PHYSICS ASSESSMENT General Types of Assessment and The Types of Scales

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PHYSICS ASSESSMENT
General Types of Assessment and The Types of Scales
By:
MILLATHINA PUJI UTAMI
100210102029
PHYSICS EDUCATION PROGRAM
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
JEMBER UNIVERSITY
2012

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GENERAL TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
A. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
 Summative assessments are cumulative evaluations used to measure
student growth after instruction and are generally given at the end of a
course in order to determine whether long term learning goals have been
met.1 ["The Value of Formative Assessment." Retrieved 6 April 2009 from
FairTest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing Website:
http://www.fairtest.org]
 Summative assessment is a process that concerns final evaluation to ask if
the project or program met its goals. Typically the summative evaluation
concentrates on learner outcomes rather than only the program of
instruction. It is a means to determine a student’s mastery and
understanding of information, skills, concepts, or processes. Summative
assessments occur at the end of a formal learning/instructional experience,
either a class or a program and may include a variety of activities, e.g.,
tests, demonstrations, portfolios, internships, clinicals, and capstone
projects.
 'Summative' assessments are set to enable tutors to evaluate, and assign a
mark to their students' learning at a particular point in time. The mark
assigned contributes to the final outcome of the students' degree. The most
important thing when completing any form of assessment or examination
is to establish what the goalposts are, by looking at:
 the exact details of the assignment, including instructions about
format, presentation and structure
 the marking criteria for the assessment
 the "intended learning outcomes" for the course, i.e. what the tutor
has stated that s/he expects you to be able to demonstrate in order
to pass the course
These should be made available in handbooks, via Blackboard and/or on
course unit outlines distributed by the course unit leader.

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 Summative assessment is a high-stakes type of assessment for the
purpose of making final judgments about student achievement and
instructional effectiveness. By the time summative assessment occurs,
students have typically exited the learning mode. Summative assessment
forms an end point that sums up the performance or learning level of
achievement. The evaluation of summative assessments provides a look at
student performance as well as an opportunity to evaluate instructional
practices. Examples of summative assessment include but are not limited
to:
 Chapter/Unit tests
 Projects
 Performances
 Final copies
 Summative Assessment Methods currently in use include:
 Unseen Examination in controlled conditions (e.g. 3 questions in 3
hours)
 Seen exam paper in controlled conditions (as above, but you know the
question(s) in advance)
 Open Book or Take-Away exam
 Multiple Choice Test in controlled conditions (paper-based)
 In-class test
 Essay or Report (e.g. on an individual or group project)
 Portfolio
 Dissertation
 Presentation (may be peer-assessed and/or tutor-assessed)
 Performance (e.g. musical or dramatic)
 Oral examination (e.g. foreign language speaking skills)
 Attendance
 Participation in lectures and/or seminars/online discussion boards, or
group work (may be peer-assessed and/or tutor-assessed)
 Creation of a web page
 The most common examples of summative assessments include:
 State-mandated assessments
 District benchmark or interim assessments
 End-of-unit or -chapter tests
 End-of-term or -semester exams

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 Scores that are used for accountability for schools (AYP) and students
(report card grades)2
[Garrison, C. & Ehringhaus, M. (1995). "Formative and Summative
Assessments in the Classroom."]
 Summative assessment…
• Should reflect formative assessments that precede it.
• Should match material taught.
• May determine student’s exit achievement.
• May be tied to a final decision, grade or report.
• Should align with instructional/curricular outcomes.
• May be a form of alternative assessment.
B. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
 Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When
incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to
adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense,
formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student
understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made. These
adjustments help to ensure students achieve, targeted standards-based
learning goals within a set time frame. Although formative assessment
strategies appear in a variety of formats, there are some distinct ways to
distinguish them from summative assessments.
 Some of the instructional strategies that can be used formatively include
the following:
o Criteria and goal setting with students engages them in instruction
and the learning process by creating clear expectations. In order to be
successful, students need to understand and know the learning
target/goal and the criteria for reaching it. Establishing and defining
quality work together, asking students to participate in establishing
norm behaviors for classroom culture, and determining what should be
included in criteria for success are all examples of this strategy. Using
student work, classroom tests, or exemplars of what is expected helps
students understand where they are, where they need to be, and an
effective process for getting there.

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o Observations go beyond walking around the room to see if students
are on task or need clarification. Observations assist teachers in
gathering evidence of student learning to inform instructional
planning. This evidence can be recorded and used as feedback for
students about their learning or as anecdotal data shared with them
during conferences.
o Questioning strategies should be embedded in lesson/unit planning.
Asking better questions allows an opportunity for deeper thinking and
provides teachers with significant insight into the degree and depth of
understanding. Questions of this nature engage students in classroom
dialogue that both uncovers and expands learning. An "exit slip" at the
end of a class period to determine students' understanding of the day's
lesson or quick checks during instruction such as "thumbs up/down"
or "red/green" (stop/go) cards are also examples of questioning
strategies that elicit immediate information about student learning.
Helping students ask better questions is another aspect of this
formative assessment strategy.
o Self and peer assessment helps to create a learning community
within a classroom. Students who can reflect while engaged in
metacognitive thinking are involved in their learning. When students
have been involved in criteria and goal setting, self-evaluation is a
logical step in the learning process. With peer evaluation, students see
each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality
work against previously established criteria.
o Student record keeping helps students better understand their own
learning as evidenced by their classroom work. This process of
students keeping ongoing records of their work not only engages
students, it also helps them, beyond a "grade," to see where they
started and the progress they are making toward the learning goal.
 Educators use formative assessments to monitor and update classroom
instruction, and these types of assessments are not used in the grade point
average of the student. Types of formative assessment include informal
observation, worksheets, pop quizzes, journals and diagnostic tests that
enable the teacher to assess how students are performing and how well the
particular lesson plan is working. In fact, some teachers like to use
formative evaluation as a prompt to design courses of instruction.
 Formative assessment is a range of formal and informal assessment
procedures employed by teachers during the learning process in order to
modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment.[1] [
Crooks,, T. (2001). The Validity of Formative Assessments. British

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Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of
Leeds, September 13-15 2001.]
 The time between formative assessment and adjustments to learning can
be a matter of seconds or a matter of months. Some examples of formative
assessment are:
 A language teacher asks students to choose the best thesis statement
from a selection; if all choose correctly she moves on; if only some do
she may initiate a class discussion; if most answer incorrectly then she
may review the work on thesis statements.
 A teacher asks her students to write down, in a brainstorm activity, all
they know about how hot-air balloons work so that she can discover
what students already know about the area of science she is intending
to teach.
 A science supervisor looks at the previous year's student test results to
help plan teacher workshops during the summer vacation, to address
areas of weakness in student performance.
[Wiliam, Dylan (2006). "Formative assessment: getting the focus
right". Educational Assessment 11: 283–289]
 Formative assessments occur throughout the learning process. They
provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate attainment of
identified targeted goals without concerns about grading. Formative
assessments should vary to accommodate students' abilities to demonstrate
knowledge. Examples of formative assessments include but are not limited
to:
 Conferences
 Observations
 Question and Answer Sessions
 First Drafts / Quizzes
 Journals
 Formative assessment provides ongoing direction for improvement and/or
adjustment in learning and instruction. It is non-graded and considered
low-stakes. An important element of formative assessment is feedback.
Feedback makes the biggest impact when it occurs during the learning

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process. Research shows that most assessments should be formative in
nature.
C. DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
 Diagnostic Assessment involves making judgements as to how a pupil
is performing against a predetermined set of criteria. This kind of
assessment must be linked to further work which will tackle problems
identified. There is thus an overlap between formative and diagnostic
assessment. Internationally, there are moves to implement formal,
standardised, objective types of diagnostic assessment; it is also possible
to view it in a more informal way. It must be remembered, however, that
no diagnostic test is 100% accurate. Teachers should balance a test
result against their own professional judgement of aptitude.
 Diagnostic assessment occurs at the beginning of the teaching/learning
cycle. This type of assessment will provide the teacher with an
understanding of the prior knowledge and skills a student brings to a unit,
as well as the strengths and specific learning needs of an individual or
groups of students in relation to the expectations that will be taught.
 Diagnostic assessment is conducted prior to and during teaching and
learning to determine:
 what existing knowledge, skills, attitudes, interests, and/or needs the
student has
 the range of individual differences
 what program plans and/or modifications are required to meet the
needs of individuals or groups of students
 For example, the Heritage College Mathematics Department administers a
diagnostic test to all Math 98, 99, and 101 students during the first week of
each new semester. Math 98 students take an exam that covers Math 97
material; Math 99 students take one that covers Math 97 and 98 materials;
and Math 101 students take one that covers Math 97, 98, and 99 materials.
Based on the diagnostic exam results, each student’s deficiencies are
determined, and each student is subsequently required to complete a

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computer-based mathematics tutorial program that is tailored to his or her
specific difficulties. Because the primary purpose of the diagnostic test is
remediation, it is both un-graded and low-stakes.
 Diagnostic assessment provides a way for teachers to chart a course of
action, or map out a route, using existing knowledge to build upon. It also
allows for identification of gaps or misconceptions in prior learning. These
assessments are used to gather information about what students already
know and are able to do. Examples of diagnostic assessments include but
are not limited to:
 Graphic organizers
 Journal Entries
 KWLs
 Pre-tests
THE TYPES OF VALUES SCALE
 Nominal values scale is a scale that used to identifying objects, individual,
or group. For the example, to classifying the gender (male/female),
religion, work, etc. In the questioner that gave Yes(1) answer or No(0) is
the sample of nominal values scale. Nominal basically refers to
categorically discrete data such as name of your school, type of car you
drive or name of a book.
 Ordinal values scale is a scale that have a rank form. For the example, the
first rank, second, and soon. In the questioner that have a Likert scale, use
the ordinal values scale such as a disagree(1) statement, doubt(2)
statement, and an agree(3) statement. Ordinal refers to quantities that
have a natural ordering. The ranking of favorite sports, the order of
people's place in a line, the order of runners finishing a race or more often
the choice on a rating scale from 1 to 5. With ordinal data you cannot state
with certainty whether the intervals between each value are equal. For
example, we often using rating scales (Likert questions). On a 10 point
scale, the difference between a 9 and a 10 is not necessarily the same

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difference as the difference between a 6 and a 7. This is also an easy one to
remember, ordinal sounds like order.
 Interval values scale is a same scale with nominal and ordinal values scale,
but it has a remain characteristics and be able to notate into the
mathematics function. For the example, how much a woman go to market
(once, twice, etc), or final test score, etc. Interval data is like ordinal
except we can say the intervals between each value are equally split. The
most common example is temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. The
difference between 29 and 30 degrees is the same magnitude as the
difference between 78 and 79 (although I know I prefer the latter). With
attitudinal scales and the Likert questions you usually see on a survey,
these are rarely interval, although many points on the scale likely are of
equal intervals.
 Ratio values scale is a real values scale, have a same distance, and be able
to notate into the mathematics function. For the example, weight, the
distance of street, etc. Ratio data is interval data with a natural zero point.
For example, time is ratio since 0 time is meaningful. Degrees Kelvin has
a 0 point (absolute 0) and the steps in both these scales have the same
degree of magnitude.