self-report test measures only one trait such as
introversion - extroversion, security - insecurity or high anxiety - low
anxiety.
These can also be developed so as to measure a number of traits
simultaneously. For example Cattell's sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire yields 16 different scores.
Self-reporting is obtained through a checklist, questionnaire or a rating
WELL KNOWN SELF-REPORTING INSTRUMENT
Woodworth Personal Datasheet
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Edwards Personal Preference Schedule
Minnesota Teacher Attitude lnventory (MTAI)
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PRECAUTION WHILE USING SELF-REPORTING METHOD
Administering twice to the same individuals after a short interval of time with
rearranged items on second administration
Introducing various 'lie' scales to check deceiving tendency.
EVALUATION THROUGH SELF-REPORT
Sugestions
Use the standardized inventories
Use more than one questionnaire/inventory
Administer twice with changed sequence of items
Insert 'lic' scales
Establish norms for local population
Precautions
Place only due faith in he tools of this type
Do not use the technique for which you are not well trained, e.g. use of
MMPI by teachers is not advisable
Seek the help of trained professionals in administration and
interpretation
QUESTIONNAIRES
A set of written questions which are usually highly structured.
Normally assemble a number of questions which are then posed to a
representative sample of the relevant population.
It can either be highly structured, with fixed alternative responses which can
then be collated and analysed, or more open-ended, with the respondents
able to express themselves in their own words.
WAYS OF ADMINISTERING QUESTIONNAIRES
Face-to-face interviewing
Hand-out questionnaires
Postal questionnaires
Telephone questionnaires
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STRENGTHS
1. Surveys are able to study large samples of people fairly easy.
2. Surveys are able to examine a large number of variables.
3. Survey research can ask people to reveal behaviour and feelings which have
been experienced in real situations.
4. If samples of people are selected at random and are large enough it should
be possible to generalise the results to a larger population.
5. Questionnaire surveys can be carried out relatively cheaply.
WEAKNESS
1. People may not respond truthfully, either because they cannot remember orbecause they wish to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner.
2. We can not establish cause and effect relationships from survey data as other
variables which could have had an effect may not have been considered in
the questionnaire or interview.
3. It may be difficult to obtain a random sample of the population because some
people who are selected refuse to answer questions or it may be difficult to
obtain a full list of the population from which to select a random sample.
PSYCHOMETRICS
Instruments which have been developed for measuring mental characteristics.
Developed to measure a wide range of things, including creativity, job
attitudes and skills, brain damage and, of course, 'intelligence'.
It is usually used to describe specific tests for personality, aptitude,
intelligence or some kind of attitude measurement.
This technique, of course, provides lots of quantitative data which is easy to
analyse statistically.
Psychometric tests are usually easy to administer.
Constructing valid and reliable tests is very difficult.
Tests usually contain culture bias, especially intelligence tests.
Most tests will contain designer bias, in the sense that any test is biased in the
direction of the author's view.
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Most tests make the assumption that characteristics to be measured are fixed
and invariant, both in relation to time and also in relation to circumstance or
situation. Many studies in psychology, especially social psychology,
demonstrate that this is not so.
INTERVIEWS
There are many different ways to conduct an interview, ranging from casual
chats to formal, standardised, set questions which have to be asked in a
particular way.
Clinical interviews are lengthy interviews aimed at a detailed understanding of
a person's mental processes.
There are no set questions; the questions depend on the last answers given.
Interviews conducted in a casual manner provide information that is more
spontaneous and realistic than those obtained in a formal interview.
If we use standardised interviews it is easier to generalise (as long as the
sample is large enough).
Clinical interviews provide insight into the thoughts of individual children or
adults which a standardised format would not allow.
LIMITATION
1. Sampling of subjects is a problem (see section on sampling for more detail).
2. Informal interviews do not allow generalisation. One person may talk about
something so differently from the way that another person does that it
becomes almost impossible to compare what two people said. This applies to
some extent to clinical interviews.
3. In formal interviews, if people feel that they are being asked a set of routine
and automatic questions from a list they often do not talk as freely as theywould in a casual conversation. The interviewer needs to be thoroughly
skilled and trained to make it seem a natural and not an awkward situation.
This means that a formal interview study is quite difficult (and expensive) to
conduct well.
4. A major problem with interviews is demand characteristics. This includes
interviewer biases and response biases. An interviewer may influence the
respondent through, for example, leading questions or subtle reinforcements
of 'right' or 'wrong' answers. Response bias may happen when, for example,
respondents give socially acceptable answers.
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PROS AND CONS OF SELF-REPORT
Advantage
Gives you the respondents views directly
Disadvantage
Validity problems:
Deception (of self or others)
Lack of conscious awareness
Attribution biases
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REFERENCE :
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A
handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Apple, D.K, & Krumsieg. K. (1998). Process education teaching institute handbook.
Corvalis, OR: Pacific Crest Software.
Brissenden, G., & Slater, T. Assessment primer. In College Level One (CL-1)
Team. Field-tested learning assessment guide. Available athttp://www.flaguide.org.
Linn, R. L. (1995). Measurement and assessment in teaching(7th ed.). Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.
McAlpine, M. (2002). Principles of assessment. Glasgow: University of Glasgow,
Robert Clark Center for Technological Education. Available
at:http://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdf
Wiggins, G. P. (1998). Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and
improve student performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wass, V., Van der Vleuten, J., & Shatzer, R.J. (2001). Assessment of clinical
competence. The Lancet, 357, 945-949.
http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.flaguide.org/7/29/2019 Assignment Presentation Report Introduction Measurement N Evaluation
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GRADING AND REPORTING
Primary Purpose of Grades
Officially - The primary purpose of grades is to communicate student achievement
to students, parents, school administrators, post-secondary institutions and
employers. - from Bailey, J. and McTighe, J., Reporting Achievement at the
Secondary School Level: What and How?, in Thomas R. Guskey, (Ed.)
Communicating Student Learning: ASCD Yearbook 1996, ASCD, Alexandria, VA,
1996
Some would argue that grades also serve to motivate student learning. We will
discuss that later. For now, lets look at the various grading approaches andsystems currently in vogue.
Assessment Concepts in the Grading Process
Assessment starts with the STANDARD.
o Reliability - Accuracy and Consistency
o Validity - Meaningfulness and Appropriateness
Formative Assessment - Data collected from pre-assessments, homework,
practice, and learning tasks to determine future instruction. Data collected
here is not put in grade book.
Summative Assessment - Data collected to determine level of mastery. It is
data collected here that is used in the grading system.
The Combinedand Translated Process
This part is not as obvious as you might think. The way you choose to
combine/translate separate scores into one grade is one of the most important
decisions you will make. You may literally hold the students future in your hands
based on your decisions.
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Rationales for Assigning Grades
Relative to fixed standard
Pro focus on achievement (e.g., 90%); often mandated by state or by
school district policy
Conthe standard is really an opinion
Relative to group performance
Pro real world orientation; always clear to determine
Con grade depends on others, who is the relevant group
Relative to ability, effort, or as a personal improvement
Profocus is on the student; often used by teachers who care about
their students
Con not recommend by experts as these make any conclusions
about learning murky to others
Coding Systems: The Actual Grades
Optional coding systems:
Letter grades
Percentage grades
Checklists
Narrative reports
BUT . . . The letter grade is the most widely used coding system. It is even
used even used in the general culture (A list actors, A number 1 used car,
etc.). So lets focus here.
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Different Grading Systems
Five-point system - Most high schools a five-point system. Numerical values
are applied to grades as follows:
A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F=0
Thirteen-point system - A few high schools in the United States use a
thirteen-point system. Numerical values are applied to grades as follows:
A+ = 4.33, A = 4.0, A = 3.57, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B = 2.67, C+ =
2.33,
C = 2.0, C = 1.67, D+ = 1.33, D = 1,0 D = .67, F = 0.0
Grade-rationing system Grade-rationing is a euphemism for rank-based
grading and is popular approach among some educators. The arguments
for grade-rationing are that grade inflation represents a serious problem in
education, that can only be counteracted by the enforcement of rank-based
standards. (see next slide)
Since many large companies and corporations used rank-based evaluation
measures (referred to as rank-and-yank or up-or-out' approaches to
evaluations), ranked-based grading prepares students for the real world situation.
Students learn to compete academically with peers who will later be their
competitors in the job market.
A vitality curve is a leadership construct, assigning credit with certain
proportions of the production to proportions of a producing population. For example,
there is an often cited "20/80 rule or the Law of the Vital Few. This law posits that
the top 20% of criminals commit 80% of the crimes, the top 20% of academics
produce 80% of useful results, and so on. The concept of a "vitality curve" has been
used to justify the "rank-and-yank" system of performance management, whereby
the bottom ranking 10% of workers are fired at each evaluation.
Rank-based performance evaluations (in education and employment) fostercutthroat and unethical behavior.
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Rank-and-yank contrasts with the management philosophies of W. Edwards
Deming. Demings influence in Japan has been credited with Japan's world
leadership in many industries, particularly the automotive industry. While rank-and-
yank puts success or failure of the organization on the shoulders of the individual
worker, Deming stresses the need to understand organizational performance as
fundamentally a function of the corporate systems and processes created by
management. Workers need to feel valued, supported and part of a team doing
important work. He sees so-called performance evaluation, annual review of
performance, and merit-based evaluation as misguided and destructive. (see next
slide)
Weight GPA
Some high schools, to reflect the varying skill required for different level courses
and to discourage students from selecting easy 'A's, will give higher numerical
grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA. For example, two
common conversion systems used in honors and advanced placement courses are:
A = 5 or 4.6
B = 4 or 3.5
C = 3 or 2.1
D = 1
F = 0
Another policy commonly used by 4.0-scale schools is to mimic the eleven-point
weighted scale (see below) by adding a .33 (one third of a letter grade) to an honors
or advanced placement class. (For example, a B in a regular class would be a 3.0,
but in an honors or AP class it would become a B+, or 3.33).
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Communicating Grades and Scores to Parents / Guardians
Face to Face
BEFORE THE SHOW BEGINS
Be organized. Have a folder containing the students grades, examples of
work, standardized test scores, behavior notes.
Know this material. Know the grading system; know how to read the
standardized score report; know the nature of norm group(s) used.
Know the potential incongruence among the grades, test scores and behavior
evidence found in the folder and be ready to discuss them.
Have an agenda. Example: Point out strengths (grades & test scores),
suggest areas for improvement (grades & test scores, comment on behavior
(never begin with behavior especially if it is a concern), solicit questions,
close with a look to the future.
SHOWTIME:
Be honest. Dont sugarcoat. Dont go beyond your competence in answering
a question. Say you will get back to them.
Be professional. Dont dismiss or prejudge any result as unimportant. Any
result is important to the parent.
Be calm. Dont be surprised if your assessment differs from the parents;
students may be behave differently at home and in the classroom.
Be geared up with specific suggestions for the parents on how they might
help improve the performance of their student.
Be confidential. Do not refer to any otherstudents performance.
Be ready. Know who to call if you encounter an obnoxious parent .
Be upbeat. Close on a vision to a positive future.
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Effect of Variability on Weights
The most variable element will have greatest weight in determining the
grade, not the element with the highest numerical value.
Regression to mean
The composite formed by adding grades together will show less
variability than the grade ranges of the subscores used to create it.
Legal Considerations
It is your responsibility to keep accurate records. Issues: hard copy and
electronic grade books; security.
LEGISLATION - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Two
main points:
o Parents have a right to see grading and test score information for their
children.
o Schools may not reveal grades and scores to a third part without the
individuals consent.
COURTS - Two main points:
o Deference is given to the educators judgment, as long as
o Grades are assigned in an even-handed, rational manner.
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION - a surprise, perhaps:
o Final authority for grades is the school administration. In rare
circumstances an administrator may change a grade and has the legal
responsible to do so.
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Practical Advice
1. First, have a reasonable and fair assessment plan.
2. Check for school policies on grading; if school has policy, study it carefully.
3. Learn to use an electronic spreadsheet or purchase a Teacher Gradebook
program (some schools have a centralized system).
4. Consider creatively combining formative and summative assessment.
5. Review suggestions for parent-teacher conference.
6. Use various sources to provide feedback to parents and to solicit their help.
Over the course of an academic career the average student will be exposed
to a variety of grading systems and procedures. Although some of these systems
may be qualitative in nature, such as an annual or semi-annual written narrative, the
vast majority are quantitative and depend upon numerical or alphanumerical metrics.
Perhaps the most familiar of these involves the letters "A" through "F," where "A" is
usually given a value of 4.0 and is characterized in words
as outstandingorexcellentand "F" is given a value of 0.0 and is described
as unsatisfactoryorfailing. The grades of A through F are usually derived from some
more differentiated quantitative value such as test score, in which the specific nature
of the relationship between grade and test score may take a variety of different
forms: (e.g., an A is defined by a score of 90% or better or by a value that falls in the
top 510% of scores independent of absolute value, and so on). Regardless of the
specific translation of test performance into letter grade, the point to keep in mind is
that the AF scale defines the most frequent grading system used in higher
education over the past half century or more.
Variations in the Grading System
Like all prototypes, the AF system admits many variations. These often take the
form of plusses and minuses, thereby producing a scale having the possibility of
fifteen distinct units: A+, A, A, B+, B F. In actual practice, the grade of A+ isscarcely ever used and the same is true for D+ and Dand F+ and F, thereby
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yielding a scale of between eight to ten units. Generally speaking, the greater the
number of units in the grading system the more precisely does it hope to quantify
student performance. What is interesting in this regard are fluctuations in the actual
number of units used in different historical eras. Without going too deeply into the
relevant historical facts, it is clear that certain historical periods, such as the 1960s,
reduced the grading system to two or so unitsPass, No Credit (P/NC)whereas
other periods, such as the 1980s, expanded it to ten, eleven or twelve units.
Variations in the breadth of the grading system would seem to have significant
educational implications. At a minimum, these differences may be taken to imply that
scales having a large number of units indicate a relative comfort in making precise
distinctions, whereas those having fewer units suggest a relative discomfort in
making such distinctions. In the case of more differentiated systems, distinctions and
rankings are significant, and individual achievement is emphasized; in the case of
less differentiated systems, distinctions and rankings are de-emphasized and inter-
student competition is minimized. To some degree, it is possible to view fluctuations
in American grading systems as reflecting a more general ambivalence the society
has in regard to competition and cooperation, between individual recognition and
social equity. Educational institutions sometimes emphasize strict evaluation,competition, and individual achievement, whereas at other times they emphasize
less precise evaluation, cooperation, and sympathetic understanding for students of
all achievement levels.
Another property of grading systems is that individual class grades often are
combined to produce an overall metric called the grade point average or GPA. Unlike
its constituent values, which usually are carried to only one (or no numerically
significant places), the GPA presents a metric of 400 units yielding the possibility that
a GPA of 3.00 will locate the student in the category of "good" whereas a value
of2.99 will exclude him or her from this category. In the same way, honors,
admission to graduate school, preliminary selection for interviews by a desirable
company, and so forth, may be defined by a single point difference on the GPA scale
(e.g., 3.50 versus3.49 for Phi Beta Kappa, etc.).
Because GPAs are significant in categorizing student performance, a number
of evaluations have been made of their reliability and validity. One issue to be
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addressed here concerns field of study, where it is well documented that classes in
the natural sciences and business produce lower overall grades than those in the
humanities or social sciences. What this means is that it is unreasonable to equate
grade values across disciplines. It also suggests that the GPA is composed of
unequal components and that students may be able to secure a higher GPA by a
judicious selection of courses.
Although other factors may be mentioned aside from academic discipline
(such as SAT level of school, quality and nature of tests, etc.) the conclusion must
be that the GPA is a poor measure and should not be used by itself in coming to
significant decisions about the quality of student performance or differences between
departments and/or educational institutions. The GPA is also a relatively poor basis
on which to predict future performance, which perhaps explains why such attempts
are never very impressive. In fact, a number of meta-analyses of this relationship,
conducted every ten years or so since 1965, reveals that the median correlation
between GPA and future performance is 0.18; a value that is neither very useful nor
impressive. The strongest relationship between GPA and future achievement is
usually found between undergraduate GPA and first-year performance in graduate or
professional school.
Despite such difficulties in understanding the exact meanings of grades and
the GPA, they remain important social metrics and sometimes yield heated
discussions over issues such as grade inflation. Although grade inflation has many
different meanings, it usually is defined by an increase in the absolute number of As
and Bs over some period of years. The tacit assumption here seems to be that any
continuing increase in the overall percentage of "good grades" or in the overall GPA
implies a corresponding decline in academic standards. Although historically there
have been periods in which the number of good grades decreased (so-called grade
deflation), significant social concerns usually only accompany the grade inflation
pattern. This one-sided emphasis suggests that grade inflation is as much a
sociopolitical issue as an educational one and depends upon the dubious equating of
grades with money. What really seems of concern here is a value issue, not a cogent
analogy that reveals anything significant about grades or money.
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How Grades Are Produced
Grading systems represent just one aspect of an interconnecting network of
educational processes, and any attempt to describe grading systems without
considering other aspects of this network must necessarily be incomplete. Perhaps
the most important of these processes concerns the procedures used to produce
grades in the first place, namely, the classroom test. Here, of course, are purely
formal differences; for example, between multiple choice and essay tests, or
between in-class and take-home tests or papers. Also to be included are the quality
of test items themselves not only in terms of content but also in terms of the clarity of
the question and, in the case of multiple choice tests, of the distractors.
One way to capture the complexity of possible ways in which grades are
produced is to consider the set of implicit choices that lie behind an instructor's use
of a specific testing and/or grading procedure. Included here are such questions as:
What evaluation procedure should I use? Term papers, classroom discussions, or in-
class tests? If I choose tests, what kind(s)? Essay, true/false, fill-in-the-blank,
matching, or multiple-choice? If I choose multiple-choice, what grading model should
I use? Normal curve, percent-correct, improvement over preceding tests? If I choose
percent-correct, how many tests should I give? Final only, two in-class tests and a
final, one midterm and one final? How should I weight each test if I choose the
midterm-final pattern? Midterm equals final, midterm is equivalent to twice the final
exam grade, final equals twice the midterm grade? What grade report system should
I use? P/F; A, B, C, D, F; or A+, A, A, B+, F? An examination of this collection of
possible choices suggests that instructors have a large number of options as to how
to go about testing and grading their students.
Any consideration of the ways in which testing and grading relate to one
another must also deal with the ways in which one or both of these activities relate to
learning and teaching. The relationship between learning and testing is a fairly direct
(if neglected) one, especially if tests are used not only to evaluate student
achievement but also to reinforce or promote learning itself. Thus it is easy to
develop a classroom question or exercise that requires the student to read some
material before being able to answer the question or complete the exercise.
Teaching, on the other hand, would seem to be somewhat further removed from
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issues of testing and grading, although the specific testing and grading plan used by
the instructor does inform the student as to what constitutes relevant knowledge as
well as what attitude he or she holds toward precise evaluation and academic
competition.
Students are not immune to testing and grade procedures, and educational
researchers have made the distinction between students who are grade oriented and
those who are learning oriented. Although this distinction is surely too one-
dimensional, it does suggest that for some students the classroom is a place where
they experience and enjoy learning for its own sake. For other students, however,
the classroom is experienced as a crucible in which they are tested and in which the
attainment of a good grade becomes more important than the learning itself. When
students are asked how they became grade (or learning) oriented, they usually point
to the actions of their teachers in emphasizing grades as a significant indicator of
future success; alternatively, they describe instructors who are excited by promoting
new learning in their classrooms. When college instructors are asked about the
reason(s) for their emphasis on grades, they report that student behaviorssuch as
arguing over the scoring of a single questionmake it necessary for them to maintain
strict and well-defined grading standards in their classrooms. The ironic point is thatboth the student and the instructor see the "other" as emphasizing grades over
learning, and neither sees this as a desirable state of affairs. What seems missing in
this context is a clear recognition by both the instructor and the student that grades
are best construed as a type of communication. When grades (and tests) are thought
about in this way, they can be used to improve learning. As it now stands, however,
the communicative purpose of grading is ordinarily submerged in their more ordinary
use as a means of rating and sorting students for social and institutional purposes
not directly tied to learning. Only when grades are integrated into a coherent
teaching and learning strategy do they serve the purpose of providing useful and
meaningful feedback not only to the larger culture but to the individual student as
well.
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REFERENCE
BAIRD, LEONARD L. 1985. "Do Tests and Grades Predict Adult
Achievement?" Research in Higher Education 23:385.
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