Nature of measurement of

education, meaning and process

Meaning of measurement
• It is the collection of information in numeric form
• It is the record of performance or the information which is required to
make judgement
• According to R.N Patel
It is an act or process that involves the assignment of numerical
values to whatever is being tested. So it involves the quantity of
something
Nature of measurement
• It should be quantitative in nature
• It must be precise and accurate(instrument)
• It must be reliable
• It must be valid
• It must be objective in nature
Need and importance
• All measurement in education has the common aims of (1) arriving at defensible
conclusions regarding students’ standing with respect to a specified educational
outcome, (2) documenting student ability, achievement, or interests, (3) gauging
student progress toward specified educational goals, and (4) improving teaching
and learning. Educational measurement is closely related to the concepts of
testing, assessment, and evaluation. Measurement can be defined as the process
of assigning numbers to events based on an established set of rules. In
educational measurement, the “events” under consideration are students’ test
performances. In the simplest case, the numerals assigned are typically whole
numbers, such as a student’s number of correct responses. An example of a set of
“rules” in this situation might be that one point is earned for each correct
response to a multiple-choice test item, zero points are earned for an incorrect
response, and the sum of these values is the student’s total test score
(sometimes called a raw score). Percentage correct is another commonly used
metric
• Standardized Tests: Advantages
• Student: So are all standardized tests good to use?
• Expert: Well, actually, there are multiple advantages and disadvantages of
these types of tests. Let's talk about the advantages first.
• There are many advantages of standardized testing:
• Standardized tests are practical, they're easy to administer, and they
consume less time to administer versus other assessments.
• Standardized testing results are quantifiable. By quantifying students'
achievements, educators can identify proficiency levels and more easily
identify students in need of remediation or advancement.
• Standardized tests are scored via computer, which frees up time for the
educator.
• Since scoring is completed by computer, it is objective and not subject
to educator bias or emotions.
• Standardized testing allows educators to compare scores to students
within the same school and across schools. This information provides
data on not only the individual student's abilities but also on the
school as a whole. Areas of school-wide weaknesses and strengths
are more easily identifiable.
• Standardized testing provides a longitudinal report of student
progress. Over time, educators are able to see a trend of growth or
decline and rapidly respond to the student's educational needs.
• Standardized Tests: Disadvantages
• Expert: There are disadvantages of standardized testing. Standardized
testing is also highly scrutinized. Critics cite the following
disadvantages for the use of standardized testing:
• Standardized test items are not parallel with typical classroom skills
and behaviors. Due to the fact that questions have to be generalizable
to the entire population, most items assess general knowledge and
understanding.
• Since general knowledge is assessed, educators cannot use
standardized test results to inform their individual instruction
methods. If recommendations are made, educators may begin to
'teach to the test' as opposed to teaching what is currently in the
curriculum or based on the needs of their individual classroom.
• Standardized test items do not assess higher-level thinking skills.
• Standardized test scores are greatly influenced by non-academic
factors, such as fatigue and attention.
• 3. Results doesn’t allow educators to update their instruction
methods.
The questions on the test are general in nature, and it’s hard for
teachers to know how to improve students’ understanding of a
particular topic based on general information alone. What this does
though is allowing teachers to “teach to the test” rather than educate
students properly based on the needs of the classroom.