Types of Evaluation

There are two main levels of evaluation: program level and student level. Each of the two levels can involve either of the two main types of evaluation – formative and summative at various stages. Program evaluation has to do with the determination of whether a program has been successfully implemented or not. Student evaluation determines how well a student is performing in a program of study.

Formative Evaluation: The purpose of formative evaluation is to find out whether after a learning experience, students are able to do what they were previously unable to do. Its ultimate goal is usually to help students perform well at the end of a program. Formative evaluation enables the teacher to:

     1. draw more reliable inference about his students than an external assessor, although he may not be as objective as the latter;

     2. identify the levels of cognitive process of his students;

     3. choose the most suitable teaching techniques and materials;

     4. determine the feasibility of a program within the classroom setting;

     5. determine areas needing modifications or improvement in the teaching-learning process; and

     6. determine to a great extent the outcome of summative evaluation. (Ogunniyi, 1984)

Some of the questions often asked under this type of evaluation include:

     1. What is the objective of the lesson?

     2. What materials will be needed to teach this lesson?

     3. In what sequence will the different aspects of the topic be treated? How much time should be given to different aspects of the topic?

     4. What teaching techniques will be most suitable to transmit this knowledge or skill?

     5. What evaluation techniques would be used to assess student achievement? Will they be effective or not?

     6. What assignment or project should be given as part of or apart from class work?

     7. Has the objective been achieved?

     8. What progress are the students making? What difficulties are they encountering relative to the topic?

     9. What additional facilities or resources would enhance the knowledge or skills gained by the students?

     10. Are students’ needs and interests being met? Are the students able to transfer their knowledge or skills to other areas?

Thus, Formative evaluation attempts to:

    a. identify the content (i.e. knowledge or skill) which has not been mastered by the students;

    b. appraise the level of cognitive abilities such as memorization, classification,

comparison, analysis, explanation, quantification, application and so on; and

    c. specify the relationships between content and levels of cognitive abilities.In other words, formative evaluation provides the evaluator with useful information about the strength or weakness of the student within an instructional context.

Summative Evaluation:

Summative evaluation often attempts to determine the extent the broad objectives of a program have been achieved. It is concerned with purposes, progress and outcomes of the teaching-learning process.

Summative evaluation is judgmental in nature and often carries threat with it in that the student may have no knowledge of the evaluator and failure has a far reaching effect on the students. However, it is more objective than formative evaluation. Some of the underlying assumptions of summative evaluation are that:

    1) the program’s objectives are achievable;

    2) the teaching-learning process has been conducted efficiently;

    3) the teacher-student-material interactions have been conducive to learning;

    4) the teaching techniques, learning materials and audio-visual aids are adequate and have been judiciously dispensed; and

    5) there is uniformity in classroom conditions for all learners.

PakAseels

Test, Measurement and Evaluation (Purpose and Scope of Evaluation)

Test: A test is one of the assessment instruments. It is used in getting quantitative data.

It can also be defined as an instrument or activity used to accumulate data on a person’s ability to perform a specified task. In kinesiology the content of these tests are usually either cognitive, skill, or fitness.

Measurement: A measurement takes place when a “test” is given and a “score” is obtained. If the test collects quantitative data, the score is a number. If the test collects qualitative data, the score may be a phrase or word such as “excellent.”

Evaluation: It is the estimation of the worth of a thing, process or program in order to
reach meaningful decisions about that thing, process or program.

The process of making judgments about the results of measurement in terms of the purpose of the measurement.

The process of obtaining information (data) and using it to form judgments, which in turn are used in decision making.

The purpose and scope of Evaluation:

According to Oguniyi (1984), educational evaluation is carried out from time to time for the
following purposes:

i.       to determine the relative effectiveness of the program in terms of students’ behavioral output.

ii.      to make reliable decisions about educational planning.

iii.     to ascertain the worth of time, energy and resources invested in a program.

iv.     to identify students’ growth or lack of growth in acquiring desirable knowledge, skills, attitudes and societal values.

v.      to help teachers determine the effectiveness of their teaching techniques and learning materials.

vi.     to help motivate students to want to learn more as they discover their progress or lack of progress in given tasks.

vii.    to encourage students to develop a sense of discipline and systematic study habits.

viii.   to provide educational administrators with adequate information about teachers’ effectiveness and school need.

ix.     to acquaint parents or guardians with their children’s performances.

x.      to identify problems that might hinder or prevent the achievement of set goals.

xi.     to predict the general trend in the development of the teaching-learning process.

xii.    to ensure an economical and efficient management of scarce resources.

xiii.   to provide an objective basis for determining the promotion of students from one class to another as well as the award of certificates.

xiv.   to provide a just basis for determining at what level of education the possessor of a certificate should enter a career.

Evaluation adds the ingredient of value judgement to assessment. It is concerned with the application of its findings and implies some judgement of the effectiveness, social utility or desirability of a product, process or progress in terms of carefully defined and agreed upon objectives or values. Evaluation often includes recommendations for constructive action. Thus, evaluation is a qualitative measure of the prevailing situation. It calls for evidence of effectiveness, suitability, or goodness of the program.

PakAseels