In learning and teaching assessment is very necessary. With an emphasis on the learning process there are many new assessment approaches, along with the learning product. Globally authentic assessment based on performance is emphasized. Comprehensive and continuous evaluation of learning and teaching is emphasized in India too. Numerous possibilities for providing feedback and assessing are thrown open by development in ICT.
Process of gathering, interpreting and identifying information is assessment. Wide variety of tools or methods are referred by assessment which educators use to document, measure and evaluate the process of learning and teaching.
Assessment is the collection of information about learning and teaching systematically, in order to inform decision about how to improve it, using resources available, expertise, knowledge and time.
To set the direction for ongoing learning and teaching and to provide information on student progress and achievement is the central purpose of assessment. The assessment purpose is to engage collectively a campus community in a continuing and systematic process to enhance learning and to create shared learning goals.
To improve teachers teaching and students learning is the primary purpose of assessment.
Assessment Types
Based on the purpose for which it is designed assessment can be classified into various approaches or types as follows:
1. Formative: While learning is occurring and while learning is taking place, formative assessment provides information and feedback during the instructional process.
2. Summative: Summative assessment provides feedback and information that sums up the learning and teaching process and takes place after learning has been completed.
3. Diagnostic: Diagnostic assessment helps you to clarify misconceptions, identify your student’s capabilities, skill sets and current knowledge of a subject before teaching takes place. To better plan how to teach and what to teach, knowing weakness and strengths of students can be very helpful.
Figure 6.1. Types of Assessment
4. Authentic: Authentic assessment is the term which describes multiple assessment forms which reflect students attitudes, motivation, achievement and learning on instructionally relevant classroom activities. Instead of selecting from predetermined options it requires students to develop responses or emphasizes on what they know, rather than what students do not know. A rubric by which students performance on the task will be evaluated and a task for them to perform is usually included in authentic assessment.
5. Performance: In performance assessment by producing or performing something students is required to demonstrate that they have mastered specific competencies and skills.
Technology role in assessment
In efficient and effective assessment of learning, technology plays a vital role. A variety of new tools is offered to educators by modern technology which can be used in the class room. Teachers with the help of technology assess their students’ performance as well as their learning in the class room. To facilitate communication between teachers and students, technology can be used. Digital records of student’s development and growth can be created by it.
To make their work more productive and to assess their teaching, technology can be used by teachers. To track their teaching plans and also to track students work, spreadsheet can be used by teachers. This kind of record keeping can help them to identify the areas that the teachers need to focus on in their teaching if a group of students is poorly performing in a particular subject.
Assessment with computer: Use of computers to assess performance and learning of student is computer assisted assessment. It is a term that covers all forms of assessments delivered with the help of computers whether formative or summative. This covers both assessments that are marked with the help of computers such as those using Optical Mark Reading (OMR) and assessments which are delivered on computer, either offline or online.
CAA is typically formative which timely provide feedback on how to teach a subject best and helps students to discover whether they have learned what the teacher intended. IT can also be summative serving to categorize and grade the students work and with limited feedback typically being given at the end of the course. CAA can be also diagnostic by testing for example for pre-knowledge.
Advantages of CAA
• CAA offers high reliability as being the testing that can be marked objectively.
• CAA is adapted to meet a wide range of learning outcomes and the tests can be marked easily and quickly.
• Rather than conceptual understanding it is usually associated with testing knowledge skills, due to the frequent use of MCQ formatting which is believed to test at a lower level of understanding.
• Initially it is time consuming as making good objective tests requires practice and skill.
• To avoid failure during examinations software and hardware must be carefully monitored.
• In Web based computer assisted assessment security issues can be a problem;
• Students require experience of the assessment type and adequate IT skills.
Online Assessment
Online assessment is the process used to measure certain aspects of information for a set purpose where the assessment is delivered via a computer connected to a network. The assessment most often is some type of educational test. It is possible to conduct and design assessment online easily with the development in software as service and the emergence of read write web. For developing and designing online quizzes and test there are many online service providers both paid and free.
ICT based assessment
Some of the main findings are:
For summative assessment of creative and critical thinking about complex relationships computer based concept mapping with automated scoring can be used.
The ICT use can help teachers by providing feedback to students and taking over some of the role of assessing and by recording and storing information about how students are developing understanding of new material so that teachers can focus on other aspects of supporting learning.
During the use of test material feedback from the computer improves student performance in later use of the same test material.
Several studies showed that interacting with a computer provides feedback that supports better performance even if this only reflects back to the students the moves and links they made in a visual representation of relationships.
The following findings should be treated more cautiously as it provides medium weight evidence.
Compared to conventional test using technology probed students’ understanding to a greater degree.
Relevant to problem-solving performance additional information is provided by the automated scoring and collection of the processes used in problem solving.
As compared to students taking tests on paper, using a computer program to both give feedback to students and take the same test can increase the level of performance.
Useful information about students causal reasoning thinking through analysis of their diagrams is provided by the use of computer program involving diagrammatic representation, but not from the log files of their computer moves.
To provide information about processes in reaching a solution computers were used that gives additional feedback to teachers and students.
Computer based test performance can be influenced by student’s attitude towards computers and experience with them.
Compared with the analysis of multimedia presentations a conventional multiple choice test gave a false impression of understanding on the same topic.
The outcome for girls more than boys was affected by Subject matter used in computer assessment of problem solving.
The performance of middle-school students was not improved by training in the use of computer graphics aimed at helping them make meaning of new material.
There was conflicting evidence from two studies relating to the impact on performance of using the web to search for information.
Computer assessment tests
There are many advantages of using digital technology to test, administer, distribute and develop quizzes. Few major advantages are:
1. Easy: You can create and distribute a test to learners through email as a link, using online test maker. Such software will automatically provide you with reports of the results and grade the tests. Compare that to how time and energy intensive the evaluation process usually is.
2. Flexible: A wide variety of skills and knowledge can be evaluated using computer assessment. Just true or false and multiple choice questions is not the limit. Including essay questions you can write almost any kind of question you imagine. Audio, video and other media types can be incorporated into your test.
3. Learning tool: To check students learning, assessment is mainly used. But if the assessments are of good quality they can be used as learning tools. This opportunity is not there with paper and pencil tests because the time is required between the students test and teachers feedback. However, with computer assessment test the software provides instant feedback and also grades the test instantly for students to know their mistakes.
4. Teaches to use digital tools: It is necessary that students should be able to use digital tools. Online assessment can help students to develop skills that will lead to their future success.
Simple three step process to use a computer assessment test:
1. Creating a test: There are many very low cost or free online test makers available. Using this online software we can create test in very less time as compared to the paper and pencil test which takes time to write test and make its copies.
2. Online distributing the test: After creating test we can distribute it to students by giving them online link. Students then can appear for the test using smartphone, laptop, computer or tablet.
3. Student’s progress Tracking: The online test making software will take care of everything including grading, unless you include subjective questions such as essays. The software will provide feedback and instruction when necessary and will also generate reports for tracking student’s progress.
Computer assessment test are powerful and simple tool which can improve evaluation process of student by preventing cheating in the classroom.
Computer based assessment
The computer based assessment can be defined as the use of digital tools for assessment related activity. It is a digital tool as using it we can conduct and create assessment using tablets, smart phones and laptops. Any type of testing can be considered as computer based assessment that involves the use of these technologies.
Computer based assessment types
The most common types of computer based assessment are:
• Assessments embedded within e-learning modules. This is very similar to computer based training in which online assessments are embedded within larger e-learning modules so that all of student’s learning activities takes place on computers. A student for example, may complete a full e-learning module that culminates in a final test or might watch videos having comprehension questions in it.
• Standalone online assessments. This type is being used in all kinds of learning environments which also includes in person courses. This type is relatively new. To develop tests and quizzes here, an instructor uses an online assessment creator, which then students appear using online platform. From traditional chapter quizzes to final exams, online assessments have many applications possible. On an ongoing basis they can be used also to boost measure retention and student engagement.
Computer based assessment tools
The types of questions that could be handled by digital tools were limited in the early days to simple forced choice test like false or true and multiple choices. But today fortunately computer based assessment tools can be used for conducting complex tests like concept maps and essay questions.
Instead of using paper and pencil computer based assessment is the practice of giving tests and quizzes on computer. In many different environments computer based assessment is widely being used already. Written drivers test for example probably used a computer terminal. In universities and colleges as well as in employee training programs this type of testing is being used often to deliver standardized tests.
Computer based assessment can consists of several different technologies and types of testing tools. Online assessment is one of the most common in which to develop test online assessment creation software is used by the instructor. After developing test a link is provided to the students to appear for the online test, by the instructor. Administrative tasks such as providing feedback to the students, grading the assessment and even collecting data like time spend by students on each question are automatically done by the online assessment creator software.
Computer based assessment benefits
Following are some of the main advantages of using this technology.
• It is Efficient. To grade, distribute and prepare online test for 20 or 2000 students it takes very less time for teachers than tests on papers.
• It is Convenient. Rather than having to appear for the test at a designated time, students can appear for the test where and when it is convenient for them.
• It gives automatic scoring with feedback. The computer can provide students with feedback of their answers immediately and can score the assessment automatically.
• It gives reports and analysis. Teachers can improve their assessments over time and also they can identify which student is having trouble on the basis of large amount of data collected by the testing software.
• Customized accessibility. To help students with disabilities online text can be read aloud or magnified as required.
• It Controls cheating. There is variety of features available in online assessment creators for cheating prevention.
• It reduces human error. Human errors like grading errors are removed significantly by computer based assessment.
• It is reusable. Individual questions and even tests can be easily reused on other assessments.
The advantages will even become greater as time goes on as computer based assessment is driving huge advances in classrooms.
Web based questionnaire
To collect information from and to deliver information to their target audience like employees or customers, companies and other organizations can use online questionnaire which is a web based survey.
Online questionnaires can be used for many purposes and can take many forms such as companies can use it to get feedback about advertising campaigns of consumer before releasing them. Information like customer opinions about their products, audience demographics and customer preferences may be obtained using online questionnaires.
Usually survey authoring tools which is web based and connected to a database are used to create online questionnaires. All administrative tasks such as collecting data, creating questionnaires, distributing and even reporting and analysis associated with the questionnaires are automated by these technologies.
Advantages of online questionnaires:
• Very Easy: We can develop and design many surveys easily and quickly using an online questionnaire creator and can save our questions to use them later easily.
• Inexpensive. Most of the online questionnaire creator software are of very low cost or even free.
• Easy to distribute. By our own preferences and needs only the size of our respondent pool is limited with online questionnaires. It is as easy to distribute survey to lakhs of people as it is to distribute to 10 at little or no additional cost.
• Support different types of questions. Questions like short answers, multiple choice, matching, checkbox, rating scales, pop-up menu, pull down and any type of questions are supported by online surveys which is very difficult with paper and pencil traditional format.
• Provides a large amount of data and insight. Companies can use the information created by online questionnaire creators which tabulate and store automatically the response data, to get valuable insight into their customers.
• Reduced human error. There is very little possibility of human errors into the process since the online questionnaire software automatically does everything