Learning

Assessment and
Evaluation
__________
Remedios H. Fernando, RN MAN
St. Luke’s College of Nursing
 Assessment
 Process of collecting, measuring and
interpreting information relating to student’s
response to the process of instruction (Curzon
2003/Quince)
 Assessment
• Means by which students are graded, passed
or failed
• It provides the basis for the decisions on
whether the student is ready to proceed
,to qualify for an award or to demonstrate
competence to practice.(Quince)
 Assessment
• Enables students to obtain feedback on their
learning and helps them improve their
performance.
• Enables teachers to evaluate the effectiveness
of their teaching (Quince)
 Reasons of Assessment
Three Reasons: to ascertain
1. The level of theoretical knowledge.
2. The level of practical clinical skills
3. Insights into the level of professional
attitudes.(Neary 2000)
Six Main Purposes:
1. Selection
2. Maintenance of standards
3. Motivation of Students
4. Feed back to students
5. Feedback to the teachers
6. Preparation for life
 Three Basic Aims of Assessment
1. It should assess student performance in
relation to the aims of a particular program.
2. It should be regarded as an integral
component of teaching and learning
process.
3. It should encourage the students to
undertake self-assessment and reflection on
their learning
 Assessment of Learning
• In the sense of Formative feedback *
• To simply find out what and how well people
are learning what we teach without any intent
to give a grade (de Young)
 Evaluation Define
• * Systematic process by which the worth or
value of something –teaching and learning is
judged
• Gathering, summarizing, interpreting and
using data after an activity has been
completed to determine to which an action
was successful.
 Evaluation of Learning
• * Process of measuring the extent of learning
and assigning a grade.
• Evaluation may incorporate formative or
summative feedback
• Based on learning objectives
• Objectives might be evaluated by giving a test.
The Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT)

• Provides the teacher with quick and timely

feedback about the effectiveness of his or her
teaching and the state of student learning.
 Purpose of CAT (classroom assessment
technique)
• Gaining insight into student learning while
there is still time to make changes.
• Demonstrating to learners that the teacher
really cares if they are succeeding.
• Building rapport with learners.
• Spending only short amounts of time to gain
valuable information.
 Purpose of CAT
 Using the flexibility of CAT’S to adapt to
individual classes.
 Helping learners to monitor their own
learning.
 Gaining insight into your own teaching.
 Different types of CAT
1.One minute paper
2. Muddiest Point
3. Directed Paraphrasing
4.Application Cards
5. Background Knowledge Probe
6. Misconception/ Preconception Check
7. Self Confidence Survey
 One Minute Paper
• Used in the last 2-3 minutes of the class
period.
• The learners are asked to write on half sheet
of paper answers on the ff questions:
- What are the most important things you
learned today?
- What important points remain unclear?
 Muddiest Point
• The ask, What’s the muddiest point in today’s
class?
• Teacher discovers areas in which learners
struggle the most and finds better ways to
deal with the content in the future.
 Directed Paraphrasing
• Requires learner to put into their own words
something that they have just learned.
• Provides valuable feedback on learner
understanding and their ability to translate
information.
 Application Cards
• Useful for essential principles, theory or body
of information.
• Students take few minutes and write on index
cards at least one possible application of this
content.
 Background Knowledge Probe
• Ungraded pretest
• Written or thru the board
 Misconception/ Preconception Check

• Helps expose the mistaken ideas that may

hinder learning.
 Self Confidence Survey
• Check the confidence of the learner.
 The Different Terminology
Measurement
 a quantitative process involving the assigning
of a number to an individual’s characteristics

Assessment
 a term used instead of measurement when a
numerical value is not involved
e.g. Checklists of behaviors
 The Different Terminology
Examination
 a formal situation in which students undertake
one or more tests under specific rules
• Formal • Informal
• Quantitative • Qualitative
• Episodic • Continuous
• Formative • Summative
• Teacher- centered • Student centered
• Norm- referenced • Criterion Referenced
• Achievement • Aptitiude / Personality
• Paper and Pencil • Practical / Oral
 Formal Assessment
 involves the use of tests
 The data are often subjected to statistical
analysis and comparisons are drawn between
students
e.g. Modular , unit assessment, clinical
practical assessments
 Informal Assessment
• Does not involve comparisons with others
• It is essentially private and subjective to the
teacher concerned
• Gleaned from the day to day observation of
the students behavior, examination of
students notes and from informal contracts
and interviews.
Quantitative vs Qualitative Assessment

Quantitative
 Use of numerical data
e.g scores in a test

Qualitative
 Concerned with the properties/ qualities that
a student possess
 E.g. Students view on effective relationships
 Episodic Assessment
• Involves testing the students at specific times
or occasions during an educational program.
• Major drawback “on-off “ performance of
student
• Represents very small and unrepresentative
sample of student’s behavior
 Continuous Assessment
 continous
• As a method of evaluating progress and
learning
• College – assessing all of student’s course
work, test, projects, seminars
• Clinical setting – students’ nursing practice
 Formative vs. Summative
Formative
 Provides feedback about the progress that a
student is making while the course or unit is
being followed, so that modifications can be
made to the teaching if necessary.
 Should not be graded, used as feedback
diagnosis
 Materials tested during formation and modified
during pilot
 Formative vs. Summative
Summative
 Takes place at the end of a course/unit to see if
the student has achieved the objectives of the
program.
 usually done as a formal test covering the
content of the course .
 Can be graded
 Material evaluation done after it has been used.
Teacher-centered vs. Student- centered

• Teacher key figure

• Growth of interest – student centered learning
– greater involvement
 Norm – referenced Assessment
• Individual student’s score on a test is
compared with scores of other students in a
given group and rank order is assigned.
• Cut –off points for pass or fail
• Should be in top 10% in a year
 Criterion Referenced
 Score is compared with some criterion or
learning task such as achievement of
behavioral objectives .
 Also called “ content referenced” or domain
referenced Assessment
• Assessment is not only concerned with the
measurement of student’s achievement but it
includes attitudes, aptitudes, personality and
intelligence
• Achievement-refers to how well a student has
performed in the past
• Aptitude – refers to how well he/she will
perform in the future
• Assessment of personality and intelligence –
usually done using published standardised tests.
• Useful distinction in the kinds of tests given for
nurses
• Paper and Pencil tests – essays, objective test,
etc
• Practical Assessment – involves observation
combined with some form of checklist or rating
scale to guide the observer.
• Oral Exams – test rely on the spontaneous
answering of questions by the students and
allow for follow up and further elaboration
on answer given.
 The Test Blue Print
• Aids in making the test systematic and logical
sampling choice.
• Decision on the number of items to be
included
• Types of test questions to be used
 Example of Test Blue Print
Content Level of
Knowing
Comprehension Application Analysis Total Items
Synthesis
Principles 2 2 2 2
Factors that
Affect 3 3 4 10
Pathophysiology
3 3 4 10
Assessment 1 4 5 10
Nursing Mx 5 5 10
Evaluation of 2 2 4
Care
Total 9 19 22 50
 Different types of Tests
1. Essay
2. Objectives Tests
a. MCQ
b. Matching type
c. True or False
3. Supply type item test
 Essays
• Learners supply answer that is organized in
their own words and style
• No single correct answer
• Inefficient for testing recall of knowledge
• Useful for assessing higher levels of cognitive
functioning
• Has limited usefulness
• There are different types of essays
 Objective vs. Essay
Criteria Objective Essay
Learning Outcome Encourage factual Encourage ability to
knowledge organize, integrate
critical thinking Thinking Skills,
problem solving
Writing Ability
Content Extensive Limited
Control of Response Prevents bluffing Enables bluffing
Subject to guessing Guessing is minimized
Avoids influence of Writing skills may
writing skills influence score
Limits examinee’s Enables examinee to
response respond in own words
 Criteria Objective Essay

Preparation of Questions  Difficult  Easier to prepare

Time Consuming Few questions
Many questions

Scoring Objective Subjective

Easy Difficult
Quick Slow
Consistent  Inconsistent
 2. Objective Tests
• “objective” refer to the marking of the test
• Selection type item-examinee chooses from
given options
• Subjective
• Perfect marker reliability –answer is
predetermined
 Objective Tests
3. Supply type item – examinee provides the
correct answer to the question
 Multiple Choice Questions
• A MCQ consists of one or more introductory
sentences followed by a list of two or more
suggested responses
• The student must choose the correct answer
from among the responses in the list.
 Common in nursing exam
 Basic Structure of MCQ Item
A. Stem
 Sets the problem, statement
 Defines examinees’ task
 In the form of question or incomplete
statement
B. Options / Alternatives
Correct answer (key)
Distractors
- set of wrong options / incorrect responses
- Logical misconceptions of the correct
answer
- Plausible and logical options
There should be at least 3 options
 Example of MCQ
(Stem) The type of epithelium that lines the
colon is called :
(Distractors)
a. squamous
b. cuboidal
c. transitional
(key) d. columnar
 Uses, Advantage,Disadvantage
Use: To assess
Knowledge of facts
Understanding of concepts, principles
Ability to analyze, justify processes /
procedures
 Uses, Advantage,Disadvantage
Advantages
versatile
Can assess wide range of learning outcome in
short time
 Can ensure unambiguous questions
 Low probability of guessing
Can assess analysis
 Uses, Advantage,Disadvantage
Disadvantages
 Do not allow examinees to give pertinent
additional material
Maybe difficult to construct plausible
distracters
Tendency to build items on trivial facts to
fulfill quota
 Criteria for a high quality test

 Focuses on important content

Is well structured

 Issues on content
Professional Competence

Objectives

Content

Teaching – learning strategies

Evaluation of Student Achievement

The goals and the evaluation should match

 Technical Issues
Issues on related test wiseness
Grammatical cues
Logical cues
Absolute terms (always, never)
Antonyms, Synonyms
Long correct answer
Word Repeat
Convergence strategy
 Technical Issues
Issues on related to irrelevant difficulty
 Long, complicated options
 Inconsistent stated numeric data
 Vague frequency terms
 None and all of the above options
 Double Negatives
 Complicated Stems
 General Guidelines for Item Construction

• Focus on important concept

• State Questions in brief, simple and clear
language
• Include as much of the item as possible in the
stem
• Make sure that the competent authorities can
agree that the answer keyed as correct is in
fact correct
 Genera Guidelines for Item Construction

• Avoid grammatical and logical cues in the

correct answer
• Write options that are plausible, independent
of each other grammatically consistent and
logically compatible with the stem and
arranged in a logical order.
• Avoid absolutes, vague terms and negatively
phrased items.
 Sample MCQ
1. Which of the following is important for a
nurse to report when implementing postural
drainage?
a. Frequency of hygiene
b. Number of times the patient coughed
c. Amount of sputum expectorated
d. Change in Respiratory depth
 True or False
• consists of a statement which the examinee
must indicate as being true or false
• There is large risk of guessing
 True or False Formats
a. True or False – a simple choice is required
b. Multiple true or false – compose of a stem
and several items which are either true
or false
c. Correction format – if the item is false, the
examinee must change the underlined word
or phrase to make the statement true
 Uses, Advantages of T/ F
Uses:
• Main use is the simple identification of facts or
definitions.
• Measure concept mastery
Advantages:
 May cover a wide range of topics within a subject
 Statements are easy to construct
 Easy to check, except for the correction format
 Disadvantages of T/F
 Difficult to write unambiguous questions that
measure complex learning outcome
 High probability of guessing the correct
answer
 Can not discover if the student who answers
the question correctly actually knows the
correct answer
 Guidelines for Constructing T/F items

• Focus on important relevant concepts.

• Use simple, clear, short statements
• Make sure that each item is definitely true or
definitely false
• The number and length of true or false
statements should be almost equal.
 Guidelines for Constructing T/F items

• If give away modifiers must be used.

• Use ALWAYS and NEVER in TRUE statements
and OFTEN and USUALLY in FALSE statements
• Avoid the use of the word “not” in a true
statement to make it false.
• Avoid commands and double negatives.
• Avoid trick questions
 Matching types Questions (MTQ):
• The matching type question consists of a list of
premises and a list of responses which the
examinees must match according to the given
instructions.
• Consist of two list columns
• Useful for testing both knowledge of
terminology and specific relationship between
facts
 MTQ Formats:
1. simple matching exercises
2. multiple matching type
3. extending matching types
 Advantages / Disadvantages of Matching
Type Questions
Advantages:
 Easy to construct
 Appropriate for measuring associations
 Can cover a number of associations with one
exercise
Disadvantages:
 Tendency to focus on factual information
 Open to the presence of irrelevant clues
 Guidelines in constructing MTQ
• Focus on a single important concept of
theme.
• Give clear explanations and specific directions.
• Use longer and more complex statements as
premises and shorter, simple statements as
responses.
 Guidelines in constructing Matching Type
Questions
• Both premises and responses should contain
homogeneous item grouped around a single
concept or theme.
• All responses should be plausible for all
premises.
• Avoid a lengthy list of premises. Ideal number
5-15 items
• Print exercise on one page.
 Supply Type of Questions

• Questions is asking for answers

• E.g fill in the blanks , identification
 Guidelines for constructing STQ
• Think first of intended answer.
• Provide enough clues to enable the examinee
to supply the correct response.
• Require short, definite, clear correct answers.
• Define the parameters and format of response.
• Use a maximum of two blanks per item.
• Use blanks of equal length.
• Place blanks near the end.
 Assessment of Group Projects
• Group projects can take many forms
depending on the subject being studied
• Small number of students work on a common
task
• Help students to experience team work
 Disadvantage of GP
• Students not groups who gain academic
awards, so mark have to be individual
• Giving all students same grade creates danger
that some students will opt out of work
• Outstanding students can be dragged down by
poor or lazy group member
 Student Self Assessment
• An important strategy for the students to
acquire
• forms the basis of life skills and life long
learning
• e.g student marking their own essays
• Interview , questions
• Diary or commentary about the course
 Peer Assessment
• Assessment of students by his /her peer group
• Useful also for assessing practical skills
• Potential for collusion among the students to
raise the level of marks
Assessment and Evaluation of Small Group

1. Reflective diary
2. Individual impressions
3. Face to face interview
4. Sociometry
5. Do it yourself evaluation
Assessment and Evaluation of Small Group

6. Group Concensus
7. Group interview
8. Sculpting
9. Third party Evaluation
10. Video Recording
 Student Presentations
• Students are required to present to an
audience
• Useful way of developing students’ confidence
and skills of public speaking
• Can also provoke anxiety
• Teacher needs to organize sequence
• E.g. GCP, Research, case study
 Laboratory Practicals
• Activity done in the lab
• Time pressured
 Fieldwork
• Normally assessed by means of students field
work, logs and reports
• Artefacts, videos, audios, photography can be
used
Portfolios, profiles and experiential diaries

• Portfolios,profiles,diaries are used mainly in

experiential learning context
• Includes student’s thoughts, feelings,
reflections
• Considered with some sensitivity
Thank You!