EVALUATION IN EDUCATION

EVALUATION

Prepared by

SABARISH-P

M.Sc., M.Ed.,NET

Lecturer in Physical Science, Arafa Institute for Teacher Education

Attur, Thrissur.

INTRODUCTION

 Evaluation is the process by which we judge the quality of something.It is a process of assigning value to something. This is possible only on the basis of specific pre-determined goal. Therefore evaluation in education warrants the determination of specific educational goals. Evaluation is a process wherein the parts, processes or outcomes of a programme are examined to see whether they are satisfactory, particularly with reference to the programmes stated objectives, or of some standard of excellence. From the point of view of classroom teacher, instructional objectives act as the basis of evaluation. This means that educational evaluation is possible only if the instructional objectives are determined earlier. Evaluation based on pre-determined objectives is called objective-based evaluation.

Evaluation is a systematic process of collecting , analyzing and interpreting evidences of students progress and achievement in cognitive areas and other supportive areas of learning for the purpose of taking variety of decisions.It is a wider concept than testing and measurement and is supposed to judge the worth of all the educational outcomes brought about as a result of teaching-learning process.It is a continuous appraisal of the achievement of the aims of education as well as the methods of teaching and learning with a view to continuous improvements so that education becomes dynamic and self-developing.It also involves the self-appraisal of the by the students of their success and failures from time to time.

FUNCTIONS OF EVALUATION

·         It enhances quality of teaching.

·         It helps in clarifying the objectives.

·         It motivates learners.

·         It can help in bringing changes in curriculum.

·         Guidance can be given on the basis of evaluation.

·         It tests the genuineness of the objectives and helps in their modification.

·         It helps in judging the effectiveness of the methods of teaching.

·         It test the all-round development of the child and helps in predicting the future success of the student in a particular field.

EVALUATION PROCESS

The process of evaluation consists of the following stages:

·         Formulating and selecting worthwhile objectives of teaching in a subject.

·         Clarifying and defining the objectives in terms of expected learning outcomes or behavioral changes in the pupils.

·         Developing appropriate learning experiences or activities.

·         Devising and adopting suitable assessment procedures to collect adequate and trustworthy evidences about the pupil’s achievements.

·         Evaluating the outcomes on the basis of the evidences collected and modifying the necessary aspects of the entire system for better results.

TYPES OF EVALUATION

Evaluation can be classified into the following three types depending on timing of evaluation and purpose of evaluation:

1.      FORMATIVE EVALUATION

While teaching, the content to be taught is presented in the form of small teaching points with a view to facilitate easy assimilation. At the end of each such item, students have to be evaluated with respect to the anticipated objectives.Thus,weakness, if any, should be diagnosed and remediated. This procedure will ensure mastery of the subject in terms of realization of educational objectives.As this function of evaluation is developmental in nature,it may be said to be formative evaluation.Formative evaluation provides immediate feedback leading to diagnosis and remediation and the resulting reinforcement and motivation.The instructional process thus becomes dynamic and effective through continuous formative evaluation.The emphasis is on the realization of pre-determined objectives.

2.          SUMMATIVE EVALUATION

As the term indicates summative evaluation is done at the end of something attempted.It may be conducted at the end of a unit , after it is successfully completed as evidenced by formative evaluation.Or it may be at the end of a term and cover a number of learning units.Anual examination also may be said to be summative in nature.The result of the summative evaluation will give a general picture of the level of attainment.This also will help to reinforce teachers and pupils alike and will make instruction more effective.In addition to these functions it may aim at placement , prediction etc. of the learners.

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

At the level of locating the weakness of students, special tests are devised and used which are called diagnostic tests.Though teacher-made achievement tests do give a clue regarding the weaknesses, a diagnostic test would be better able to pinpoint the exact area of weakness.

Diagnostic tests differ markedly from achievement tests, though every achievement test has some diagnostic value and vice versa.The main difference is in the way the items are sampled.In an achievement test sampling of questions is not so exhaustive to cover each and every learning point as the content is generally a large portion.whereas in diagnostic test each learning point has severa items and each cluster of such items forming a sub-test. The diagnostic value of the test is obtained from the total score which is the sum of the part scores on these subjects.It is the analysis of these part scores that aids in diagnosis.Hence, the coverage of the subject matter is more detailed , though based on a smaller area than an achievement test. A diagnostic test thus requires a  careful analysis of the content and a detailed study of the common errors made by the students.

In an achievement test, the range of difficulty level is much wider.Questions range from very easy to very difficult as the purpose is to grade students and help discriminate between them.However, in a diagnostic test, he questions are mostly of low difficulty level as the purpose is to locate their weakness.

No time limit is set for a diagnostic test as in an achievement test.

In an achievement test the questions are often arranged at random, whereas in a diagnostic test it is always arranged clustered around learning points, which inturn are sequenced from simple to complex.

Diagnostic tests are generally much longer than achievement tests.

CONSTRUCTION OF A DIAGNOSTIC TEST

A test designed to identify and investigate the difficulties, disabilities, inadequacies and gaps of pupils in specific curriculum areas with a view to helping them overcome those difficulties through remedial instruction is called a diagnostic test.

There are five steps for the construction of a diagnostic test:

·         PURPOSEFULL PLANNING – This aims at identification of learning materials that are known to have potential difficulties.An experienced teacher can identify such areas by proper analysis.Such areas will have more weightage in the test.

·         ANALYSIS OF THE LEARNING MATERIAL CONCERNED – The content should be thoroughly analysed, first into teaching –points.Each teaching point may include a number of stages.These stages should be arranged in the sequential order of difficulty as well as logical sequence.This is a very important step that needs great care and insight.

·         WRITING OF TEST ITEMS – Write test items representing all the minute steps arising out of the analysis.Arrange these items in the order , taking into consideration both sequence of the stage and difficulty level.

·         DIVISION OF ITEMS INTO SMALL SECTIONS – Sometimes the total number of items will be very large and then, more time will be required to work out these items. In such cases items may be divided into two or three sections to suit the convenience of the learners.The subsets thus obtained may be administered on different occasions.

PROVISION OF CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS- Very clear instructions should be given as to what the pupil should do and how.If they find difficulty with a particular item, they should be directed to pass on to the next item without wasting time.

REMEDIAL TEACHING

Remedial teaching is a process of instruction that follows immediately after diagnostic testing and analysis of the result.The teacher has to plan the strategies for remedial teaching on the basis of the nature of the difficulties and the reason behind the each.This may be at group levcel or individual level depending on the scope of the diagnosis and the spread of difficulty within the group.Additional learning experiences appropriate for solving the difficulties identified are to be provided.The nature of those learning experiences cannot be suggested in a general way.It depends upon the nature of the difficulty and the reason to that difficulty.By the success in remedial classes, resistant children become co-operative, apprehensive children become self-confident, discourage children become hopeful and socially mal-adjusted children become acceptable to the group.

Inorder to make the remedial programme effective , the following principles should be followed:

•      Students must have successful and satisfying experience during remedial teaching.

•      Remedial success should be told to the students.

•      The remedial programme must provide for transfer to actual situations.

•      Abundant and varied exercises , projects and activities should be provided.

How to do Remediation?

•      Remedial programme should start with highly interesting activities

•      No direct attack on the students weakness should be made.

•      Begin and end every lesson with activities that guarantee success

•      Involve the students in planning his activities.

•      Give instructions in small groups.

•      Provide options for students to choose their activities.

•      Provide rewards for successful works.

•      Provide situations in which students can work with other students.

                 

CONCLUSION

 Evaluation is a process by which we judge the quality of something.It is a process of determining the extent to which an objective is achieved or the thing evaluated possesses the qualities envisaged. It is a wider concept than testing and measurement and is supposed to judge the worth of all the educational outcomes brought about as a result of teaching-learning process.There are different types of evaluation . The type of evaluation to be selected depends on the purpose of evaluation.As a part of evaluation diagnostic test could also be conducted inorder to identify the weak areas of the students. We cannot stop with identifying the weak areas only , after that proper remediation should also be given.