President Ramon Magsaysay State University

Masinloc Campus
Masinloc, Zambales
College/Department COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Course Code EdCK 2
Course Title ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING 1
Place of the Course in the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Program
Semester & Academic Year FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2020-2021
Instructor GIRLIE JOSAFAT
MODULE NO. 2
PRINCIPLES OF HIGH QUALITY ASSESSMENT

INTRODUCTION
The quality of assessment instrument and methods is very important since the
evaluation and judgement of a teacher on his/her student are based on the information
obtained using these instruments.
Traditional forms of assessment have been criticized due to their limitations to
truly assess student learning.
To come up with a more realistic assessment, other forms are used to
supplement the traditional approaches.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (CILO)

 Explan the princples of high quality assessment in terms of clarity and
appropriateness;
 Differentiate the properties of assessment methods
 Gain deep understanding of the various principles of high quality assessment
 Differentiate the different learning targets and the appropriate assessment
methods
 Explain the importance of test validity and reliability
 Determine the ways of establishing test validity and reliability
 Determine the positive consequences of assessment on students

DISCUSSION

PRINCIPLES OF HIGH QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Before moving on the different criteria, let us first answer the question, “what is high-
quality assessment?
 High quality assessment is characterized by principles intended to guide
teachers. Teachers are expected to place these principles above their privileges.
 It provides results that that demonstrate and improved targeted student
learning.
 Assessment quality has been determined by the extent to which specific
psychometric standards, such as validity and reliability, were met.

Criteria of a High-Quality Assessment

I. Clarity of learning targets
II. (knowledge, reasoning, skills, products, affects)

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 III. Appropriateness of Assessment Methods
IV. Validity
V. Reliability
VI. Fairness
VII. Positive Consequences
VIII. Practicality and Efficiency
IX. Ethics

LESSON 1: CLARITY OF LEARNING TARGETS

Assessment can be made precise, accurate and dependable only if what are to be
achieved are clearly stated and feasible. The learning targets, involving knowledge,
reasoning, skills, products and effects, need to be stated in behavioral terms which
denote something which can be observed through the behavior of the students.
To this end, we consider learning targets involving knowledge, reasoning, skills,
products, and affects. Learning targets need to be stated in behavioral terms or terms
which denote something which can be observed through the behavior of the students.
Learning Targets involves knowledge, reasoning, skills, products and effects, need to be
stated in behavioral terms or terms which denote something which can be observed
through the behavior of the students

A. Cognitive Targets

The Cognitive Domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual

skills, includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and
concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills, addresses
development that is individual rather than interpersonal, focuses on content rather than
context, and is independent of emotion.
The Cognitive Domain Skills in the cognitive domain revolve around knowledge,
comprehension, and critical thinking of a particular topic. As proposed by Benjamin
Bloom (1954) there are 6 major levels of educational objectives at the cognitive level,
starting from the simplest behavior to the most complex. The categories can be thought
of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first ones must normally be mastered before the
next ones can take place.

The Six Levels in the Cognitive Domain

1. Knowledge – which refers to the acquisition of facts, concepts, and theories.
Knowledge of historical facts like dates.
Knowledge forms the foundation of all other cognitive objectives, for
without knowledge, it is not possible to move up to the next higher level of
thinking skills in the hierarchy of educational objectives.
Ex.. Historical Facts like the DATE of EDSA revolution
Discovery “Philippines” Magellan March 15 1521
2. Comprehension – refers to the same concept as “understanding”. demonstrates
that the student has sufficient understanding to organize and arrange material
mentally. It is a step higher than mere acquisition of facts and involves a
cognition or awareness of the interrelationships of facts and concepts.

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 Ex. The Spaniards ceded the Philippines to the Americans in 1898. In
effect, the Philippines declared independence from the Spanish rule only to be
ruled by yet another foreign power, the Americans

3. Application - refers to the transfer of knowledge from one field of study to

another or from one concept to another concept in the same discipline - a
question that asks a student to apply previously learned information to reach an
answer.
Ex. The classic experiment Pavlov on dogs showed that animals can be
conditioned to respond in a certain way to certain stimuli.
The same principle can be applied in the context of teaching and learning
on behavior modification for school children.
4. Analysis - refers to the breaking down of a concept or idea in its components
and explaining the concept as a composition of these concepts - higher order
questions that require students to think critically and in-depth.
Ex: Poverty in the Philippines, particularly at the barangay level, can be
traced back to the low income levels of families in such barangays and the
propensity for large households w/ an average of about 5 children per family.
(Note: Poverty is analyzed in the context of income and number of children.
5. Synthesis – refers to the opposite of analysis and entails putting together the
components in order to summarize the concept - a higher order question that
asks the student to perform original and creative thinking.
Ex: The field of geometry Replete w/ examples of synthetic lessons. from
the relationship of the parts of a triangle for instance, one can deduce that the
sum of the angles of a triangle is 180˚.
6. Evaluation and reasoning – refers to valuing and judgment or putting the
worth of a concept or principle - requires the student to judge the merit of an
idea, a solution to a problem, or an aesthetic work - a higher level question that
does not have a single correct answer.
Ex: Watch a stage play and write a critique of the actor’s performance

B. SKILLS, COMPETENCIES AND ABILITIES TARGETS

Skills refers to specific activities or tasks that a student can proficiently
do. E.g. skills in coloring, language skills. Skills can be clustered together to form
specific competencies e.g. birthday card making. Related competencies
characterize a student’s ability (DACUM,2000). It is important to recognize a
student’s ability in order that the program of study can be so designed as to
optimize his/her innate abilities. Competence is a cluster of related abilities,
commitments, knowledge, and skills that enable a person to act effectively of his
job or situation.
Abilities can be roughly categorized as:
 Cognitive (thinking) – other students are better at doing things alone like
programming and web designing and therefore, they would be good at highly
technical individualized work. It deals with the intellectual side of learning.
 psychomotor (physical skills) This domain focuses on motor skills and actions
that require physical coordination.

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  affective (attitudes) – the ability to work well with others and to be trusted by
every classmate. It is an indication that the student can mostly succeed in work
that requires leadership abilities. This domain includes objectives relating to
interest, attitude, and values relating to learning the information.

C. PRODUCTS, OUTPUTS AND PROJECTS TARGETS

Products-oriented performance assessment is the assessment which is talk
about the end result of the students learning. This kind of assessment assess the
projects and work of the students.
Products, outputs and projects are tangible and concrete evidence of a student’s
ability. A clear target for products and projects need to clearly specify the level of
workmanship of such projects e.g. expert level, skilled level or novice level outputs.

EXERCISES 1:
Part I. Classify the cognitive objective below in terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
___________________________1. To identify the parts of the flower.
___________________________2. to enumerate the characteristics of a good test.
___________________________3. To determine the function of a predicated in a sentence.
___________________________4. To summarize the salient features of a good essay.
___________________________5. To use the concept of ratio and proportion in finding the
height of a building.
___________________________6. To name the past Presidents of the Philippines.
___________________________7. To determine the sufficiency of information given to solve a
problem.
___________________________8. To identify the resulting product of chemical reaction.
___________________________9. To select course of action to be taken in the light of possible
consequences.
___________________________10. To enumerate the parts of a cell.

EXERCISES 2:
Part II. For each of the lessons below, write at least five (5) learning targets
following Bloom’s Taxonomy.
1. Construction of a compound English sentence
2. The three branches of the Philippine government
3. The animal cell
4. Reading musical notes in key of G
5. Rules in playing basketball

EXERCISES 3:
Part III. Write at least five (5) skills and three (3) competencies involved in
baking a cake.

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LESSON 2: APPROPRIATENESS OF ASSESSMENT METHODS
What are ASSESSMENT METHODS? Assessment of Student Learning are
strategies, techniques, tools and instruments for collecting information to determine the
extent to which the students demonstrate the desired learning outcomes.
Appropriateness of assessment determines if an assessment tool is suitable for
the type of topic used as learning target.

Written-Response Instruments
 Objective test – appropriate for assessing the various levels of hierarchy of
educational objectives. It is a test that has a right and wrong answers and so can
be marked as objective.
Examples of objective test
1. Multiple choice – test is particular can be constructed in such a way as to test
higher order thinking skills.
2. True or False – alternative choice test in which the students or examinees
indicates whether each of the several statements are true or false.
3. Matching or short answer – it reduces the effects of guessing.
 Essays – when properly planned, can test the student’s grasp of the higher level
of cognitive skills particularly in the areas of application, analysis, synthesis and
judgement.
ex. (POOR) Write an essay about EDSA Revolution
(BETTER) Write an essay about the first EDSA Revolution giving
focus on the main characters of the revolution and their respective
roles.
In the second essay question, the assessment foci are narrowed down to: (a) the
main character of the event, and (b) the roles of each character in the revolution leading
to the ouster of the incumbent President at that time. It becomes clear what the teacher
wishes to see and what the students are supposed to write.

Product Rating Scales

Products that are frequently rated in education are book reports, maps, charts,
diagrams, notebooks, essays and creative endeavors of all sorts.
To develop a product rating scale for the various products in education, the teacher
must possess prototype products over his/her years of experience.

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 Figure 1.(Product-Rating Scale example)

Performance Tests
One of these is the performance checklist which consists of the list of behaviors
that makes up a certain type of performance (e.g. using a microscope, typing a letter,
solving a mathematics performance) It is used to determine whether or not an
individual behaves in a certain way when asked to complete a particular task. If a
particular behavior is present when an individual is observed, the teacher places a
check opposite it on the list.
EXAMPLE: Performance Checklist in Solving a mathematics problem
Behavior:
1. Identifies the given information_____
2. Identifies what is being asked_____
3. Uses variables to replace unknown_____
4. Formulates the equation_____
5. Performs algebraic operations_____
6. Obtains answer_____
7. Checks if the answer make sense_____

Figure 1.(Product-Rating Scale example)

Oral Questioning
Oral Questioning: This method involves the teacher probing students to think
about what they know regarding a topic. Questions typically allow the teacher to keep a
discussion focused on the intended objective and maintain student involvement.

Strengths: This method allows teachers to challenge students to think beyond the basic
levels of Bloom's Taxonomy by asking higher level questions. Questioning helps
students learn to construct meaning, inquire, and reflect on their learning. In addition,
questioning encourages involvement from all students.

Weaknesses: Many teachers don't use questioning correctly. Without appropriate wait
time, redirection, and probing techniques questioning isn't as powerful.

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Role of Technology: Questioning can be used within all subjects, including technology
based assignments. Once students have developed questioning skills, they can use them
on their own when completing a task.’
Oral questioning is an appropriate assessment method when the objectives are;
 To assess the student’s stock knowledge and
 To determine the student’s ability to communicate ideas in coherent verbal
sentences.
An oral assessment is a direct means of assessing students’ learning outcomes by
questioning them.

Oral questioning can also be;

 an effective way to stimulate student’s motivation and
participation
 it focuses student’s attention and develops interest and curiosity.
 It provides students with opportunities to practice self-expression.
 It stimulates logical and critical thinking
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD ORAL QUESTIONS
 Well planned questions
 Simple and carefully arranged words and phrases
 Clarity of meaning  Use of interrogative
 Consider the level of instruction

TYPES OF ORAL QUESTIONING

 Open Questions
Example: What, Why, When, Who and the statements can be: "tell me
about", "give me examples of".
 Closed Questions requires a yes or no answer useful for checking facts
 Specific questions Use to determine facts
Example: "How much did you spend on that".
 Probing questions check for more detail or clarification allow the tutor to explore
specific areas
 Hypothetical questions - Pose a theoretical situation in the future "What would
you do if…?'
While oral questioning is indeed an option for assessment, several factors need to be
considered when using this option. Of particular significance are the student’s state of
mind and feelings, anxiety and nervousness in making oral presentations which could
mask the student’s true ability.

Observation and Self Reports

A tally sheet is a device often used by teachers to record the frequency of student
behaviors, activities or remarks.
Example: How many high school students follow instructions during a fire drill?
How many instances of aggression or helpfulness are observed when
elementary students are observed in the playground?
A self-checklist is a list of several characteristics or activities presented to the
subjects of a study. The individuals are asked to study the list and then to place a mark
opposite the characteristics which they possess or the activities which they have
engaged in for a particular length of time. Self-checklist are often employed by teachers
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when they want to diagnose or to appraise the performance of students from the point
of the students themselves.
Observation and self-reports are useful supplementary assessment methods
when in conjunction with oral questioning and performance test. Such methods can
offset the negative impact on the students brought about by their fears and anxieties
during oral questioning or when performing actual task under observation. However,
since there is a tendency to overestimate one’s capability, it may useful to consider
weighing self-assessment and observational report against the results of oral
questioning and performance tests.

LESSON 3: Properties of Assessment Methods

The quality of the assessment instrument and method used in education is very
important since the evaluation and judgment that the teacher gives on a student are
based on the information he obtains using the instruments. Accordingly, teachers follow
a number or procedure to ensure that the entire assessment process is valid and
reliable.
Validity had traditionally defined as the instrument’s ability to measure what is
purpose to measure. Reliability of the other hand, is defined as the instrument’s
consistency.
Validity – it has been defined as referring to the appropriateness, correctness,
meaningfulness, usefulness of the specific conclusions that a teacher reaches regarding
the teaching-learning situation.
 Content validity – refers to the content and format instrument. The content and
format must be consistent with the definition of the variable or factor to be
measured. Some criteria for judging content validity are given as follows:
1. Do students have adequate experience with the type of task posed by the item?
2. Did the teachers cover sufficient material for most students to be able to answer
the item correctly?
3. Does the item reflect the degree of emphasis received during instruction?
With these as guide, a content validity table may be constructed in two (2) forms as
provided below:

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  Face validity – refers to the outward appearance of the test. It is also refers to the
degree to which an assessment or test subjectively appears to measure the
variable or construct that it is supposed to measure.
 Criterion validity – the test item is judged against a specific criterion. Criterion
validity can also be measured by correlating the test with a known valid test.
Construct validity – a “construct” is another term for a factor, and we already know that
a group of variables that correlate highly with each other form a factor. A technique
called factor analysis is required to determine the construct validity of an item.
Reliability –is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and
consistent results. It refers to its consistency. It is also a term that is synonymous with
dependability or stability.

TYPES OF RELIABILITY
The most basic interpretation generally references something called test-retest
reliability, which is characterized by the replicability of results. That is to say, if a group
of students takes a test twice, both the results for individual students, as well as the
relationship among students’ results, should be similar across tests.
However, there are two other types of reliability: alternate-form and internal
consistency. Alternate form is a measurement of how test scores compare across two
similar assessments given in a short time frame. Alternate form similarly refers to the
consistency of both individual scores and positional relationships. Internal
consistency is analogous to content validity and is defined as a measure of how the
actual content of an assessment works together to evaluate understanding of a concept.
Stability or internal consistency as reliability measures can be estimated in
several ways. The Split-half method involves scoring two halves (usually, odd items
versus even items) of a test separately for each person and then calculating a
correlation coefficient for the two sets of scores. The coefficient indicates the degree to
which the two halves of the test provide the same results and hence, describes the
internal consistency of the test. The reliability of the test is calculated using what is
known as the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula:

Reliability of test = ( 2 x rhalf)/ (1 + rhalf).

Where rhalf = reliability of half of the test

The Kuder-Richardson is the more frequently employed formula for determining

internal consistency, particularly KR20 and KR21. We present the latter formula since
KR20 is more difficult to calculate and requires computer program.

KR21 – K /(K-1) [1 – {n(K-M)}/K(Variance)]

Where K = number of items on the test, M = mean of the test, Variance = variance of the
test scores.

The mean of a set scores is simply the sum scores divided by the number of scores; its
variance is given by:

Variance = Sum differences of individual scores and mean/ n-1

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Where n is the number of test takers.

Reliability of a test may also mean the consistency of test results when the same
test is administered at two different periods. This is the test-retest method of estimating
reliability.
Fairness
Refers to the consideration of learner's needs and characteristics, and any
reasonable adjustments that need to be applied to take account of them. It also includes
an opportunity for the person being assessed to challenge the result of
the assessment and to be reassessed if necessary.
An assessment procedure needs to be fair.
 First, students need to know exactly what learning targets are and what method
of assessment will be used. If the students do not know what they are supposed
to be achieving, then they could get lost in the maze of concept being discussed in
class. Likewise, students have to be informed how their progress will be assessed
in order to allow them to strategize and optimize their performance.
 Second, assessment has to be viewed as opportunity to learn rather than an
opportunity to weed out poor and slow learners. The goal should be that
diagnosing the learning process rather than learning object.
 Third, fairness also implies freedom from teacher-stereotyping.
Example: boys are better than girls in Mathematics or girls are better than
boys in language.

Practicality and Efficiency

Another quality of a good assessment procedure is practicality and efficiency. An
assessment procedure should be practical in the sense that the teacher should be
familiar with it, does not require too much time and is in fact, implementable. A complex
assessment procedure tends to be difficult to score and interpret resulting in a lot of
misdiagnosis or too long a feedback period which may render the test inefficient.

Ethics in Assessment
The term “ethics” refers to a question of right and wrong. When teachers think
about ethics, they need to ask themselves if it is right to assess a specific knowledge or
investigate a certain question. Are there some aspects of the teaching-learning situation
that should not be assessed? Here are some situations in which assessment may not
called for;
 Requiring students to answer checklist of their sexual fantasies;
 Asking elementary pupils to answer sensitive questions without consent of their
parents;
 Testing the mental abilities of pupils using an instrument whose validity and
reliability are unknown;
When a teacher thinks about ethics, the basic question to ask in this regard is: “Will any
physical or psychological harm come to any one as a result of the assessment or
testing?” Naturally, no teacher would want this to happen to any of his/ her student.
Webster defines ethical (behavior) as “conforming to the standards of conduct of
given profession or group”. What teachers consider ethical is therefore largely a matter
of agreement among them. Perhaps, the most important ethical consideration of all is
fundamental responsibility of a teacher to do all in his or her power to ensure that
participants in an assessment program are protected from physical or psychological

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harm, discomfort or danger that may arise due to the testing procedure. For instance, a
teacher who wishes to test a student’s physical endurance may ask students to climb a
very steep mountain thus endangering them physically.
Test result and assessment results are confidential results. Such should be
known only by the student concerned and the teacher. Results should be communicated
to the students in such a way that other students would not be in the position of
information pertaining to any specific member of the class.
The third ethical issue in assessment deception. There are instances in which it is
necessary to conceal the objective of the assessment from the students in order to
ensure fair and impartial results. When this is the case, the teacher has a special
responsibility to;
a. determine whether the use of such techniques is justified by the educational value of
the assessment
b. determine whether alternative procedures are available that do not make use of
concealment
c. ensure that the students are provided with the sufficient explanation as soon as
possible.
Finally, temptation to assist certain individuals in class during assessment or
testing is ever present. In this case, it is best if the teacher does not administer the test
himself if he believes that such a concern may, at a later time, be considered unethical.

ACTIVITY 1:
Give your understanding about the role of high quality assessment in enhancing
curriculum and instruction?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

EXCERCISES 1:
In the cognitive domain, discuss the following hierarchy of educational targets:

Knowledge_______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comprehension_________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Application_______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Analysis___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Synthesis_________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISES 2:
Suppose that you wish to teach the concept of “Additional of Similar
Fractions” in elementary mathematics. Write an objective for each of the
following:
1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application
4. Analysis
5. Synthesis

EXERCISE 4: Answer the following questions:

1. A test may be reliable but not necessarily valid. Is it possible for a test to be
valid but not reliable? Discuss.
2. A 50 item test was administered to a group of 20 students. The mean score
was 35 while standard deviation was 5.5. Compute the KR21 index or
reliability.

EXERCISES 3:
In the following situations, identify the ethical issues that may be raised in
terms of (a) possible harm to the participants, (b) confidentiality of the
assessment data, and (c) presence of concealment or deception:

1. A teacher plans to rate the performance of students in gymnastics

class unobtrusively. He does not let the students know that he is
actually rating their gymnastics abilities. Instead, he tells the students
to use the gymnasium facilities for practice and then he watches the
students practice on occasions that are unannounced.
2. An arts and crafts teacher requires the students to submit their basket
weaving projects to be graded. He selects the best student outputs and
brings these projects home.
3. In grading his/her students in Mathematics 4, a high school teacher
subjectively adds five or more points to the grades of students who
have performed poorly but who, he believes, deserve better grades
had they spent more time studying. In some instances, however,
he/she does not add any point to a poor performer because he is also
believes that such cases do not represent a case of “just needing more
time.”

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REFLECTION
1. What are your realization in the importance of observing practicality and
efficiency in assessment method?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the things you will apply in practicing ethics in assessment?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUGGESTED READINGS
https://www.slideshare.net/bhongabug/ed8-assessment-of-learning-2
https://educatorpages.com/site/purpleteam/pages/49742

RESOURCES
 Santos, R. (2007). Assessment of Learning. Lorimar Publishing. Quezon City.
Philippines.
 Santos, R. (2007). Advanced Methods in Educational Assessment and Evaluation.
Lorimar Publishing. Quezon City. Philippines.
 Navaro, R. & Santos, R. (2012). Assessment of Learning Outcomes (Assessment).
Second Edition. Lorimar Publishing. Quezon City. Philippines.
 Maheshwari, M.A (2016). The Concept of Measurement in Education.
http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=2276

Prepared by:

GIRLIE JOSAFAT
Instructor 1

Noted:

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MYRA LIZA O. VIZCARRA, EdD
Program Chairperson

Recommending Approval:

DR. ZENVI ANN MACALINAO

Chairman/ Professional Education
IM Review Committee

Approved:

DR. JESSIE S. ECHAURE

Vice President, Academics and Student Affairs

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