Assessment

Tools and
Strategies

●  Test Assessment
●  Authentic Assessment

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What is an Assessment Tool?  • Assessment tools are
techniques used to
measure a student's
academic abilities, skills,
and/or fluency in a given
subject or to measure
one's progress toward
academic proficiency in a
specific subject area. ...
Educators use assessment
tools to make informed
decisions regarding
strategies to enhance
student learning.
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 1. Test Assessment

• Test assessment strategies that may be used

by teachers include diagnostic, formative,
or summative. The test is a common type of
assessment used in the classroom through
pen-and- paper type. In the digital world, a
test is delivered online in many ways such
as through email, google forms, Learning
Management System (LMS), and varied
education applications like Google
Classroom and Edmodo.
There are different kinds
of tests that teachers
commonly used such as
multiple-choice
questions, true-or-false,
matching type,
completion or fill-in-the-
blanks, and essay.
 • A MCQ is composed of a stem and a set of
response alternatives. The stem is the question or
problem while the response alternatives are the
a. Multiple- choices in which the best answer is selected by the
Choice students. For Example,
Questions • Item Stem: It is a fact that very young children
have a very short attention span. Which of the
(MCQ) following strategies is best suited to them?
Response Alternatives:
1.Let them do the things they like to do.
2.Ask them to do a long activity but with intervals.
3.Group them according to their needs and interests.
4.Prepare interesting and different activities but for
short periods.
 The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when preparing an MCQ
type of test:
• Use at least four (4) choices for each item to lower the chance of guessing the
correct answer.
• ●  Have approximately the same proportion of alternatives A, B, C, and D as the
correct response and distribute in random, avoiding patterns.
• ●  Avoid irrelevant clues that might give chance to guess the correct answer. Check
the grammatical structure, well-known verbal associations, or connections between
stem and answer.
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• ●  Consider if possible the presentation of alternatives in some logical order be it

chronological, most to least, or alphabetical.
• ●  Rarely use the alternatives none of the above and all of the above. When
used, such alternatives should be used seldom as the correct response.
• ●  Hardly use negatively stated stems. When used, underline or capitalize the
negative word (e.g. Which does NOT belong to the group?)
• ●  Keep all alternatives in a similar or consistent format (i.e., all phrases, all
sentences, etc.)
• ●  As much as possible, make the alternatives for an item approximately of the
same length to avoid having the student assume that the correct answer is usually
the longer one.
 b. True-or-False Test
• There are only two possible responses for each item and the student chooses between them, whether the
statement is true or false. True-false questions are well suited for testing student recall or comprehension.
• The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when preparing True-False items:
• ●  Keep the language as simple and as clear as possible.
• ●  The number of true and false items should be approximately equal.
• ●  The arrangement of true and false items should be in random.
• ●  Use popular misconceptions/belief as false statements
• ●  Avoid the use of extreme modifiers (e.g., all, always, only, none, never, everyone,
• absolutely, certainly, etc.) or qualifiers (usually, often, some, many, sometimes, frequently,
• etc.)
• ●  Avoid lifting statements from the text, lecture, or other materials so that memory alone will
• not permit a correct answer.
• ●  Avoid using negatively stated item statements.
• ●  Avoid the use of unfamiliar vocabulary.
 c. Matching Type Test

• Matching questions provide the most efficient

way to test knowledge in courses in which
events, dates, names, and places are important.
It is also appropriate for sciences in which
numerous experiments, experimenters, results,
and special terms and definitions have to be
remembered. Simple matching of items
consists of two columns: one column of stems
or problems to be answered, and another
column of responses from which the answers
are to be chosen. Traditionally, the column of
stems is placed on the left and the column of
responses is placed on the right.
Directions: One the line next to each psychological theory in
Column A, write the letter of the name of the proponent in
Column B. Each name of the proponent can be used only once.

• Column A
___ 1. Psychosocial Theory Column B
___ 2. Psychoanalytical Theory A. Abraham Maslow
___ 3. Cognitive Theory B. Erik Erikson
___ 4. Moral Development Theory C. Jean Piaget
D. Lawrence Kohlberg
___ 5. Ecological System Theory E. Sigmund Freud
The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when
preparing matching type
test items:

• ●  ● Include directions that clearly state the basis for matching the stems
with the responses.

• Keep matching items brief, limiting to the list of stimuli to 10-15.

• ●  Avoid grammatical or other clues to the correct response.
• ●  The column of stimuli on the left should set the question clearly.
• ●  Avoid breaking a set of items (stems and responses) over two pages.
• ●  Make sure there are no multiple correct responses for one stem. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

• ●  Arrange the list of responses in some systematic order if possible

(chronological,
• alphabetical).
• ●  List a larger number of responses than stems to reduce the possibility
of guessing
• correct answers.
d. Completion or Fill-in-the-Blanks Test
• Completion items are good for assessing knowledge level which involves who, what,
where, and when content. It minimizes guessing. However, it is difficult to assess
higher levels of learning because it overemphasizes the memorization of facts.
• The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when preparing completion
items:
• ●  Omit only significant words from the statement.
• ●  Do not omit so many words from the statement that the intended meaning is lost.
• ●  Avoid obvious clues to the correct response.
• ●  Be sure that there is only one correct response.
• ●  Avoid grammatical clues to the correct response.
• ●  If possible, put the blank at the end of the statement rather than at the beginning.
• To facilitate scoring, have the students write their responses on lines arranged in a
column to the left of the items.
 d. Completion or Fill-in-the-Blanks Test contd..

• Completion items are especially useful in assessing mastery of

factual information when a specific word or phrase is
important to know. A completion item requires the student to
answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by
filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example:

__________ 1. According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems, the id,
the ego, and the __________.
 e. Essay Tests
• Essay tests present a realistic task for the student.
Essays are good for assessing higher- order
thinking skills because it allows students to
demonstrate the ability to organize knowledge,
express opinions, and show originality. Moreover,
students are less likely to guess. Take note that
essays favor students who possess good writing
skills and neatness.
• While it is easy and less time consuming to
construct an essay test, it is subjective which is
potential for an unreliable scoring that is why there
must be a scoring model to guide the teacher.
 The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when
preparing essay test items:

• ●  Formulate the question so that the task is clearly defined for the student.
Use words that aim the student to the approach you want them to take.
• ●  Avoid the use of optional questions. Do not give them the choices on what
questions to answer, like choosing three (3) out of five (5) essay questions.
When students answer different questions, they are actually taking different
tests, hence, it makes it difficult to discriminate or identify the students who
could respond to all essay questions. If we are going to compare students for
scoring purposes, then all students should perform the same tasks or answer
the same questions so as not to affect the reliability of the scoring.
• ●  Write essay items at different levels of learning. Items should represent
situations that test the student’s ability to use knowledge to analyze, justify,
explain, contrast, evaluate, and so on.
 The following guidelines must be considered by a teacher when
preparing essay test items: contd…..
• ●  Use a scoring model. There are two approaches to score essay items:
o Analytic or point method. Before scoring, prepare an ideal answer in
which the major components are defined and assigned point values. Read and
compare the student’s answer with the model answer. Credit is given based
on the elements included in the answer.

o Holistic or rating method.This method involves considering the

student’sanswer as a whole and judging the total quality of the answer based
on certain criteria that you develop.
• ●  Write comments on the student’s answers. Teacher’s comments make
essay tests a good learning experience for the students.
2. Authentic
Assessment
 . Authentic Assessment
• An authentic assessment is related to tasks
relevant to professional practice or real-life
(Crisp, 2011). Teachers use authentic
assessment to demonstrate the skills and
concepts that students have learned. Clay
(2001) claimed that authentic assessment
aims to evaluate students’ abilities in a
real-world context where they can learn
how to apply their skills to authentic tasks
and projects. It goes beyond learning and
passive test-taking. Instead, it focuses on This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

student’s analytical skills, ability to

integrate what they learn, creativity, ability
to work collaboratively, and written and
oral expression skills.
Kinds of
Authentic
Assessment
and Tools
 Rubrics

A rubric is an assessment
tool that comes along when
portfolios, projects,
performances, and other
student authentic tasks are
evaluated. It is a tool to
measure certain students’
knowledge and abilities
which are not measurable
by standardized testing
systems (Price, et. al, 2011). This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Performance-based Assessments (PBA)
In PBA, students are asked to perform an
authentic task that simulates a real-life
experience and imitates real-world challenges.
Hence, PBA encourages students to synthesize
their knowledge and apply their skills to
circumstances that are likely to occur in the real-
world that is beyond the four walls of a
classroom setting. Some examples of PBA include
designing and constructing a model, developing,
conducting, and reporting on a survey, carrying
out a science experiment, creating and testing a
computer program, and outlining, researching,
and writing an in-depth report (Price, et. al,
2011). PBA is more student-centered and is better
to assess HOTS. Scoring rubrics are used to This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

measure a PBA.
Portfolio Assessment
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Portfolios highlight student effort,
development, and achievement over a
certain period because it requires
students to document a collection of
their works gathered over time,
hence, it is primarily used as a
summative evaluation method. It
measures a student’s ability to apply
knowledge and is considered both
student-centered and authentic
assessments of learning.
Self-assessment1.Self-assessment is generally viewed as a
formative strategy that promotes self-regulation
and helps students to judge their work, to reflect
on their progress, and to determine revisions and
improvements on a task to meet specific criteria
(Price, et. al, 2011). For self- assessment to be
truly effective, four (4) conditions must be in
placed (Ross, in Price, et. al 2011):
• ●  students and teacher agree on the self-
assessment criteria to be used by the former;
• ●  students are taught how to apply the self-
assessment criteria;
• ●  teachers provide feedback on the students’ own
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND assessments; and,
• ●  teachers help students use assessment data to
enhance greater learning and to meet
• the learning objectives.
Peer Assessment
• Peer assessments can be used with different
authentic tasks such as papers, presentations,
performances, projects, among others. In peer
assessment, learners assess the work of other
learners and the feedback obtained provides
information about the quality of their work or
output. While peer assessment is a good teaching
strategy, it can also be considered a part of the
grading system. For example, peer editing may
be done on a draft report but the teacher
evaluates the final draft or peers may provide
part of the score on a student’s performance but
the rest of the score comes from the teachers’
assessment. (Prince, et. al, 2011).
Student Response Systems
• Student response system (SRS), also known as
classroom response system (CRS), audience response
system (ARS) or colloquially as “clickers,” is a general
term that refers to a variety of technology-based
formative assessment tools that can be used to gather
student-level data instantly in the classroom. Through
the combination of hardware (handheld clickers,
receiver, PC, internet connection, projector, and
screen) and software, teachers can ask students a wide
range of questions (both closed and open-ended),
students can respond quickly and anonymously, and
the teacher can display the data immediately and
graphically. What makes SRS distinct from other
assessment tools is its ability to collect and display
data instantly rather than waiting days to present the
outcome as with a test, essay, or project.

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 Role-plays and scenario-based learning

• . Role-plays allow students to take on the

role of a persona and to respond as that
persona in a scenario constructed by the
teacher. They are designed as authentic
learning and assessment activities.
Students can interact with other students
(through their personas) to collaborate,
collude, negotiate, or debate an issue. Both
role-plays and scenario-based learning
provide students with decision points and
branching opportunities (Crisp, 2011).
 Graphic Organizers and Concept Mapping
• Graphic organizers and concept
mapping are visual representations
of mental maps. As an authentic
assessment strategy, students are
encouraged to apply skills such as
sequencing, comparing, contrasting,
and classifying in presenting
relationships and associations of
concepts and ideas through a visual
format. A scoring rubric is used to
measure a graphic organizer or a
concept map (Scott, n.d).

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 Activity 3
• Select a particular topic in your field of specialization. You
may google a topic of your interest or get it from a book
that you may borrow from a teacher or student in your
neighborhood. You will use your desired topic to prepare
sample items for the following types of test:
1. 5 items for MCQ
2. 5 items for True-or-False
3. 5 items for Matching Type
4. 5 items for Completion for Fill-in-the-Blanks
5. 2 items for Essays
• Include in your output the following:
• ●  Answer Keys for a to d
• ●  Scoring Model for e
• ●  Details of your reference material/s (author, title,
copyright information, website,
• etc.)
 Group Activity
• Create an Informative and
creative brochure/e-brochure
of authentic assessments.
You may include authentic
assessments which were not
mentioned in this material.

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