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May Zay Saung

MDY/430
Room - 28

Evaluation
Evaluation is a process of measuring and assessing the overall effectiveness and success and
collecting feedback and information for teaching improvement. It is the pillar of the teaching
– learning process and it is used for variety of advantageous purposes.
Evaluation is mainly used in academic institutions for the following reasons:
i) To identify student’s needs
ii) To determine the status of the student’s achievements
iii) To motivate learners
iv) To reflect on the teacher’s own teaching and methods
v) To provide reliable instruction for the students.

Evaluation methods can be categorized into two main types: formative and summative.
Formative evaluation is specifically designed to attain necessary information about the
student’s current status. It can be carried out at any particular times; at the end of a lesson,
through a presentation, through a question and answer session during class or via a quiz. The
main aim of formative assessment is to help the teacher identify the strengths and weaknesses
of the students where the instructor can utilize it to further improve their efficiency of their
teaching.
Summative assessment is a method of gauging how well the students have mastered the
concept and subject matter. It holds exceptionally high value as it is carried out at the end of
an instructional unit by comparing it against some standards or benchmarks. The focus is on
the final outcome or result. Term exams, final project and thesis are all examples of
summative evaluation. Summative assessment is especially advantageous for an instructor as
it can be used to accurately measure calculate how effective the teaching method has been
throughout the academic year.
When assessing a student’s needs and differences, progress, motivation in learning, value,
quality or worth, it is imperative that the correct form of evaluation method is used for
verified efficiency. Even though there are great variety in the format and construct of this
measuring instrument, they all should meet the three minimum basic criteria, also known as
Validity, Reliability and Usability.

Validity
Validity refers to the degree of accuracy on whether the conclusion, measurement and
concept corresponds to what is being tested.
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The procedures for validity are concerned with the relationships between performance on the
measurement device and the other observable facts about the characteristics being measured.
There are 4 main types of validity: Content validity, Predictive validity, Concurrent validity
and Construct validity.
Content validity make sure that the assessment covers the content it is supposed to measure.
It is commonly used in evaluating achievement tests and should be used by classroom
teachers for all tests which they develop. To maintain a highly reliable content validity, the
content area to be covered must include all major aspects and content of the lessons being
taught. For example, a math test should test the mathematics skills taught in the curriculum.
Content validity can also be tested by comparing the results obtained by one particular
student against another student.
Predictive validity is the measure of the extent to which an assessment accurately predicts
future performance or outcomes. In education, predictive validity refers is often used to
assess the effectiveness of tests or assessments in forecasting how students will perform in
future academic endeavors. This type of validity is most frequently used on tests for hiring,
for discriminating for admission and placement, and for detecting potential personality
disorders.
Concurrent validity is a type of criterion-related validity that assesses the extent to which the
scores form a new assessment measure are correlated with the scores of an established
assessment administered at the same time. It is relevant to tests which are used to diagnose
existing status rather than to predict future success.
Construct validity is a type of validity that evaluates whether a test or assessment measures
the intended psychological construct, traits, skills or purposes accurately. Examples of these
include intelligence, anxiety and fluency. It is essential for ensuring the tests and assessments
accurately measure the psychological construct they are intended to assess.

Reliability
The reliability of a test refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same individuals on
different occasions or with different sets of equivalent items. It is essential in ensuring data
collected from assessment accurately reflect student’s knowledge, skills and abilities.

Usability
Usability in teaching refers to the ease with which educational materials, tools, technologies,
or systems can be used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities
effectively.