Page 321 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Unit 27 : Diagnostic Test : Concept and Construction, Remedial Teaching

students should be minutely studied in order to convert observations into test items. Interpretation Notes
of scores is done under individual and group errors respectively, and different remedial teaching
methods are adopted for these two types of errors.

27.5 Process of Diagnosis Test

Following are the five important steps of the process of instructional diagnosis :
1. Selection of Students for Diagnosis : At first those students are located who find it difficult to
adjust in the school. These are those students who are weak in one or more subjects, and are
not able to adjust well with some other activities of the school. The following methods can be
used to locate such students :
(a) Each student has peculiar causes for his weakness. Therefore, the students who need
diagnosis should come to the teacher themselves.
(b) Such students can be selected on the basis of test results held in school from time to time.
(c) Teachers can select such students on the basis of their experience.
(d) The students giving unsatisfactory performance in achievement should be given
achievement tests and intelligence tests in order to locate them.
(e) Some students have very high IQ but their performance is very low, and there can be
some students who stand first in the class but are not able to adjust with the social
environment. Such low-achievers and misfits should be located very carefully.
(f) The interview method can prove to be very effective for locating such students.
2. Identify Difficulty Points : To know what student is facing what type of difficulty, diagnostic
and performance or achievement tests can be administered which can be teacher-made or
standardized. However, the most suitable tool for this are the diagnostic tests, which present
the correct picture of a student’s weaknesses and abilities. Though the scope of each diagnostic
test is limited and narrow, yet the manner in which these test the narrow and limited field, is
unique. The diagnostic importance of a test depends more on the teacher, and less on the form
of the test. Sometimes, informal tests too prove helpful in this field.
“Such informal and observation charts usually indicate the correct level on which to start
remedial instruction.” — Durrell
In brief, by diagnostic tests is seen the difficulty level of which a student can solve questions
based on concepts, laws, processes, formulae and principles etc, and at what places he finds it
difficult.
3. Analysis of Difficulty Points : It is very difficult to ascertain why a student is committing a
particular type of error again and again, because the mind of each student functions in a
peculiar manner. Having ascertained the nature of subject-related weakness and level of
difficulty of a student, a teacher sets out on the task of locating its causes. A teacher tries to
locate its cause amongst one or more of the following causes : physical defects, emotional
instability, disinterest, indifference, bad habits, lack of general or specific intelligence, school-
related causes (lack of good teaching, bad behaviour by teachers or classmates, failure in tests,
disinterest of teacher in the student, prejudiced behaviour, harsh discipline etc.), domestic
causes (bad behaviour or ill-treatment by parents and other family members or relatives, lack
of proper resources for study, lack of suitable environment, poverty, business in domestic
tasks etc.). Sometimes, he can estimate the causes and tries to ascertain them on the basis of his
experience or interview.
4. Remedial Procedures : Having diagnosed a student’s weakness, now is the time to undertake
procedures for its remedy. A suitable plan for the removal of weakness and error is constructed
which comprises of the details of the weakness and its causes, and measures to be undertaken
for its remedy. If a number of students have committed the same type of error, then they may
be treated collectively, and if the error is individual, then it should be remedied individually.
A teacher should keep the following aspects in mind while using remedial measures :

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 315