Basic Concepts

and Principles in
Assessing
Learning
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 1
 What is assessment in learning?

Latin word assidere, which

means "to sit beside
another."

• process of gathering
quantitative and/or qualitative
data for the purpose of
making decisions.
 Assessment in Learning
➢ the systematic and purpose-
oriented collection, analysis,
and interpretation of evidence
of student learning order to
make informed decisions
relevant to the learners.

➢ to use evidence on student

learning to further promote
and manage learning.
 MEASUREMENT

Is the assignment of a
quantitative description of
the pupils’/learners’
performance.

• When your teacher

administers a quiz test or
term examinations and gives
a score.
 EVALUATION

Involves judging or deciding

about the quality of your school
performance for your teacher to
implement a possible course of
action.

• Evaluation = Quantitative
description of pupils
(Measurement) + Value
judgments
Assessment and Testing
Testing refers to the use of a test or battery of
tests to collect information on student learning
over a specific period of time.

A test is a form of assessment. But not all

assessments use tests or testing.

A test can be categorized as either a selected

response (eg, matching-type of test or
constructed response (eg, essay test, short
answer test).

A test can make use of objective formater,

multiple choice enumeration) or subjective
format essay
Assessment and Grading

Grading
• process of assigning value to the
performance or achievement of a
learner based on specified criteria
or standards.

Test, learner's performance in

recitation, seatwork, homework, and
project
 What are the different
measurement frameworks used in
assessment?

Two most common

psychometric theories that
serve as frameworks for
assessment and measurement:

1. Classical test theory (CTT)

2. Item response theory (IRT)
❑ CLASSICAL TEST THEORY (CTT)

• also known as the true score

theory, explains that variations in
the performance of examinees on a
given measure is due to variations in
their abilities.
• assumes that an examinee's
observed score in a given measure is
the sum of the examinee's true
score and some degree of error in
the measurement caused by some
internal and external conditions.
• item difficulty based on the
frequency or number of
examinees who correctly answer
a particular item, items with
fewer number of examinees with
correct answers are considered
more difficult

• item discrimination based on

the number of examinees with
higher or lower ability to answer
a particular item.
❑ ITEM RESPONSE THEORY
(ITR)

• analyzes test items by estimating the

probability that an examinee answers
an item correctly or incorrectly.

• One of the central differences of RT

from CTT is that in IRT, it is assumed
that the characteristic of an item can
be estimated independently of the
characteristic or ability of the
examinee and vice versa.
Types of assessment in learning

Assessment in learning could

be of different types. The
most common types are
formative, summative,
diagnostic, and placement.
Other experts would describe
the types of assessment as
traditional and authentic
Formative Assessment

refers to assessment activities

that provide information to both
teachers and learners on how
they can improve the teaching
learning process. This type of
assessment is formative because
it is used at the beginning and
during instruction for teachers
to assess learners' understanding
Summative Assessments

are assessment activities that

aim to determine learners’
mastery of content or
attainment of learning out
comes. They are summative, as
they are supposed to provide
information on the quantity or
quality of what students have
learned or achieved at the end
of instruction.
Diagnostic Assessment
aims to detect the learning problems or
difficulties of the learners so that
corrective measures or interventions are
done to ensure learning. Diagnostic
assessment is usually done right after
seeing signs of learning problems in the
course of teaching. It can also be done at
the beginning of the school year for
spirally designed curriculum so that
corrective actions are applied if pre-
requisite knowledge and skills for the
targets of instruction have not been
mastered yet.
 Placement Assessment
is usually done at the beginning of the
school year to determine what the
learners already know or what are their
needs that could inform design of
instruction. Grouping of learners based on
the results of placement assessment is
usually done before instruction to make it
relevant to address the needs or
accommodate the entry performance of
the learners. The entrance
examination given in schools is an
example of a placement assessment
 Traditional Assessment
refers to the use of conventional
strategies or tools to provide information
about the learning of students. Typically,
objective (e.g.. multiple choice) and
subjective (e.g., essay) paper and pencil
tests are used. Traditional assessments are
often used as basis for evaluating and
grading learners. They are more commonly
used in classrooms because they are easier
to design and quicker to be scored. In
general, traditional assessments are viewed
as an inauthentic type of assessment.
 Authentic Assessment
refers to the use of assessment strategies or tools
that allow learners to perform or create a
product that are meaningful to the learners, as
they are based on real-world contexts. The
authenticity of assessment tasks is best described
in terms of degree rather than the presence or
absence of authenticity. Hence, an assessment
can be more authentic or less authentic compared
with other assessments. The most authentic
assessments are those that allow performances
that most closely resemble real-world tasks or
applications in real-world settings or
environments
Principles in Assessing
Learning
There are many principles
in the assessment in
learning. Based on the
different readings
and references on these
principles, the following
may be considered as core
principles:
1. Assessment should have a
clear purpose.

✓ Assessment starts with a clear purpose.

✓ The methods used in collecting information
should be based on this purpose.
✓ The interpretation of the data collected
should be aligned with the purpose that
has been set.
✓ This assessment principle is congruent
with the outcome-based education (OBE)
principles of clarity of focus and design
down.
2. Assessment is not an end in
itself.

✓ Assessment serves as a means to enhance

student learning.
✓ It is not a simple recording or
documentation of what learners know and
do not know.
✓ Collecting information about student
learning, whether formative or summative,
should lead to decisions that will allow
improvement of the learners.
3. Assessment is an ongoing,
continuous, and a formative
process.

✓ Assessment consists of a series of tasks and

activities conducted over time.
✓ It is not a one-shot activity and should be
cumulative.
✓ Continuous feedback is an important
element of assessment.
4. Assessment is learner-
centered.

✓ Assessment is not about what the

teacher does but what the learner
can do.
✓ Assessment of learners provides
teachers with an understanding on
how they can improve their teaching
which corresponds to the goal of
improving student learning.
5. Assessment is both
process and product-
oriented.

✓ Assessment gives equal importance

to learner performance or product
and the process they engage in to
perform or produce a product.
6. Assessment must be
comprehensive and holistic.

✓ Assessment should be performed using a

variety of strategies and tools designed to
assess student learning in a holistic way.
✓ Assessment should be conducted in
multiple periods to assess learning over
time.
✓ This assessment principle is also congruent
with the OBE principle of expanded
opportunity
7. Assessment requires the use of
appropriate measures.

✓ For assessment to be valid, the

assessment tools or measures used must
have sound psychometric properties,
including, but not limited to, validity and
reliability.
✓ Appropriate measures also mean that
learners must be provided with challenging
but age- and context appropriate
assessment tasks.
8. Assessment should be as
authentic as possible.

✓ Assessment tasks or activities should

closely, if not fully, approximate real-
life situations or experiences.
✓ Authenticity of assessment can be
thought of as a continuum from
least authentic to most authentic,
with more authentic tasks expected
to be more meaningful for learners.
Assessment Metaphor
To determine whether you have
acquired the needed information
about the basic concepts and
principles in assessment, use the
space provided to draw a metaphor
(ie, any object, thing, or action you
could liken assessment to that will
visually illustrate what is assessment
in learning. Everyone will share and
discuss the metaphors they have
drawn in class.
 Example:
A thermometer can be drawn as a
metaphor for assessment if you consider
measurement or collection of information
from a person (e. Student) as central in
the assessment process. A thermometer is
a device that collects information about a
person's temperature, which provides
Information on whether a person's body
temperature is normal or not, high
temperature could be a symptom of
fever). The information is then used by
medical personnel to make decisions
relative to the collected information. This
is similar to the process of assessment.