TEST, MEASUREMENT & ASSESSMENT

TEST, MEASUREMENT & ASSESSMENT

TEST: It is a tool for Measurement. It consists set of Questions, administered during set of time.

MEASUREMENT: It is a process of Testing and consists Quantitative property. It belongs that how much aspect of the attributes measured.

ASSESSMENT: It is a process of Testing and Observing. It consists Quantitative & Qualitative  property. It is a continuous process. It belongs that how well aspect of the attributes assessed.

A test is an assessment intended to measure a test taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness etc. A test may be administered verbally, on paper, on a computer, or in a confined area that requires a test taker to physically perform a set of skills. Tests vary in style, rigor and requirements. For example, in a closed book test, a test taker is often required to rely upon memory to respond to specific items whereas in an open book test, a test taker may use one or more supplementary tools such as a reference book or calculator when responding to an item. A test may be administered formally or informally. An example of an informal test would be a reading test administered by a parent to a child. An example of a formal test would be a final examination administered by a teacher in a classroom or an I.Q. test administered by a psychologist in a clinic. Formal testing often results in a grade or a test score. A test score may be interpreted with regards to a norm or criterion, or occasionally both. The norm may be established independently, or by statistical analysis of a large number of participants. An exam is meant to test a child's knowledge or willingness to give time to manipulate that subject.

A standardized test is any test that is administered and scored in a consistent manner to ensure legal defensibility. Standardized tests are often used in education, professional certification, psychology , the military, and many other fields.

A non-standardized test is usually flexible in scope and format, variable in difficulty and significance. Since these tests are usually developed by individual instructors, the format and difficulty of these tests may not be widely adopted or used by other instructors or institutions. A non-standardized test may be used to determine the proficiency level of students, to motivate students to study, and to provide feedback to students. In some instances, a teacher may develop non-standardized tests that resemble standardized tests in scope, format, and difficulty for the purpose of preparing their students for an upcoming standardized test. Finally, the frequency and setting by which a non-standardized tests are administered are highly variable and are usually constrained by the duration of the class period. A class instructor may for example, administer a test on a weekly basis or just twice a semester. Depending on the policy of the instructor or institution, the duration of each test itself may last for only five minutes to an entire class period.

A test may be developed and administered by an instructor, a clinician, a governing body, or a test provider. In some instances, the developer of the test may not be directly responsible for its administration. For example, Educational Testing Service (ETS), a nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization, develops standardized tests such as the SAT but may not directly be involved in the administration or proctoring of these tests. As with the development and administration of educational tests, the format and level of difficulty of the tests themselves are highly variable and there is no general consensus or invariable standard for test formats and difficulty. Often, the format and difficulty of the test is dependent upon the educational philosophy of the instructor, subject matter, class size, policy of the educational institution, and requirements of accreditation or governing bodies. In general, tests developed and administered by individual instructors are non-standardized whereas tests developed by testing organizations are standardized.

IMPORTANT OF TEST

Testing in school is usually done for purposes of assessment, to assign students grades (from tests in classrooms) or rank them in terms of abilities. (in standardized tests). Yet tests can serve other purposes in educational settings that greatly improve performance.

1.      The testing effect: retrieval aids later retention

2.      Testing identifies gaps in knowledge

3.      Testing causes students to learn more from the next learning episode

4.     Testing produces better organization of knowledge

5.      Testing improves transfer of knowledge to new contexts

6.     Testing can facilitate retrieval of information that was not tested

7.     Testing improves metacognitive monitoring

8.     Testing prevents interference from prior material when  learning new material

9.     Testing provides feedback to instructors

10.  Frequent testing encourages students to study

PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT:

1.      To assist student learning.

2.      To identify students’ strengths and weaknesses.

3.      To assess the effectiveness of a particular instructional strategy.

4.      To assess and improve the effectiveness of curriculum programs.

5.       To assess and improve teaching effectiveness.

6.      To provide data that assist in decision making.