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Assessment of Learning 1

Florence T. Caceres
Faculty, College of Education

Module 2
Lesson 1: APPROPRIATENESS & ALIGNMENT OF ASSESSMENT
TO LEARNING OUTCOMES

Overview

Classroom assessment begins with the question, “Why are you assessing?”
The answer to this question gives the purpose of assessment which was discussed in
Module 1. The next question is “What do you want to assess?” This pertains to the
student learning outcomes -- what the teachers would like their students to know and
be able to do at the end of a section or unit. Once targets or outcomes are defined,
“How are you going to assess?” These refer to the assessment tools that can measure
the learning outcomes. Assessment methods and tools should be parallel to the
learning targets or outcomes to provide learners with opportunities that are rich in
breadth and depth and promote deep understanding. In truth, not all assessment
methods are applicable to every type of learning outcomes and teachers have to be
skillful in the selection of assessment methods and designs. Knowledge of the
different levels of assessment is paramount.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you are expected to:

Match learning outcomes with the appropriate assessment method

Identifying Learning Outcomes

A learning outcome pertains to a particular level of knowledge, skills and values

that a student has acquired at the end of a unit or period of study as a result of his/her
engagement in a set of appropriate and meaningful learning experiences. An organized
set of learning outcomes helps teachers plan and deliver appropriate instruction and
design valid assessment tasks and strategies.

Anderson, et al. (2005) listed four steps in a student outcomes assessment:

1. create learning outcome statement;
2. design teaching/assessment to achieve these outcomes
statements;
3. implement teaching/assessment activities;
4. analyze data on individual and aggregate levels; and
5. reassess the process
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This chapter centers on steps 1 and 2. Hence, to comprehend the principle of

appropriateness of assessment methods to learning outcomes, we need to revisit the
taxonomy of learning domains and look at the different assessment methods.

Taxonomy of Learning Domains

Learning outcomes are statements of performance expectations: cognitive,

affective and psychomotor. These are the three broad domains of learning
characterized by change in a learner’s behavior. Within each domain are levels of
expertise that drives assessment. These levels are listed in order of increasing
complexity. Higher levels require more sophisticated methods of assessment but they
facilitate retention and transfer of learning (Anderson, et al., 2005). Importantly, all
learning outcomes must be capable of being assessed and measured. This may be
done using direct or indirect assessment techniques.

A. Cognitive (Knowledge-based)

Table 1.1 shows the levels of cognitive learning originally devised by Bloom,
Engelhart, Furst, Jill & Krathwohl in 1956 and revised by Anderson, Krathwohl et al. in
2001 to produce a two-dimensional framework of Knowledge and Cognitive Processes
and account for twenty-first century needs by including metacognition. It is designed
to help teachers understand and implement a standards-based curriculum. The
cognitive domain involves the development of knowledge and intellectual skills. It
answers the question, “What do I want learners to know?” The first three are lower-
order, while the next three levels promote higher-order thinking.

Krathwohl (2002) stressed that the revised Bloom’s taxonomy table is not only
used to classify instructional and learning activities used to achieve the objectives, but
also for assessments employed to determine how well learners have attained and
mastered the objectives.
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Table 1.1 Cognitive Levels and Processes

Levels Process & Action Verbs Sample Learning Outcomes
Describing Learning Outcomes Statement
Remembering Processes: Recognizing, Recalling  match the word with the parts
Retrieving relevant of the picture of a sewing
Verbs: define, describe, identify,
knowledge from long-term machine
label, list, match, name, outline,
memory  recite the first ten multiples of
reproduce, select, state
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Understanding Processes: Interpreting,  distinguish the different
Constructing meaning Exemplifying, Classifying, geometric figures
from instructional Summarizing, Inferring, Comparing,
 explain in one’s own words the
messages, including oral, Explaining
stages in the life cycle of a
written, & graphic
Verbs: convert, describe, distinguish, butterfly
communication
estimate, extend, generalize, give
examples, paraphrase, rewrite,
summarize
Applying Processes: Executing, Implementing  prepare daily menus for one
Carrying out or using a week for a family of six
Verbs: apply, change, classify
procedure in a given
(examples of a concept), compute,  solve an algebraic problem
situation
demonstrate, discover, modify, using mathematical formula
operate, predict, prepare, relate,
show, solve, use
Analyzing Processes: Differentiating,  differentiate the parts of a tree
Breaking material into its Organizing, Attributing
 observe a classroom and list
constituent parts &
Verbs: analyze, arrange, associate, down the things to be
determine how the parts
compare, contrast, infer, organize, improved
relate to one another and
differentiate, illustrate, outline, select
to an overall structure or
purpose
Evaluating Processes: Executing, Monitoring,  critique a class demonstration
Making judgments based Generating  select the most effective
on criteria and standards Verbs: appraise, compare, conclude, solution
contrast, criticize, evaluate, judge,  defend a research proposal
justify, support (a judgement), verify
Creating Processes: Planning, Producing  construct a syllabus for a
Putting elements together Verbs: categorize, construct, create, school subject
to form a coherent or extend, formulate, generate,  create a portfolio on student
functional whole; synthesize teaching experiences
reorganize elements into a
new pattern or structure
(Source: Anderson, et al 2001)
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This taxonomy will help you categorize learning outcomes which are crucial in
designing and developing assessments. As an example, consider the situation
presented below:

Subject: Science

Learning Outcome: Design an experiment to determine the factors that

affect the strength of an electromagnet

Multiple Choice Item:

Which of the following factors does not affect the strength of an

electromagnet?

a. Diameter of the coil c. Nature of the core material

b. Direction of the windings d. Number of turns in the coil

The presented learning outcome on the given example aimed at the highest
level of cognition in the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy however the item in the given
multiple-choice test does not allow learners to attain the level of performance
expressed in the learning outcome. The performance verb “design” calls for a
constructed response assessment (performance product) not a selected-response
test. You will learn more about this as you get along with this module.
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B. Psychomotor (Skills-based)

The psychomotor domain focuses on physical and mechanical skills involving

coordination of the brain and muscular activity. It answers the question, “What actions
do I want learners to be able to perform?”

Table 1.2 Taxonomy of Psychomotor Domain

Levels Action Verbs Describing Learning Sample Learning Outcomes
Outcomes

Observing Describe, detect, distinguish, Relate music to a particular

Active mental attending of a differentiate, describe, relate, select dance step.
physical event

Imitating Begin, display, explain, move, proceed, Demonstrate a simple dance

Attempted copying of a react, show, state, volunteer step.
physical behavior

Practicing Bend, calibrate, construct, differentiate, Display several dance steps in

Trying a specific physical dismantle, fasten, fix, grasp, grind, sequence.
activity over and over handle, measure, mix, organize,
operate, manipulate, mend

Adapting Arrange, combine, compose, construct, Perform a dance showing new

Fine tuning. Making minor create, design, originate, rearrange, combinations of steps.
adjustments in the physical reorganize
activity in order to perfect it.

Source: combination of taxonomies by Simpson (1972), Dave (1970) and Harrow (1972)

C. Affective (Values, Attitudes and Interest)

The affective domain emphasizes emotional knowledge. It tackles the

question, “What actions do I want learners to think or care about?”

Table 1.3 presents the classification scheme for the affective domain developed
by Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia in 1964. The affective domain includes factors such
as student motivation, attitudes, appreciations and values.
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Table 1.3 Taxonomy of Affective Domain

Levels Action Verbs Describing Learning Sample Learning Outcomes
Outcomes

Receiving Asks, chooses, describes, follows, gives, Listen attentively to volleyball

Being aware of or attending holds, identifies, locates, names, points introduction.
something in the environment to, selects, sits erect, replies, uses

Responding Answer, assist, comply, conform, Assist voluntarily in setting up

Showing some new discuss, greet, help, label, perform, volleyball nets.
behaviors as a result of practice, present, read, recite, report,
experience select, tell, write

Valuing Complete, describe, differentiate, Attend optional volleyball

Showing some definite explain, follow, form, initiate, invite, join, matches.
involvement or commitment justify, propose, read, report, select,
share, study, work

Organizing Adhere, alter, arrange, combine, Arrange his/her own volleyball

Integrating a new value into compare, complete, defend, explain, practice.
one’s general set of values, generalize, identify, integrate, modify,
giving it some ranking among order, organize, prepare, relate,
one’s general priorities synthesize

Internalizing Values Act, discriminate, display, influence, Join intramurals to play

Characterization by a listen, modify, perform, practice, volleyball twice a week.
value or value complex. propose, qualify, question, revise, serve,
Acting consistently with the solve, use, verify
new value
Source: Krathwohl, et al.,1964
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Types of Assessment Methods

Assessment methods can be categorized according to the nature and

characteristics of each method. McMillan (2007) identified four major categories:
selected-response, constructed-response, teacher observation and student self-
assessment. These are similar to carpenter tools and you need to choose which is
suitable for a given task. It is not wise to stick to one method of assessment. As the
saying goes, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as
a nail.”
1. Selected-Response Format

In a selected-response format, students select from a given set of

options to answer a question or a problem. Because there is only one
correct or best answer, selected-response items are objective and efficient.
The items are easy to grade. The teacher can assess and score a great
deal of content quickly. The licensure examination for teachers is a
selected-response assessment. Scantron sheets and optical mark readers
make it easy to score a large number of items efficiently.
Teachers commonly assess students using questions and items that
are multiple-choice; alternate response (true/false); matching type and
interpretive.
Multiple choice questions consist of a stem (question or statement
form) with four or five answer choices (distracters). Matching type items
consist of a set or column of descriptions and words, phrases or images.
Students review each stem and match each with a word, phrase, or image
from the list of responses. Alternate response (true/false) questions are a
binary choice type. The reliability of true/false items is not generally high
because of the possibility of guessing.

2. Constructed-Response Format

In a selected-response type, students need only to recognize and

select the correct answer. Although selected-response items can be
composed to address higher-order thinking skills, most require only
identification and recognition. The constructed response type is more
useful to targeting higher levels of cognition.
A constructed-response format (subjective) demands that students
create or produce their own answers in response to a question, problem or
task. In this type, items may fall under the following categories:
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 Brief-constructed response items require only short

responses from students. Examples include sentence
completion where students fill in a blank at the end of a
statement; short answer to open-ended questions;
labeling a diagram; or answering a Mathematics problem
by showing their solutions.

 Performance assessments require students to perform a

task rather than select form a given set of options. Unlike
brief-constructed response items, students have to come
up with a more extensive and elaborate answer or
response. Performance tasks are called authentic or
alternative assessments because students are required
to demonstrate what they can do through activities,
problems, and exercises. As such they can be a more
valid indicator of students’ knowledge and skills than other
assessment methods.
A scoring rubric containing the performance criteria is
needed when grading performance tasks. It may be an
analytic rubric where different dimensions and
characteristics of performance are identified and marked
separately, or a holistic rubric where the overall process or
product is rated.
Performance tasks may be product-based or skills
oriented. Examples of products are written reports,
projects, poems, portfolio, audio-visual materials,
spreadsheets/worksheets, web pages, reflection papers,
journals, tables, graphs and illustrations/models.
Performance or skills-based activities include speech,
teaching demonstration, dramatic reading, debate, recital,
role play, athletics, among others.

 Essay assessments involve answering a question or

proposition in written form. It is powerful in the sense that
it allows students to express themselves and demonstrate
their reasoning. An essay item that requires a few
sentences is called restricted-response. There are
constraints to the content and nature of the responses.
Questions are more focused. While extended response
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essays allow for more flexibility on the part of the students

and responses are longer and more complex.
While essay assessments may be easy to construct, they
require much thought on the part of the teacher. Essay
questions must be clear so that students can organize
their thoughts quickly and directly answer the questions. A
rubric is used to score essays.

 Oral questioning is a common assessment method

during instruction to check on student understanding.
When done formally, oral questioning may take the form
of an interview or conference.
By mastering the art of questioning, the teacher can keep
students on their toes, receive acceptable responses, elicit
various types of reasoning from the students and at the
same time strengthen their confidence.
The teacher can probe deeper and find out for
himself/herself if the student knows what he/she is talking
about. Responses to oral questions are assessed using a
scoring system or rating scale.

3. Teacher Observations

Teacher observations are form of on-going assessment, usually done in

combination with oral questioning. Teachers regularly observe students to
check on their understanding. By watching how students respond to oral
questions and behave during individual and collaborative activities, the teacher
can get information if learning is taking place in the classroom. Non-verbal cues
communicate how learners are doing.
Teachers have to be watchful if students are losing attention,
misbehaving, or appear non-participative in classroom activities. It would be
beneficial if teachers make observational or anecdotal notes to describe how
students learn in terms of concept building, problem solving, communication
skills, etc.

4. Student Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is a process where students are given chance to reflect

and rate their own work and judge how well they have performed in relation to
a set of assessment criteria. Students track and evaluate their own progress or
performance. There are self-monitoring techniques like activity checklists,
diaries and self-report inventories. The latter are questionnaires or surveys that
students fill out to reveal their attitudes and beliefs about themselves and
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others. Self-assessment is an essential component of formative assessment

(Black & William, 1998).

Matching Learning Targets with Assessment Methods

In an outcome-based approach, teaching methods and resources that are used

to support learning as well as assessment tasks and rubrics are explicitly linked to the
program and course learning outcomes. Biggs and Tang (2007) call this constructive
alignment.
Constructive alignment provides the “how-to” by verifying that the teaching-
learning activities (TLAs) and the assessment tasks (ATs) activate the same verbs as
in the intended learning outcomes (ILOs). Hence, it is vital that the teacher considers
the domain of learning and the level of thinking he/she would like to measure.
The performance verbs in the ILOs are indicators of the methods of assessment
suitable to measure and evaluate student learning. The taxonomy table (Table 1.1)
devised by Anderson, et al (2001) can increase the alignment of learning outcomes
and instruction.
A learning target is defined as a description of performance that includes what
learners should know and be able to do. It contains the criteria used to judge student
performance. It is derived from national and local standards. The definition is similar
to that of a learning outcome.
McMillan (2007) prepared a scorecard as a guide on how well a particular
assessment method measures each level of learning. Table 1.4 depicts the relative
strength of each assessment method in measuring different learning targets.

Table 1.4 Learning Targets and Assessment Methods (McMillan, 2007)

Assessment Methods
Selected
response Student
Performance Oral
and brief Essay Observation Self-
Tasks Questioning
constructed Assessment
response
Targets
Knowledge and
Simple
5 4 3 4 3 3
Understanding
Deep
Understanding and 2 5 4 4 2 3
Reasoning
Skills 1 3 5 2 5 3
Products 1 1 5 2 4 4
Affect 1 2 4 4 4 5
Note: Higher numbers indicate better matches (e.g. 5=excellent, 1=poor)
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Knowledge and Simple Understanding pertains to mastery of substantive

subject matter and procedures. In the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, this covers the
lower order thinking skills of remembering, understanding, and applying. Selected-
response and constructed-response items are best in assessing low-level learning
targets in terms of coverage and efficiency. A vast amount of knowledge can be
assessed even in a limited time and such test formats are easy to correct. Facts,
concepts, principles and procedures delegate to pencil-and-paper tests quite well.
Essays elicit original responses and response patterns. They are effective especially
if students are required to organize, connect or integrate ideas. They can also be used
to assess writing skills of students. Oral questioning can be used to assess knowledge
and simple understanding but it is not as efficient as selected-response items.

Reasoning is the mental manipulation and use of knowledge in critical and

creative ways. Deep Understanding and reasoning involve higher order thinking
skills of analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing. In checking for deep understanding
and reasoning, essays are best. They can be used to assess complex learning
outcomes because students are required to demonstrate their reasoning and thinking
skills. For instance, students may be asked to compare and contrast two topics or
ideas, or explain the pros and cons of an argument. Through essays, teachers can
detect errors in factual content, writing and reasoning. Oral questioning can also
assess deep understanding and reasoning but it is less time efficient than essays.
Performance tasks are effective as well. For example, in preparing an action research
on motivation or mastery, the teacher can infer about a student’s choice of sampling,
data collection method, and descriptive statistics, his/her ability to interpret data and
make conclusions. For selected-response and brief-constructed response items, they
demand more thought and time in crafting in order to target understanding rather than
simple recall or rote memorization.

To assess skills, performance assessment is obviously the superior

assessment method. When used in real-life and meaningful context, it becomes an
“authentic assessment”. Performance assessments are suited for applications with
less-structured problems where identification, collection, organization, integration and
evaluation of information, and originality are emphasized (Miller, Linn and Gronlund,
2009). Additionally, they are used when students are tasked to conduct an oral
presentation or physical performance, or create a product.

As mentioned, products are most adequately assessed through performance

tasks. A product is a substantial ang tangible output that showcases a student’s
understanding of concepts and skills and their ability to apply, analyze, evaluate and
integrate those concepts and skills. As you can see, it subsumes all levels of cognitive
domain. Examples of products include musical compositions, stories, poems, research
studies, drawings, model constructions and multimedia materials. At the knowledge
level, tests can be used to check if students know the components or elements of the
product. Extended-written essays provide a strong match only when the product is
written (Chappuis, Chappuis and Stiggins, 2009). However, performance assessment
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is the obvious choice because this method can assess the attributes of the products
using an analytic rubric. Observation can be employed to watch and inspect how
students bring the elements of the product together. Self- assessment and peer
evaluation in a formative assessment allows students to reflect and make judgements
about the quality of their work and that of their peers based on a set of learning criteria.

Student affect cannot be assessed simply by selected-response or brief-

constructed response tests. Affect pertains to attitudes, interests, and values students
manifest. The best method for this learning target is self-assessment. Most commonly,
this is in the form of students’ responses to self-report affective inventories using rating
scales. Students’ behavior and reactions to instructional activities are certainly
perceptible. Hence, observation is also a good tool to assess affective qualities like
wellness, honesty/integrity, personal discipline, etc.

Oral questioning may also wok in assessing affective traits. Telling and
enlightening results can be obtained when the student is honest in revealing his/her
feelings. As for performance assessment, this method can be used to assess a
student’s affect when the teacher conducts observations during execution of the task.

The K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum has a balanced assessment program.

It utilizes both traditional and authentic assessment tools and techniques to get valid
and reliable evidences of student learning. Table1.5 displays the guide for assessing
learning outcomes for grade 1 (Enclosure No. 6 to DepEd order No. 73, s. 2012).
Notice that tests and oral participation are utilized to measure lower-order thinking
skills.
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Table 1.5 Guide for Assessing Learning Outcomes for Grade 1

How to Assess
How to Score/ Rate
What to Assess (Suggested Assessment How to Utilize Results
Learning
Tool/ Strategies)
• Content of the 1. Quizzes To identify individual
curriculum • Multiple Choice Raw Scores learner with specific needs
• Facts and • True or False for academic interventions
information that • Matching type and individual instruction.
learners acquire • Constructed response
2. Oral Participation Rubrics
3. Periodical Test Raw Scores

• Cognitive 1. Quizzes To identify learners with

operations that • Outlining, organizing, Raw Scores similar needs for
learners perform on analyzing, academic interventions
facts and interpreting, and small group
information for translating, converting instruction.
constructing or expressing the
meanings information in another
format To assess effectiveness of
• Constructing graphs, teaching and learning
flowcharts, maps, or strategies.
graphic organizers
• Transforming a
textual presentation
into a diagram
• Drawing or painting
pictures
• Other output
2. Oral participation Rubrics
• Explanation 1. Quizzes To evaluate instructional
• Interpretation • Explain/justify Raw Scores materials used.
• Application something based on
facts/data, To design instructional
phenomena or materials.
evidence
• Tell/retell stories
• Make connections of
what was learned in
real life situation

2. Oral discourse/recitation Rubrics

3. Open-ended test Rubrics
• Learners’ authentic Participation
tasks as evidence of Projects Rubrics To assess and improve
understanding Homework classroom instruction.
• Multiple Experiments
intelligences Portfolio To design service training
Others program of teachers in
the core subjects of the
curriculum.
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As for the tertiary level, CHED underscores the importance of preparing a

learning plan as a tool to check the match between the learning outcomes, content
and methodology. Table 1.6 is an excerpt from a sample learning plan in Mathematics.

Table 1.6 Sample Elements of a Learning Plan

Learning
Topics Activities Resources Assessment
Outcomes
Perform algebraic • Constant • Lecture- • LCD projector • Board work
operations using and Demonstration • Paper and activities
algebraic variables • Peer teaching pen • Problem
expressions with • Order of • Cooperative • Worksheet solving
grouping symbols operations learning: Spin exercises
and/ or exponential • Integral and Think • Performance
expressions, and Exponent tasks
explain solutions • Fundamental
through board work Operations
of Algebraic
Expressions

Teachers should realize that a “cookie cutter approach” in assessment will

simply not do. No single assessment method or tool will go well with all types of
learning. It would be difficult to assess learning outcomes utilizing just one method. A
combination of direct and indirect assessments is advisable.

When choosing an assessment method, determine first the purpose (role) of

the assessment. Is it for placement, feedback, diagnosis and intervention, or grading?
The selections should also rest on the (1) nature of the task, (2) level of cognitive
processing, and (3) context of the assessment (Garavalia, Marken & Sommi, 2003).
What evidences of learning should be gathered? What mental processes should
students demonstrate? How would the assessment be carried out? What is the
format? How long will the assessment take? Are there systems in place and resources
available for this assessment? How will the assessment results be interpreted?
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Feedback
Hello there. I hope you are still okay upon reading this module. There are a lot
of things to learn about assessment and as we prepare all of you for this career it is
very important to read, understand and take into heart all the discussion presented in
this module. Not just to learn about the terms and definition but most to be able to
come up with a good assessment tool suited to what must be measured.

Summary

To summarize the discussion in this module, there are a lot of assessment

methods teacher can choose from but it is very important to consider its
appropriateness and alignment to the learning outcomes. Remember that it is
assessment which helps us distinguish between teaching and learning.

Suggested Readings

(Links for the suggested readings will be given soon as it is related to an activity to be given
too later)

References

De Guzman, Estefania S. & Joel L. Adamos. (2015) Assessment of Learning 1. Manila:

Adriana Publishing Co. Inc.
Gabuyo, Yonardo A. (2012) Assessment of Learning 1. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.,

Navarro, Rosita L. et al. (2017) Assessment of Learning 1. Manila: Lorimar Publishing,

Inc.,