LESSON 2: ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF Diagnostic: Diagnostic evaluation is conducted along

SOCIAL SCIENCE LEARNING with formative evaluation during the instructional process.
It is carried out based on the data obtained from formative
INTRODUCTION: evaluation. Diagnostic evaluation is specially conducted
for identifying the learning difficulties and to solve them.
Assessment and evaluation are critical in social
science learning because they allow teachers to assess Summative: It evaluates student learning at the end of an
students’ understanding of complex social concepts, instructional unit by comparing it against some standard
identify areas for improvement, provide targeted or benchmark.
feedback, and ultimately improve the learning process by
tailoring instruction to individual student needs while also C. Assessment of Scholastic and Co-Scholastic
ensuring students develop the critical thinking and Abilities
analytical skills required to engage with social issues
effectively. Scholastic Assessment

OBJECTIVES: Scholastic assessment refers to assessment of cognitive

abilities of learners in various academic activities which
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to; are associated with various subjects.

1. Understand the purpose of assessment and Assessment of Co-Scholastic Abilities

evaluation in social science learning, including its
role and strategies in measuring student learning. As has been already mentioned, holistic development of
2. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of learners cannot take place only with assessment of
different assessment and evaluation strategies in scholastic abilities. Co-scholastic assessment aims at
Social Science Learning. assessing desirable behavior related to learner’s life skills,
3. Appreciate the importance of assessment and interests, co-curricular activities and physical health.
evaluation, and promote a positive attitude by D. Assessment and Strategies in Social Science
recognizing its value in supporting student
growth and development in social science.  Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation
Assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering The concept of Continuous and Comprehensive
information about a student’s performance or Evaluation represents a paradigm shift from traditional
understanding. assessment methods. It’s a holistic approach that
Evaluation is the interpretation of that information to emphasizes regular assessment to monitor progress over
make educational decisions. These concepts are not time rather than relying solely on one-time tests.
confined to the end of a term but are integral to every Regular feedback: CCE provides students with timely
phase of the learning process in social sciences. feedback, which is crucial for learning and improvement.
A. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN Varied assessment forms: Incorporating quizzes,
SOCIAL SCIENCES: PURPOSE projects, and oral presentations to evaluate different skill
Assessment for Instructional Purposes: Assessment for sets.
instructional purposes essentially means ‘assessment for Emphasis on formative assessment: This focuses on the
learning’. The purpose of assessment is not only to certify process of learning and helps in identifying areas for
learners but also to help them understand learning improvement.
difficulties and the way to overcome these difficulties.
 Term-end exams
Assessment and Evaluation for Certification: The other
important purpose of assessment and evaluation in the While continuous assessment is vital, term-end exams still
teaching learning process is to certify learners. For play a significant role in the evaluation process. They
certifying learners, a type of summative evaluation needs provide a comprehensive review of students’ knowledge
to be carried out periodically as well as terminally. The over an extended period.
usual practice in the teaching learning process is to certify
learners terminally or annually. Cumulative assessment: These exams cover a wide
range of material, encouraging broad learning.
B. Types of Assessment and Their Functions
Structured format: Standardized testing can offer a
Placement: It is conducted before the organization of reliable benchmark for student performance.
teaching-learning activities to measure the entry behavior
or previous knowledge of the learners.  Self Assessment

Formative: It provides feedback and information during Self Assessment is an assessment which allows students
the instructional process, while learning is taking place, to assess their own performance. It can be extremely
and while learning is occurring. valuable in helping students develop self-reflection,
critique and judgment and ultimately, students learn how
to be responsible for their own learning. Self assessments
are more often used as part of a formative assessment instructional progress and progress of the students in the
process, rather than a summative one. subject area.

Advantages of Self Assessment Uses of Achievement Test

Encourages students to be more responsible for their own ►Achievement test scores are often used in an
learning educational system to determine what level of
instruction for which a student is prepared.
Helps students develop their judgmental skills
► High achievement scores usually indicate a mastery
There is no peer pressure when students evaluate of grade-level material, and the readiness for advanced
themselves instruction.
Helps students become autonomous learners ► Low achievement scores can indicate the need for
remediation or repeating a course grade.
Helps students be more aware of their weakness and
strength  Content Analysis
Disadvantages of Self Assessment Content analysis- is the backbone of any achievement
test. It is a systematic examination of the curriculum to
*Time consuming for students
identify the key concepts, skills, and knowledge that
*Students may not be familiar with the assessment criteria students should have acquired. This ensures that the test
aligns with the learning objectives and covers a
 Peer Assessment representative sample of the subject matter.
Peer Assessment is an assessment which allows students Steps in content analysis
to assess each other’s performance. It can be extremely
valuable in helping students to learn from each other by Identifying learning objectives
listening, analyzing and problem solving. It gives students
Mapping curriculum content
the opportunity to encounter diversity in different ways,
critique and judge and ultimately, students learn how to Weightage to topics
be responsible for their own learning.
 Blue Print
 Group Assessment – refers to an activity where
student work together and collaborate in order to ► A blueprint is a guide for making something it’s a
complete a task given. design or pattern that can be followed. Want to build the
best tree house ever? Draw up a blueprint and follow the
Group assessment allows one group to evaluate another design carefully.
group’s grasp of concepts and proficiency in skills. It
addresses the limitations of individual peer assessment by ► The literal meaning of a blueprint is a paper which is
focusing on collective judgment, where groups of similar blue with plans for a building printed on it.
standing assess each other’s work or academic
performance (Zhang et al., 2021; Topping, 1998). Components of a test blueprint

 Portfolio assessment is an approach to Table of specifications

measuring a student’s development by gathering Marks distribution
and examining their work over a period of time.
Item format
In their 2000 publication, Assessing the Portfolio:
Principles for Practice, Theory, and Research, Hamp-  Writing essay type items
Lyons and Condon provide an essential resource on
portfolio assessment, detailing its theories and practical Writing effective assessment items is a blend of art and
uses in education. science (Popham, 2018). Essay questions, designed to
assess higher-order thinking skills and deep
 An open-book exam permits students to refer to understanding, are categorized into two main types:
their notes, textbooks, or other authorized Extended Response Items and Restricted Response Items
resources during the test.
Extended Response Items - These questions offer
According to a BMC Medical Education study, open- students significant freedom in their response. There are
book exams enhance learning by fostering deep minimal constraints on length, wording, or time. This
understanding, critical thinking, and the application of open-ended format allows for a more comprehensive
verified references. demonstration of understanding and the expression of
individual perspectives. Scoring extended response items
E. Preparation of an Achievement Test can be more subjective and time-consuming, requiring
Achievement tests -it is an important tool in school careful rubric development and inter-rater reliability
evaluation and has great significance in measuring checks to ensure fairness and consistency (Linn &
Gronlund, 2011).
Restricted Response Items - restricted response items developing curriculum, developing Teaching Learning
provide more structure and guidance. Limitations may Materials, managing teaching learning process, as well
be placed on the length of the response (word count, as evaluating performances of learners.
number of paragraphs), the specific aspects to be
addressed, or the time allotted for completion. This  Use of e-mail and Internet
structure facilitates more objective scoring and reduces Social science teacher can e-mail assignments to learners
the potential for subjective bias.The restricted nature of and ask them to return the assignment responses through
the response also allows for a more focused assessment return mail to her/him. The evaluation feedback can also
of specific learning outcomes. Careful division of the be communicated through the e- mail.
question into parts, with allocated marks for each,
enhances the clarity and fairness of the assessment  Use of Audio and Video Materials
(Haladyna, 2004). This approach increases the scientific
rigor of the scoring process and minimizes subjectivity. Social science teacher can give students assignments in
the form of developing audio video materials on several
 Writing short answer type items social science contents like gender, diversity,
inclusiveness, socio-cultural practices, art and craft etc.
These questions fall between essay questions and
objective questions in terms of length and marking  Use of e-portfolio
weight. A short answer typically ranges from a few lines
to a paragraph (50-100 words). The style and guidelines Like portfolio assessment, Social Science students can
for writing short answer questions are similar to those also be motivated to develop e-portfolio in their personal
for essay questions, but short answers should use a account and upload and store the significant work they
suitable action verb in their phrasing. The passage perform in visuals, audio-video, and descriptive forms.
concludes by suggesting the development of short
 Use of Social Media
answer items based on a pre-existing blueprint.
The social media can also be used in evaluating student
 Writing objective type items
performance in social Sciences. Small groups of learners
✓ Constructing objective test items is widely considered can be formed. They can interact among themselves and
the most demanding aspect of creating achievement tests share their ideas/views on any issues of Social Science.
(Haladyna, 2004). The difficulty stems from the need to Teacher can act as a mentor to optimize the learning
create items that are clear, unambiguous, and accurately process. Learners are asked to prepare a report based on
assess the intended learning outcomes without their interaction and experiences. The reports submitted
introducing bias or ambiguity. Objective items are by the groups evaluated by the social science teacher.
characterized by the existence of a single correct answer,
 Online quizzes and tests
allowing for efficient and objective scoring.
Creating interactive online quizzes with various question
✓ Objective items are broadly classified into two
formats like multiple choice, true/false, short answer,
categories: recall and recognition (Nitko, 2001).
and essay questions to assess knowledge acquisition and
1. Recall Items - These require students to retrieve comprehension.
information from memory without the aid of prompts or
 Collaborative projects
cues. Recall items can further be subdivided into:
Online platforms can facilitate group projects where
A. Simple Recall – These items require the student to
students work together on research, analysis, and
provide a brief answer, often a single word or number.
presentations, allowing for assessment of collaboration
Examples include fill-in-the-blank or short-answer
and communication skills.
questions requiring a specific factual response.
 Digital simulations
B. Completion Items – These are similar to simple
recall but often involve completing a sentence or phrase. Utilize interactive simulations to model social scenarios
They require a more nuanced understanding than simple and situations, allowing students to test hypotheses and
recall, as the student must integrate the missing explore complex social dynamics.
information into a meaningful context.

2.Recognition Items – These provide students with a set

of options from which they select the correct answer.
Common examples include multiple-choice, true/false,
and matching questions.

F. Use of ICT in Assessment and Evaluation in

Social Sciences

In the age of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT), no education system can remain
isolated from the use of ICT. ICT can be used in
Social science – is the study of society and how human
interact with each other.

Branches of Social science

Anthropology – is the study of ancient societies

Examples: Ancient civilization, cultural differences

Economics – is the study of how people make choices

about the production, distribution and consumption on
goods and services. Examples: Supply and Demand,
Market economies

Geography – is the study of places and relationships

between people and their environments Example:
Ecology, Hydrology, Urban geography

History – is the study of past events and how they relate

to the present. Example: World war II, Renaissance

Political Science – is the study of theory and practice of

politics, governance, and political systems. Example:
Laws, Democracy, Monarchy

Psychology – is the study of mind, behavior, and human

experiences. Example: Behaviorism, Cognitive Theories

Sociology – is the study of social life, social change, and

social causes and consequences of human behavior.
Example: Social change, Structural Functionalism

Demography – is the study of human populations

including their size, composition and how they change
over time. Example: Population size, Life Expectancy