Nursing Education, Instruction and Curriculum Development-Assessment of Student Performance.

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Unit-Five

Assessment of student performance

Introduction

Assessment of learning is an essential element of education. With out valid and reliable asst

procedures, you will not know whether students have achieved the learning objectives of theprogram, unit or lesson, and neither will the students know whether they have learnt well.

Asst is not some thing that you should think at the end of the lesson; it must be integral part ofall planning and preparation. Asst should procedure should give a clear indication of whatstudents are learning. The more realistic the asst procedure, The more the clear is whatstudents are learning.

Common terminologies;Assessment- Systematic process of collection of data on students performance specially onKAP of student to determine the need for training ; to design training to meet those needs, andafter training to make decisions about an individuals ability to perform.

Test- Series of tasks or tools used to measure students achievement. It is an instrument fordoing asst. It is more limited in scope , focusing on particular aspects of the course material. Acourse might have three or four tests.

Quiz- Even more limited and usually is administered in fifteen minutes or less.

Examination-The most comprehensive form of testing, typically given at the end of the term (as a final) and one or two times during then semester (as a mid term).

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Measurement- Labeling of the results obtained from a test. There are two types of measurements These

are;

A. Quantitave- Measure the student performance in number. E.g. percent scored in a test.

B. Qualitative- Measure the students performance in categorical variables. E.g. letter grade.

Evaluation- The process of collecting data pertaining to educational process used fordecision making. Evaluation is greater than asst b/c it involves decision making.

The concepts of asst and evaluation have been used interchangeably through time. Evaluationis the process of making decision about the learning of student, using information gainedfrom formal and informal asst. Evaluation is a series of activities that are designed tomeasure the effectiveness of the instructional system as a whole, or the effectiveness of

educational resource used with in such a system.E

valuation requires that you should make ajudgment about the students knowledge, b/r, performance, values or attitudes. Evaluationanswers how good ? or how well? for the student. Assessment is a strategy formeasuring knowledge, b/r, performance, values or attitudes. It is a data gathering strategy.The measurement or data you gain from asst helps you for evaluation. Through asst, boththe tutor, teacher, educator and students are able to determine whether these objective shave been achieved. Tutors can use three main kinds of asst: Diagnostic, Formative, and

summative. This means that you have to make decision before ,during, and after theinstruction. Assessment is the process and instruments that are designed to measurelearners achievements, normally after learners have engage in an instructional program ofone sort or anther or after they have worked through open or flexible learning resources ontheir own.

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1. Diagnostic assessment

When dxtic asst is used prior to your teaching, it provides you with the planning information.

This informal unstructured strategy helps the tutor to know what students early level are,

what they know about the lesson topic. An alternative could be a formal dxtic asst, which is

structured, or pre-test, which is a measure of the students knowledge of information thatwill be discussed b/4 it is thought.

2. Formative assessment

Formative asst is conducted during instruction, again formally, such as test or informally like

tutors either questions or observations. Both the tutors and students receive information

about problems, errors, misunderstandings and progress (feed back). Formative asst helps

the tutor to adopt teaching strategies and methods. It also has a reinforcing effect to

motivate students.

3. Summative assessment

It is usually conducted at the end of a lesson or a unit or a course. It is the final measure of

what was learned. They offer an opportunity for some students to demonstrate what they

have learnt. Certifying ass't is one type of summative evaluation designed to protect thesociety by preventing incompetent personnel from practice. Summative asst is also used for

placing students in order of merit and as decision to move students to the next class or

awarding a diploma.

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Summative tests are meant to measure students objective achievement, but are unfortunately

often used to test students recall of knowledge ( this practice has lead to great criticism of

summative asst) For others, alternative summative asst such as projects and performance tasks

are necessary if we are to obtain a true picture of individual learning.

Characteristics of assessment procedure

1. Validity:-A valid asst procedure is one which actually sets out to test, i.e. one which

accurately measure the b/r described by the objectives under scrutiny.

2. Reliability:- Is a measure of the consistency with which the question, test, examination

produces the same results under d/t but comparable conditions. Remember reliability have

no direct relationship with validity . For example, a test or examination that is totally reliableit may lack validity.

3. Practicability:- For most purposes, asst procedures shu8old be realistically practical in terms

of their cost, time taken, and ease of application.

4. Fairness:- To make the asst procedure fair to all students, an asst procedures must

accurately reflect the range of expected b/rs as described by the course objective. Student

have the right to know exactly how they are to be assessed, information such as the nature

of the materials on which they are to examined, (i.e. Content and objectives), the form and

structure of the examination, the length of examination and the value (in terms of marks) of

each component of the course.

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5. Usefulness:- Students should find asst useful. Feedback from asst can give students as much

better indication of their current strengths and weakness than they might otherwise have, that

is why returning of asst work to student is important.

Approaches of assessment

A. Criteria referenced asst:- Involves testing students in order to measure their performance

in tasks described by a particular objective or sets of objectives (criteria). For example,

standard driving test, in which learner drivers have to demonstrate a certain level of

competence b/4 being allowed to pass.

B. Norm referenced asst:- Involves tests of ability or attainment. Which are intended to probe

difference b/n individual students, and hence to determine the extent to which eachindividual performance differs from the performance of others of similar age and

background. For example, Tests have a fixed pass rate which is strictly adhered. This

approach is much less fair approach b/c it is only relative attainment, not absolute or great

attainment, but widely used in professional examination.

Differences b/n each;

The purpose for which the asst is carried out. The style in which the component tests are constructed.

The use to which the information derived from the results of the asst is put.

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Tests and principles of test construction

This section presents the principles of item type construction to provide the framework for

evaluating a variety of test items.

Tests or examination divided in to two. These are;

Objective examination: It includes;

I. Multiple choice

II. True/false

III. Matching

IV. Completion item/fill in the blank , and

V. Single answer.

Subjective examination: It includes

I. essay type question

Objective Examination

I. Multiple choice items (MCIs)

All MCIs have three elements. These are The stem (question) that presents the problem, the

correct answer/key, and the distracters. The stem can be in the form of either a question

known as closed item or an incomplete statement known as open item. The time give for

this item is 1 minute/item or per one question.

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Advantages of MCIs;

The scoring is objective.

Best to measure cognitive and affective domain.

The item design can be varied to suit many kinds of subject matters and to measure various levels

of achievements. The item can be designed to test knowledge, recognition, and comprehension, application in the

cognitive domain and awareness, and responding and valuing in affective domain.

More reliable.

Disadvantage of MCIs;

Facilitate cheating.

Assess only limited area of student performance mostly knowledge.

Takes time to prepare and other resource like paper, and other stationary.

Less validity.

Principles for constructing the stems of MCIs

Preferably, the stem should be a question (i.e. closed ended), but may also be in an incompletestatement that implies a question (i.e. open ended question).

Eliminate all unrelated information. Do not load the stem with irrelevant materials. Make it short,brief and precise.

It should be a complete sentence, or a lead in to choices. A positive statement or a problem is preferable to a negative one. In general, avoid negative

statements such as not or except , if used, make it underline, bold, italic, or capitalize to callattention

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Item of the form what would you do? should be avoided, b/c then correctness of any

response could be defended.

Avoid clues to the correct answer. For example, avoid a as final word in the stem unless all

alternatives begin with a consonant or a vowel.

When several items have the same alternatives, consider presenting the subject matter as amatching test item instead.

Principles for developing the key/correct response

All alternatives should be roughly parallel in concept, grammar, length, and specificity.

Be sure that there is only one correct clearly best answer.

Vary the placement of the correct answer randomly among the alternatives. Research showthat mostly teachers use b answer.

Principles for developing the distracters

All options should be plausible. Incorrect alternatives should be Cleary incorrect but

appealing to less knowledgeable students. Omit responses that are obviously wrong.

Options should be arranged in some logical order if possible (i.e. alphabetical, numerical,

chronological).

When words or phrases are to all alternatives, place them in the stem.

Al least four alternative responses are necessary for reasonable degree of difficulty.

List possible responses in column, one under the other for easier reading.

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Make all distracters as homogeneous as possible. Make alternatives all the same length,

grammatically consistent, and stated in positive. Homogeneous option make items more

difficult. Options that are dissimilar (heterogeneous) make item easier.

Try to avoid using all of the above as alternative. These items do not discriminate wellamong the students. Students need only comparing two choices. If both are acceptable then

all of the above is a logical answer. even if the student is not sure of the third choice. It isalso inconsistent with directions that there is only one correct/best answer.

Avoid none of the above or multiple choice like a and c are correct. If used, it shouldappear as an option in all of the items and it should be the correct answer in the number ofitems.

Since specific determiners such as generally, frequently, and for the most part tend to

appear in true options, and absolute terms such as always and never tend to appear infalse options, options should not provide these clues.

Non-functioning distracters, those distracters which attract less than 5% of the responses.When an item is re-written, an attempt should be made to replace such distracters withmore plausible ones.

Item analysis in MCIs :- Is the process of measuring the strength of and weakness of each item

in a test. There are two types of item analysis these are;1. Level of Difficulty(LD)- The formula is LD=(R/T)100. Where R is total number of rightresponse and T is total number of students. If LD is b/n 40% &60%, it is good/averageitem; if Ld is 60%, it is easy question.

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2. Index ( power) of discrimination(DI)

This is to show the difference b/n students of higher level and lower level performance differenceof academic excellence. The formula is right response of upper group minus right response oflower group divided by half of the total number of students. It is important to divide the studentinto two equal group. If DI > 0.4, it is good item; if DI is b/n0.3 &0.39, it is reasonable but can beimproved; if DI is b/n 0.2 &0.29, it is poor question (marginal) and needs revision; if


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Principles for constructing TFIs

Avoid items that include more idea, especially if one is true and the other is false.

The concept tested should be important , not trivial/unimportant facts.

Use more false item than true items in the ratio of 2/3 FIs:1/3 TIs. False statements tend to

be more discriminating . Students may be more inclined to answer true if they do notknow the answer.

The true statement should not be consistently longer than the false statement.

Mix the TFIs thoroughly. Randomly arrange items to avoid clusters of true or false items.

Allow at least 30 seconds per question on a TFIs.

III. Matching items

It consists of two lists of related words, phrases or symbols. Students are expected to match orpair each item in one list with the one item in the other list of which it is more closelyrelated. Matching items evaluate knowledgeable level.

Advantages of MIs;

It is valuable for measuring students ability to recognize r/ships and associations, such asterms with definitions, symbols with names, questions with answers, causes with effects,

parts with functions, e.t.c. It is reliable, discriminating and objective.

Much factual information can be tested in a short time coverage.

Good to evaluate knowledge.

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Disadvantages of MIs;

It is poor measure of interpretation and application.

The matching format can not be used for an entire test.

Less validity.

Principles for constructing MIs

MIs occur in clusters with a list of premises, a list of responses, and directions for matching

the two.

The matching sets includes homogeneous premises and responses must have the same idea.

The lists should be short not less than four(minimum) or ten(maximum) items.

Put the long premises and responses in the a column. Prepare all MIs as much as possible from the specific area or about a specific situation or

concept.

Provide clear directions. Indicate in the directions if the responses can be once, more than

once or not at all. State in the directions of the subject to which the things listed apply. List

nothing in either column that is not relevant to the subject.

Response options should be listed in a logical order, such as names in alphabetical order,

dates in chronological order, and numbers in the numerical order. A logic of order reduces

the time to find answer.

Allow at least 30 second per items.

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Do not use perfect matching(one response to one premises) as items will not be independent. There

should be at least three extra items from which responses may be chosen unless responses choices are to be

used more than once. The large numbers of response choices reduces the probability of guessing the answer

or obtaining automatic credit. (response >premises).

The matching sets should all be one page in the test.IV. Completion items/Fill in the blank/Short answer items

SAIs test knowledge by asking students to supply a word, phrase or number(fill in the blank).

They test mainly factual information. However, they require recall of information,

definitions, and terms rather than recognition of answers. If they are not specific they goes

to essay.

Advantages ofSAIs;

CIs have the major advantages of minimizing the likelihood of students guessing correct

responses.

They are easy to construct and scoring is relatively easy.

More reliable.

Disadvantages of SAIs; Require only the recall of factual information rather than application. It is only memorization

of something.

Difficult to score b/c of variety of partially correct responses that students can furnish.

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Principles for constructing SAIs

Only significant words should be omitted.

Enough clues should remain so that the learner can supply the correct answer. However,unintended clues to the correct answer need to be avoided.

Places blanks at the end of statement. This permits the student to read the completeproblem b/4 coming to a blank.

Directions for short answer items should include point values for each item. The desiredresponse would receive full credit and other acceptable responses would receive partialcredit.

V. Situation or problem solving examination items

The use of situation or problem solving exams is based on the premise that such situation bringthe evaluation process as close as possible to real life practice. Any test item may allow thesituation or problem.

Principles for constructing PSEIs

Require students to solve a problem.

State the problem or describe the situation clearly and concisely. The situation should

provide all the information necessary to answer the items. Avoid material that is extraneousto the judgments made.

Avoid basing the solution to one problem on the response to another. Items should beindependent of one an other.

Five question per situation is an acceptable number.

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Subjective Examination

Essay Examination

An essay examination is appropriate if the purpose of the examination is to assess students abilities in

any one of the following :-

1) Make comparisons, write descriptions, or explain some aspect of the subject under study.2) Understand, interpret, reason out, discriminate, and generalize about the subject matter.

3) Use, apply, and integrate what has been learned.

4) Recall, evaluate, select and organize material systematically.

5) Accuracy in expression, coherence in composition( language and grammar), and writing ability.

6) Reach in a conclusion.

Advantage of essay examination;

Students organize there answers with a minimum of restraint. The questions require students to

produce rather than merely to recognize the answers. It minimizes the possibility of getting the

answers by blind guessing.

No restriction, so that student write all thing what is in his or her mind.

Constructing the examination is not time consuming and easy.

It is quick and easy to design and administer.

It minimizes cheating.

More valid.

It can be structured as an open book classroom examination or a take home examination.

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Disadvantages of essay examinations;

Students answer a small number of examinations. Sample of knowledge is small.

Students produce with all degrees of completeness and accuracy. As a result, examinationsare time consuming to correct and grading can be highly subjective.

Since grading is more subjective and may be easily influenced by irrelevant matters such asthe instructors personal attitudes, hand writing , it may not be completely fair to allstudents. So to avoid this use coding.

It is difficult to score if the questions are too broad or ambiguous.

Its use often results in negative student reactions b/c of the scoring difficulties andambiguities.

Principles for constructing essay examinations

To improve the effectiveness and objectivity of the essay examination the followingconsiderations should be taken in to account when constructing the essay examination.

Administer an essay examination when class size is relatively small.

Decide in advance, what factors are to be measured. If more than one distinct quality is tobe evaluated such facts, organization, process and writing ability, make separate judgmentsfor of them.

Prepare a model answer in advance, showing what points are desired and the credit allottedfor each.

Call for specific answers. Word the item so that the student has an out line to follow informulating the response.

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Replace long and general question with one or more of a series of shorter, more specific

ones. In general, it is preferable to have more questions that require short answers.

Make certain that the points scored are apparent. If the questions cover material of different importance, the scoring weight for each question should reflect its importance and

be clearly communicated to the student in advance.

Giving options may reduce students anxiety and allow them to perform better. If the area tobe measured is very broad, it is fair to dive other options. However, if the students are to becompared from similar background, then each student should be required to answer thesame questions.

Phrase questions carefully so that the students know exactly what is being asked. A poor

essay question is a more serious problem than a poor objective question. Use descriptivewords. Be sure to ask on what you intended. For example, compare, evaluate, define,discuss.

Types of essay examination

According to Litwack, Skata, and Wykle (1972), the essay item should have the following types:-

A. Compare- Give similarities and differences. Set the items side by side and show their

similarities or resemblances. A two column listing of those is a good form of answer.B. Contrast- Stresses the differences of similarities.

C. Define- Give a short, clear, and accurate statement. Do not give illustrations unlessnecessary.

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D. Criticize- Point out errors or weaknesses, or find fault with the item.

E. Explain- Tell and show how. In order to give a clear picture, often an illustration will help.

Explain why indicates offering reason; Explain how indicates using a logical sequence.

F. Illustration-Provide examples. Give a good, clear and pertinent example, instances or case.

Omit definitions.

G. List-Write only a series of items. Do not discuss or illustrate.

H. Outline- Give the main points only, without d3etails, and with little or no discussion.

I. Prove- Give evidence. List the arguments in favor of the item. Sometimes a similar list of

arguments against the objectives to this item will be helpful.

J. State- Express ideas briefly and clearly. Do not discuss in detail or illustrate.K. Summarize- In short, concise manner, sum up the main fact expected in the response.

Scoring essay examinations

The quality of the test depends primarily on the quality of scoring. There are two scoring

methods. These are;

1. Analytic- E

lements of answers are determined and each question is graded based onwhether the elements are present or not. This method is mostly used for undergraduate

students.

2. Global- Read questions and sort out several piles(average, above average, below average).

Then re read and assign grades.

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Other scoring strategies for an essay examination

Read all the answers to question b/4 going to the next to promote comparability of

evaluation.

Grade the papers as anonymously as possible to minimize the halo-negative effect effect.

Use code numbers or place the students name on the back of the last page. Put onequestion on each page and separate for grading. hetro positive effect effect.

Use a definite scoring guide.

Inter-rater reliability- A major problem with essay tests is low reliability, which means d/t

readers would not agree on a score, or even the same reader at d/t times. Scoring, in other

words, tend to be subjective. Inter-rater reliability for essay test is the percentage of

agreement of persons scoring the same test. How many items did the two raters agree on? Ifthey agree on three out of six items, the inter-rater reliability of 50% should have an 80-90%

agreement for an acceptable level of inter-rater reliability.

Avoid judging exams on extraneous factors such as hand writing.

Read only a modest number of exams at a time. Take short break to keep u your

concentration.

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Grading

There are no hard-and fast rules about the best ways to grade.

All faculty agree, however, that grades provide information on how well students arelearning.

For some students, grades are also a sign of approval or disapproval ; they take themvery personally. B/c of the importance of grades, faculty need to communicate tostudents a clear rationale and policy on grading.

Purposes of grading

To describe unambiguously the worth, merit, value of the work accomplished.

To improve the capacity of students to identify good work, that is, to improve their self-

evaluation or discrimination skills with respect to work submitted. To stimulate and encourage good work by students.

To communicate the teachers judgment of the students progress.

To inform the teacher about what students have and havent learned.

To select people for rewards or continued education.

General strategies for grading

1. Grade on the basis of students mastery of KAPs: Consider classroom b/r, effort,classroom participation, attendance, punctuality, attitude, student interest in thecourse material, knowledge and skills on the subject matter, as the basis of coursegrades.

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2. Avoid grading systems that put students in competition with their classmates and limit the

number of high grades: Produces undesirable consequences for many students, such as reduced

motivation to learn, debilitating evaluation anxiety, decrease ability to use feedback to improve

learning, and poor social r/ships.

3. Try not to overemphasize grades: Explain to your class the meaning of and basis for grades

and the procedures you use in grading. Once you have explained your policies, avoid

stressing grades or excessive talk about grades, which only increases students anxieties and

decreases their motivation to do some thing for its own sake rather than obtain an external

reward such as grade.

4. Keep students informed of their progress through out the term: For each paper,

assignment, midterm, or project that you grade, give students a sense of what their scoremeans. Try to give a point total rather than a letter grade. Letter grades tend to have

emotional associations that point totals lack. Show the range and distribution of point

scores, and indicate what levels of performance is satisfactory. Such information can

motivate students to improve if they are doing poorly or to maintain their performance if

they are doing well. By keeping students informed through out the term, you also prevent

unpleasant surprises at the end.

Minimizing students complaints about grading

Clearly state grading procedures in your course syllabus, and go over this information in

class.

Set policies on late work.

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Avoid modifying your grading policies during the term.

Provide enough opportunities for students to show you what they know.

Consider allowing students to choose among alternative assignments.

Stress to students that grades reflect work on a specific task and are not judgments about

people.

Give encouragement to students who are performing poorly.

Deal directly with students who are angry or upset about their grade.

Keep accurate records of students grades at least up to 2 years.

Making effective use of grading tactics

o Return the first graded assignment or test b/4 add/drop deadline.o Record results numerically rather than as letter grades, when ever possible.

o Give students a chance to improve their grades by re-writing their papers.

o If many students do poorly on an exam, schedule another one on the same material a week

or so later.

Evaluating your grading policies Compare your grade distributions with those for similar courses in your department (but

glaring discrepancies should prompt you to reexamine your practices).

Ask students about your grading policies on end of course questionnaires.

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Nursing Education, Instruction and Curriculum Development-Assessment of Student Performance.

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