Evaluation in Education: Overview and Types

Study Notes

Evaluation is defined as the process of making a value judgment about the worth of a student's product or performance.
It involves a systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth, and significance, using criteria based on a set of standards.
It can assist organizations, programs, projects, or any intervention in assessing aims, concepts, proposals, and alternatives. It also helps with decision-making and determining the level of achievement and value of any action.

Formative Evaluation: This type of evaluation assesses the quality of materials, procedures, curricula, or educational programs during their design or development phase. It's used to monitor student learning progress during or after instruction. This method usually occurs during the instructional process to give students feedback and teachers guidance on their teaching. Its purpose is to provide immediate feedback on student and teacher success or failure regarding learning, identify learning errors, and provide information to teachers to adjust instruction.
Summative Evaluation: This evaluation assesses the quality of instructional materials, procedures, curricula, or educational programs. It summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of a program or curriculum. Summative evaluation typically occurs at the end of a course or unit and aims to determine the extent to which instructional objectives have been met. Its purpose is to certify student mastery, provide information for assigning tasks, and determine the effectiveness of instruction.
Diagnostic Evaluation: This evaluation happens before instruction begins. It's used to identify student strengths and weaknesses related to topics to be discussed, assess prior knowledge of a specific topic or lesson, determine the level of competence of the students, identify students who already have knowledge of the lesson about to be taught, and determine causes of learning problems to plan remedial action.

Norm-Referenced Evaluation: A method of evaluating a student's performance based on comparison with other students who take the same exam (or tasks). This approach measures how well a student performs compared to others.
Criterion-Referenced Evaluation: A method of evaluating student performance based on predefined criteria, not compared to other students. It measures a student's mastery of instructional objectives, focusing on whether specific criteria and standards have been met, rather than ranking learners.

The assessment focuses on what a student can do, not just what they know. It sets criteria to evaluate how well the student achieved a specified learning target.
Performance assessments involve tasks that require students to demonstrate skills, often through hands-on activities or products.
Performance assessments consist of two parts: the task itself and the criteria for evaluation.
The activities can take the form of extended written or spoken answers, group or individual activities, or creating products related to specific learning outcomes.
Performance can be assessed in different settings (structured, on-demand tasks, natural settings, long-term projects).
Evaluation of the process the student uses to complete the task is crucial.

Structured, on-demand tasks: Tasks with specific instructions and materials, allowing control over the situation and outcomes.
Naturally occurring situations: Allow students to perform tasks in everyday settings, outside the classroom context. These assessments do not inform the students that they are being evaluated.
Long-term projects: These assessments are typically group or individual projects, often covering several weeks/months, assessing students' ability for collaboration, and ability to produce and demonstrate a skill or subject.

Deeper understanding of complex skills and knowledge
Ability to assess processes and products together
Encourages innovation and creativity in students and teachers
Assesses the capability "to do" something, rather than just theoretical knowledge

Time-consuming (scoring and administering lengthy tasks)
Challenging to measure (objectivity can be a hurdle)
May be difficult to prepare tasks that are assessable or that comprehensively evaluate higher-order thinking skills.