Effective Teaching Methods: Types of Evaluation

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Types of Evaluation

Since evaluation is an integral part of the educative process, the teacher should guide every learning experience in relation to the needs and interest of the learners. Evaluation forms the basis for deciding what type of appraisal is needed to assess a particular learning situation.

• Diagnostic evaluation: This is the type of evaluation the teacher considers at the beginning of the unit or course to determine the different levels in terms of learning experience of children to serve as basis for grouping them - slow, average or fast. Diagnostic evaluation will also enable the teacher to ascertain or analyze the nature or cause of difficulties, and, in effect, help them plan remedial activities to meet their interests and needs.
• Formative evaluation: This type of evaluation the teacher performs the learning activities to find out how well he is doing and what is needed during the next learning experience by the learners. This is important to give the learners adequate information for self-appraisal. This is one way of motivating them. Information from formative evaluations is not used to make decisions or judgments about the learners' work; but rather used on matters as learner's grouping, preparation of lesson plans and execution of teaching strategy.
• Summative evaluation: Under this type, the teacher undertakes the evaluation of the learning outcomes of a unit in order to grade the learners and make his own personal judgment on the effectiveness of his methods of teaching. This evaluation process serves as a basis for deciding whether promotion or retention will be better for the learner. Besides, it can also serve as a guide in determining the effectiveness of instruction and be a gage for planning future learning activities. Summative evaluations are those used by the teacher to determine grades and form the reports sent to the students and their parents.

Evaluating instructional outcomes is necessary to maintain the prescribed performance standard of the learners, serves as guide in determining on-going experiences and when to introduce new ones; to appraise the teacher's performance; effectiveness of teaching methodology; availability and suitability of textbook and other printed learning materials; and to identify and measure special abilities of learners.

Purposes of Tests in Education

The primary purposes of tests are to determine the extent to which the learning objectives have been attained and to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional outcomes. The results of the test may affect the objectives of instruction. If the tests are not valid and reliable, then, the quality of the instruction on which we must make judgment cannot be adequate.

According to Findley, these purposes may be classified as:

• Instructional: This means that the process of constructing a test stimulates teachers to clarify and refine meaningful course objectives; tests provide a means of feedback to the teacher, properly constructed tests can motivate learning; and examinations are useful means of over-learning.
• Administrative: This means that tests may provide a means for "quality control" for the school system; tests are useful for program evaluation and research; tests enable better decisions on classification and placement; test can increase the quality of selection decisions; and tests can be useful means of accreditation, mastery or certification.
• Guidance: This means that tests can be of value in diagnosing an individual's special aptitudes and abilities.