Page 300 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Notes The chief characteristic of this type of tests is that by these tests the knowledge of the
students pertaining to the subject as well as their insight can be measured, if the tests are
valid, reliable and objective. Execution and evaluation of such tests is also easier.
However, since the questions are not asked on the whole subject matter, so it is not
possible to measure the whole knowledge about the subject.
At present, efforts are being made to improve upon the norm referenced tests, and much
success has been achieved in the direction of correct measurement and evaluation.
2. Criterion Referenced Tests : Those tests are included in this type which commit criterion
referenced measurement, that is, they measure the real condition of a student’s ability in
a particular subject in a group. However, Glaser has not clarified the meaning of criterion.
As a result, different scholars use it in different meanings. Some scholars consider the
meaning of criterion to be by contents. Their argument is that the ability of a student is
not correctly measured by norm referenced tests, as such questions should be asked on
the whole curriculum. Such scholars call criterion referenced tests as Content Reference
Tests or Ability Referenced Tests. But most of the scholars attribute the meaning of
criterion to teaching objectives and they take the criterion referenced tests as Objective
Referenced Tests. Some educationists define teaching objectives in the form of
behavioural change. They classify behavioural change into three domains : Cognitive
domain, Affective domain and Psychomotor domain. These educationists take criterion
referenced tests in the form of Domain Referenced Tests. We are of the view that the
term—Objective Referenced Tests is the most suitable one. It includes all the three
domains—cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.
The chief characteristic of these tests is that they can measure the whole knowledge of a
student in a subject if care is taken in their construction about their validity, reliability
and objectivity. These tests, help to know how much the students have learnt and how
much not, and accordingly planning can be made for future.
However, construction, administration and evaluation of these tests are difficult, execution
needs special training. At present, much emphasis is given on Bloom’s taxonomy in our
country. We are, perhaps, not aware that it is now considered meaningless in America.
So it should suffice to say that we should divide the educational objectives into cognitive,
affective and psychomotor domains, and , construct objective based tests to measure the
achievement of the objectives for which teaching was conducted. Efforts are going on in
this field at present; short-answer-type questions and objective-type questions are asked
along with essay-type questions. Of course, we are not in favour of objective-type questions
being asked along with essay-type and short-answer-type questions. Objective-type
questions should be asked in independent tests.

The psychologists have constructed some standardized tests for measurement of
psychological abilities—intelligence, aptitude and personality, and they claim them
to be fully valid, reliable and objective. But their claim does not seem to be fully
correct.

(VII) Classification on the Basis of Types of Questions Asked in the Tests
Tests can be classified into three types on the basis of the construction of the questions and the
form of their answers—essay type, short answer type and objective type tests. These tests are
chiefly used in the field of education. So we shall discuss their forms and merits and demerits
in the succeeding paragraphs.
Essay Type Tests

The test in which essay type questions are asked and their answers too have to be given in essay-
type, they are called essay type tests. Such tests have been in vogue since ancient times, so some

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