Concept of Assessment

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

   Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student learning to refine programs and Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation:

What Is Assessment?

– helping students meet certain standards

– using the assessment data to identify strengths and weaknesses in student performance, and to improve the quality of teaching and learning

– 3 types of assessments:

•     Diagnostic, 

•     Formative, and 

•     Summative

Definitions

Various definitions of assessment and the role it plays in teaching and learning:

·         Improve student learning.  (Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education by Allen 2004)

·         Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.  (Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)

·         Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students.  It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development.  (Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes by Erwin 1991)

·         Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development.  (Assessment Essentials: planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education by Palomba and Banta 1999)

The Purpose of Assessment

·         Seven purposes of assessment:

·         – To assist student learning. 

·         – To identify students’ strengths and weaknesses. 

·         – To assess the effectiveness of a particular instructional

·         strategy. 

·         – To assess and improve the effectiveness of curriculum

·         programs. 

·         – To assess and improve teaching effectiveness. 

·         – To provide data that assist in decision making 

·        

Test:  The term test is the narrowest of the three terms, and may be defined as follows:

·         “It is device or procedure for confronting a subject with a standard set of questions or tasks to which the student is to respond independently and the results of which can be treated in such a way as to provide a quantitative comparison of the performance of different students”.

The following are the important aspects of the definition:

·         A test often implies the presentation of a standard set of  questions to be answere or tasks to be performed.

·         It is the student who does this and does it independently.

·         The test results in a measure (a numerical value) of a characteristic of the students.

·         The test provides a quantitative comparison of the performance of different students.

·         It is a technique that yields only a verbal description.

MEASUREMENT:

As a result of a test, a measure is obtained. An observation, rating scale or any other device that allows us to obtain information in a quantitative form is a measurement.

     Measurement may be defined as “an act or a process that involves thye assignment of a numerical index to whatever is being assessed”.

There are three types of measurement namely;

Direct—measuring the length of the table, Indirect –Measuring the heat through thermometer, and relative measurement----Measuring the intelligence (Psychological aspects)

Nature of Educational Measurement:

·         Measurement in education is quantitative-we set scores, norms, IQ’s average etc, all of which are numerical expressions.

·         As we gain knowledge and experience in a field, our measurement techniques improve, the margin of error decreases, the result become more exact.

·         Education measurement is generally indirect rather than direct.

·         Educational measurements are relative; they are not in any sense absolute. There is no unit of achievement in arithmetic; no quite of school intelligence etc. standards in educational measurement are based on observed performance of typical subject.

EVALUATION:

     Evaluation is an act or a process that allows one to make a judgment about the desirability or a value of a measure.

Evaluation is a process of determining, obtaining and providing useful information for judging decision alternatives.

      Thus the word “evaluation” refers to the act or process of determining the value of something.

     The important aspects of this definition are:-

i)  Evaluation implies a systematic process, which omits casual uncontrolled observation of      pupils.

ii)  Evaluation assumes that instructional objectives have been previously identified, without previous determined objectives. It is difficult to judge clearly the nature and extent of pupil learning. This can be represented diagrammatically as-

CONTENT

      OBJECTIVES                                       EVALUATION PROCEDURE

                                      LEARNING

                                  EXPERIENCES

The following are the important aspects (importance) of the definition:

1) Evaluation implies a systematic process, which omits the casual uncontrolled observation of pupils.

2) Evaluation is continuous process. In an ideal situation, the teaching-learning process on the one hand and the evaluation procedure on the other hand, go together. It is certainly a wrong belief that the evaluation procedure follows the teaching-learning process.

3) Evaluation emphasizes the broad personality changes and major objectives of an educational programme. It includes, attitudes interests and ideals, ways of thinking, work habits and personal and social adaptability.

4) Evaluation always assumes that educational objectives have previously been identified and defined.  This is the reason why teachers are expected not to lose sight of educational objectives while planning and carrying out teacher-learning process either in the classroom or outside it.

5) A comprehensive programme of evaluation involves the use of many procedures; a great variety of tests; and other necessary techniques.

6) Learning is more important that teaching. Teaching has no value, if it does not result in learning on the part of the pupils.

7) Objectives of learning experiences should be so relevant that ultimately they should be so relevant that ultimately they should direct the pupils towards the accomplishment of educational goals.

8) To assess the students and their complete development brought through education is evaluation.

9) Evaluation includes all the means of collecting evidence of student’s behaviors.

10) Evaluation is more concerned with the growth which the student has made, than with his status in the group.

11) Evaluation is continuous, an integral part of all training and testing.

12) Evaluation is descriptive as well as quantitative.

13) Evaluation is concerned with the total personality of the student and with gathering evidence on all aspects of personality development.

14) Evaluation is co-operative process involving students. Teachers  and  parents.

15) Evaluation is determination of the congruence between the performances of objectives.

    Evaluation= Measurement (qualitative and quantitative) + Value judgment.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

MEASUREMENT	EVALUATION
1) Measurement is limited to quantitative      descriptions of pupils’ behavior.	1) Evaluation includes both quantitative and     qualitative descriptions of pupils behavior.
2) It is used for identifications of progress     through the use of achievement tests.	2) It is used for identifications of major     Objectives for a curriculum.
3) It is concerned with how much?	3)  Concerned with the total personality of the     Pupil.
4) It has a limited scope.	4) It has a wider scope.
5) It is not possible to realize the pupil’s     behavior by measurement alone.	5) Through evaluations pupil’s behavior are to      be realized.
6) It determines the present status of pupils in     a particular area.	6) Determines past, present and future      progress of the pupil in a particular area or      in various areas.
7) Construction of valid and reliable     measurement is not possible.	7) Construction of valid and reliable evaluation      Instrument is possible.
8) Measurement does not require the  co- operation of students, teachers  and parents.	8) Requires the co-operation of students,      teachers and parents.
9) It describes a situation and not its worth or       Value.	9) It describes situations and judges its worth      Or value.

PROCESS OF EVALUATION

1) EVALUATION IS A CONTINUOUS ROCESS:  In order to make evaluation a tool of learning it has to be used more frequently as a part of teaching-learning activities. Since an individual grows all the time and acquires new behaviors, it becomes imperative that the desirability and adequacy of these behaviors be judged side by side. Making performance-assessment, a part of the teaching –learning activity can ensure this continuity. The more frequent the check-ups for regular feedback of student’s performance, the more continuous does the evaluation process become. Continuing of evaluation brings quality control into the process of learning. Therefore, evaluation should be made3 completely integrative with the teaching-learning process instead of being treated it as an end of the course activity.

2)EVALUATION IS A COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS: A pupil has different dimensions of growth-the intellectual, the emotional, the social and the physical. These aspects are represented in the form of cognitive, affective and psychomotor objectives. Apart from testing all possible objectives and content area, comprehensive evaluation involves the use of different tools and techniques to get different types of evidences on various aspects of evaluation. Evaluation, should therefore, be considered a comprehensive process.

3) EVALUATION IS A CO-OPERATIVE PROCESS: Since comprehensive evaluation seeks evidence on all aspects of pupil’s development, the teacher alone cannot get full evidence about his growth. To collect evidence-regarding social relationships, emotional behaviors, initiative, scientific attitude, social attitudes, likes and dislikes etc; we need the collaboration of pupils, his peers, his parents and all those teachers who watch him grow and develop. Therefore, for good evaluation the cooperation of different individuals and agencies is necessary and as such evaluation should be considered a cooperative process.

Guiding principles of evaluation

The principles of evaluation as suggested by Grim can be summarized as under:

(i) Evaluation takes into consideration the complete picture just as we consider the total personality of the child in learning.

(ii) For evaluation of the child an attempt is made to collect varied and relatively objective evidence.

(iii) Evaluation should enable the child to appraise himself.

(iv) For the success of evaluation process that teachers, parents, pupils, community, administration should participate in the process of evaluation.

(v) Evaluation must be a continuous and cumulative process.

(vi) Evaluation must be closely related to the guidance programme

Principles of Evaluation:

Evaluation is a sys­tematic process of determining to what extent instructional ob­jectives has been achieved. Therefore evaluation process must be carried out with effective techniques.

The following principles will help to make the evaluation process an effective one:

1. It must be clearly stated what is to be evaluated:

A teacher must be clear about the purpose of evaluation. He must formulate the instructional objectives and define them clearly in terms of student’s observable behaviour. Before selecting the achievement measures the intended learning out comes must be specified clearly.

2. A variety of evaluation techniques should be used for a comprehensive evaluation:

It is not possible to evaluate all the aspect of achievement with the help of a single technique. For the better evaluation the techniques like objective tests, essay tests, observational techniques etc. should be used. So that a complete’ picture of the pupil achievement and development can be assessed.

3. An evaluator should know the limitations of dif­ferent evaluation techniques:

Evaluation can be done with the help of simple observation or highly developed standardized tests. But whatever the instrument or technique may be it has its own limitation. There may be measurement errors. Sampling error is a common factor in educational and psychological meas­urements. An achievement test may not include the whole course content. Error in measurement can also be found due to students guessing on objective tests. Error is also found due to incorrect interpretation of test scores.

4. The technique of evaluation must be appropriate for the characteristics or performance to be measured:

Every evaluation technique is appropriate for some uses and inap­propriate for another. Therefore while selecting an evaluation technique one must be well aware of the strength and limitations of the techniques.

5. Evaluation is a means to an end but not an end in itself:

The evaluation technique is used to take decisions about the learner. It is not merely gathering data about the learner. Because blind collection of data is wastage of both time and effort. But the evaluation is meant for some useful purpose.

Functions of Evaluation:

The main aim of teaching learning process is to enable the pupil to achieve intended learning outcomes. In this process the learning objectives are fixed then after the instruction learning progress is periodically evaluated by tests and other evaluation devices.

The function of evaluation process can be summarized as following: 

1. Evaluation helps in preparing instructional objec­tives:

Learning outcomes expected from class-room discussion can be fixed by using evaluation results.

What type of knowledge and understanding the student should develop?

What skill they should display?

What interest and attitude they should develop?

Can only be possible when we shall identify the instructional objectives and state them clearly in terms of intended learning outcomes. Only a good evaluation process helps us to fix up a set of perfect instructional objectives.

2. Evaluation process helps in assessing the learner’s needs:

In the teaching learning process it is very much necessary to know the needs of the learners. The instructor must know the knowledge and skills to be mastered by the students. Evaluation helps to know whether the students possess required knowledge and skills to proceed with the instruction.

3. Evaluation help in providing feed back to the stu­dents:

An evaluation process helps the teacher to know the learn­ing difficulties of the students. It helps to bring about an im­provement in different school practices. It also ensures an ap­propriate follow-up service.

4. Evaluation helps in preparing programmed materials:

Programmed instruction is a continuous series of learning sequences. First the instructional material is presented in a limited amount then a test is given to response the instructional material. Next feedback is provided on the basis of correctness of response made. So that without an effective evaluation process the programmed learning is not possible.

5. Evaluation helps in curriculum development:

Cur­riculum development is an important aspect of the instructional process. Evaluation data enable the curriculum development, to determine the effectiveness of new procedures, identify areas where revision is needed. Evaluation also helps to determine the degree to what extent an existing curriculum is effective. Thus evaluation data are helpful in constructing the new curriculum and evaluating the existing curriculum.

6. Evaluation helps in reporting pupil’s progress to parents:

A systematic evaluation procedure provides an objective and comprehensive picture of each pupil’s progress. This com­prehensive nature of the evaluation process helps the teacher to report on the total development of the pupil to the parents. This type of objective information about the pupil provides the foun­dation for the most effective co-operation between the parents and teachers.

7. Evaluation data are very much useful in guidance and counselling:

Evaluation procedures are very much neces­sary for educational, vocational and personal guidance. In order to assist the pupils to solve their problems in the educational, vocational and personal fields the counsellor must have an objec­tive knowledge of the pupils abilities, interests, attitudes and other personal characteristics. An effective evaluation procedure helps in getting a comprehensive picture of the pupil which leads to effective guidance and of counselling.

8. Evaluation helps in effective school administration:

Evaluation data helps the administrators to judge the extent to which the objectives of the school are being achieved, to find out strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum and arranging special school programmes. It also helps in decisions concerning admis­sion, grouping and promotion of the students.

9. Evaluation data are helpful in school research:

In order to make the school programme more effective, researches are necessary. Evaluation data help in research areas like comparative study of different curricula, effectiveness of different methods, effectiveness of different organisational plans, etc.

1.3: TYPES OF EVALUATION

1) FORMATIVE EVALUATION:  According to Tonner (1977),” Formative evaluation refers to the use of tests and other evaluative procedures while the course and instructional programme is in progress.”

      When the students are said to be in well state regarding knowledge, the process of teaching applied to learn anything is called formative and the method of judging how much the reactions of teaching are made to students is evaluation. Therefore, the purpose of formative evaluation is to monitor the instructional process and not designed to make final judgments. Hence, in formative evaluation teaching process is made and learning is judged.

Eg. Unit tests, class tests, quizzes etc

Uses of Formative Evaluation:

1) It provides information to teachers for modifying instruction and teaching.

2) It helps to prescribe group and individual remedial programmes.

3) It is helpful in monitoring pupil’s learning progress.

4) It provides feedback to both the teachers and pupils.

5) It facilities retention and transfer of learning.

6) It enables the teachers to adjust their instruction according to the need of the students.

7) It helps the teacher for correcting learning deficiencies.

8) Formative evaluation also reinforces the learning of high achievers.

9) It helps in better performance is the simulative evaluation.

10) Formative test can be also be used as a self evaluation devices by the children.

11) It provides immediate feedback to the children.

12) It is also helpful in diagnosing child’s strength and weaknesses.

2) SUMMATIVE EVALUATION:  Summative Evaluation is a later process occurs in the end of a session or term to measure the achievement of pupils. Overall results of teaching-learning process can be obtained through this short of evaluation.

    Term tests annual tests and external examinations conducted by school or public agency are the essential parts of Summative Evaluation. Hence, summative evaluation is either external type or internal type of evaluation.

·         Formative Evaluation serves refinement purpose during teaching-learning process, but summative Evaluation may be said the evaluation of refined product.

·         When student become fully familiar with the whole syllabus and test of the whole syllabus is made summative Evaluation occurs in the end of academic year session to promote students to next class.

·         It is identification document of failure and the success of the class indicated promotion to the next class is also done through this document.

         Summative Evaluation may be seen three different ways:

·         By assessing the progress of student with reference to their own selves-self referenced.

·         By assessing the progress of student with reference to criteria set by their teacher-criterion referenced.

·         By assessing the progress of student with reference to the progress made by their peer group norm referenced.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE EVALLUATION

Formative Evaluation	Summative Evaluation
1) The purpose of formative evaluation is to diagnose the strength and weaknesses of the pupils.	1) The purpose is classification and promotion of students.
2) Evidences secured by it are used for further improvement of instruction and students better progress.	2) Its results are used for certification and passing judgment on pupils’ achievement.
3) Its focus is on improvement of pupils achievement.	3) It focus is on measurement of pupils’s achievement.
4) It refers to continuous evaluation by means of unit tests, assignments etc.	4) It refers to term tests, annual tests and external examinations.
5) It is an integral part of teaching learning process.	5) It is treated as an end of the course activity.
6) It provides continuous feed back to both pupil and teacher. 7) It is done during the course of instruction.	6) It does not provided feedback. 7) It is done at the end of academic session years.
8) It gives relevant information which helps to improve classroom instructions.	8) It provides the overall results of the teaching learning process.
9) It results are used for providing remedial measures and enrichment programmes for slow and figted learners respectively.	9) It results are used for classification placement and prediction for future success.

DIAGNOSTIC TEST IN EDUCATION

The purpose of a diagnostic test in education is to assess the current state of a student's progress or ability in a particular area. Some diagnostic tests determine if a student qualifies for special education services on the basis of everything from dyslexia to speech delays or even attention deficit disorder while others indicate specific competencies on the scope and sequence for a course in which students have either demonstrated mastery or need remediation.

Diagnostic tests measure students' understanding of a subject area or skills base. Teachers typically administer diagnostics for reading and math skills, using the results to provide remedial instruction or place students within appropriately leveled classes. Many content teachers, though, give formative assessments to gauge what knowledge students bring to class. Some schools also diagnose concepts as a whole, aiming to reveal commonly held misconceptions in specific subjects.

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Reading

Diagnostic tests for reading provide specific information about reading skills. Children take the test individually or in groups; some reading diagnostics are computer based while others require interaction with a test proctor. Such tests are designed to pinpoint at what grade level children are reading based on their mastery of phonics, blending, word recognition and text comprehension. Ideally, a child entering a grade should display reading skills typical of that grade, meaning a fifth grader isn't using sound-out techniques like a first grader. When teachers discover students are reading below grade level, they typically implement interventions designed to bolster the missing skills.

Math

Diagnostic testing in mathematics typically provides a level for the child's mathematical skills -- in this case not just related to grade level but also math topic. Schools often use such diagnostic testing to place students in appropriate math classes, for instance, by determining if they have the prerequisite skills necessary for a higher-level class such as calculus or trigonometry. However, educators use math diagnostics to boost student achievement by encouraging high achievers and offering remedial instruction, including summer school programs, to those who are struggling.

Meaning: A diagnostic test has been defined as “one designed to locate the particular source of a person’s difficulties in learning especially in school subjects”.

Importance:

1.         It provides the feed-back to the teacher as well as to the students regarding their strength and weaknesses.

2.        It helps teachers to modify their teaching learning strategies. So as to make them more effective in the light of the feedback.

3.        Diagnostic test is an integral part of overall evaluation.

4.       Hypothesizing the probable cause for these weakness and difficulties.

5.       Applying the remedial teaching for removing these weaknesses and difficulties.

Steps of construction in Diagnostic test:

1.     Planning:

a)      Identifying areas of weakness or learning difficulties: It may be based on the findings of the weakness of the student in classroom drill and practice work, homework and assignment, classroom behaviour of the student etc. The performance and behaviour of the studen5t of the student of the class during the evaluation encounters may provide clue /evidence of some or the other types of weaknesses and learning difficulties suffered by the students in one or the other learning areas of the subject.

b)      Content analysis: The content of the sub-units / a single concept should then be further analyzed to determine. The pre-requisite behaviour i.e., the previous knowledge, skills etc., needed for the learning of a particular sub-unit or a single concept.

The expected behaviour demonstrated by the learner after learning the contents related to that unit or a single concept.

c)       Deciding about the nature of the items of the test:A proper decision should then be taken about the nature and numbers of the items of the diagnostic test since it should be as exhaustive, detailed and lengthy as possible hence there must more weightage to the short and very short answer type questions in comparison to the large and essay type questions.

d)      Taking decision about necessary administrative measures: It is better to take decision regarding various administrative functioning of the test before sitting for its construction like, the time limit, direction for the proper administration of test, scoring and interpretation etc.

2.      Construction of Diagnostic test:In view of the things planned of the planning stage now attempts should be made to select appropriate items for being included in the proposed diagnostic test. This selection is mainly focused on the following aspects.

i). The nature of the contents of the sub-unit/a single concept.

ii). The pre-requisite behaviour is needed for learning the sub-unit/concept.

3.     Administration and interpretation of the diagnostic test:The necessary directions related to the proper administration of the test should be clearly explained or demonstrated to the students. When they have finished their task, the answer sheets along with the test paper should be carefully collected for the analysis and interpretation of their response. For this purpose these may be scored on the basis of the scoring key and model answers suggested in the constructed test. The interpretation about the weaknesses and strength of the students related to their performances in the learning of a sub-unit then is made on the basis of their scores on the total test items, parts of the test or individual items.

Uses of diagnostic test:

1.       Diagnostic test serves guides to the attainment of the students.

2.       Diagnostic test help in isolating difficulties of students individually.

3.       Diagnostic test help to group students for remedial or special coaching.

4.       Diagnostic test serve as guide to locate the attainments of difficulties of the students.

5.       Point out inadequacies in specific skills.

6.       Locate areas in which individual instruction is required.

7.       Serve as a basis for improving instructional methods, instructional materials and learning procedures.

PROGNOSTIC TEST

Test is to predict achievement in a specific subject area.

      Progress tests are longitudinal, feedback oriented educational assessment tools for the evaluation of development and sustainability of cognitive knowledge during a learning process. A progress test is a written knowledge exam (usually involving multiple choice questions) that is usually administered to all students in the "A" program at the same time and at regular intervals (usually twice to four times yearly) throughout the entire academic program. The test samples the complete knowledge domain expected of new graduates upon completion of their courses, regardless of the year level of the student). The differences between students’ knowledge levels show in the test scores; the further a student has progressed in the curriculum the higher the scores. As a result, these resultant scores provide a longitudinal, repeated measures, curriculum-independent assessment of the objectives (in knowledge) of the entire programme.

Diagnosis

Definition:

     Identifying the nature or cause of some phenomenon

Examples:

       The diagnosis was determined after numerous tests.

VS.

Prognosis

Definition:

      A prediction about how something (as an illness) will develop

Examples: the prognosis the doctor gave the patient was hopeful

Advantages

6.       Progress tests provide a rich source of information: the comprehensive nature in combination with the cross-sectional and longitudinal design offers a wealth of information both for individual learners as well as for curriculum evaluations.^[1]

7.       Progress Testing fosters knowledge retention: the repeated testing of the same comprehensive domain of knowledge means that there is no point testing facts that could be remembered if studied the night before. Long term knowledge and knowledge retention is fostered because item content remains relevant long after the knowledge has been learned. Progress Testing removes the need for resit examinations: every new test occasion is a renewed opportunity to demonstrate growth of knowledge.

8.       Progress Testing allows early detection of high achievers: some learners perform (far) beyond the expected level of their phase in training (e.g. they might have had relevant previous other training) and, depending on their performance, individual and more speeded pathways through the curriculum could be offered.

9.       Progress Testing brings stability in assessment procedures: curriculum changes, changes in content, have no consequence for the progress test provided the end outcomes are unchanged.

10.   Progress Testing provides excellent benchmarking opportunities: progress tests are not limited to a single school nor to PBL curricula and evaluations can easily be done to compare graduates and the effectiveness of different curriculum approaches.

Disadvantages

1.       Naturally, there are disadvantages. The required resources for test development and scoring and the need for a central organization are two very important ones.

2.       Scoring,^[27] psychometric procedures ^[28] for reducing test difficulty variation and standard setting procedures ^[29] are more complex in progress testing.

3.       Finally progress tests do not work in heterogeneous programs with early specialization (like in many health sciences programs). In more homogenous programs, such as most medical programs, they work really well and pay off in relation to driving learning and use of resources.

TEST OF ATTAINMENT OR ACHIEVEMNT

     Tests of attainment or achievement have been constructed to measure present performance in relation to a skill or knowledge, which has been acquired as a result of training. They are designed to measure an individual’s quality of learning in a particular school subject or course of study at the end of the instruction. Achievement test can be criterion referenced tests (CRT) or norm referenced tests (NRT).

Criterion referenced test (CRT)

   According to Popham W.J. and Husedk T.R Criterion referenced measure as—“which are used to ascertain an individual’s status with respect to some criterion i.e. performance standard. It is because an individual is compared with some established criterion, rather than other individual, that these measure are described as criterion referenced. The meaning of an individual’s score is not dependent on comparison with other testees. We want to know what the individual can do, not how much he stands in comparison to others”.

     From the above definitions it is concluded that criterion referenced test is meant to measure the achievement in that domain. It has nothing to do with the achievement level of the other examinees.

Criterion referenced test

·         Measures student’s achievement of curriculum based skills.

·         Has particular grade or course level.

·         Represents balanced goals and objectives.

·         Evaluates the curriculum plan instruction progress and group student’s interaction.

·         Can be administered before and after instruction.

·         Is generally reported in the form of minimum scores for partial and total mastery of main skill areas, number of correct items, percent of correct items and derived score based on correct items and other factors.

·         Discovers the inadequacies in learner’s learning and assist the weaker section of learners to reach the level of other students through a regular programme of remedial instruction.

·         Identifies the master learners and non-master learners in a class.

·         Finds out the level of attainment of various objectives of instruction.

·         Finds out the level at which a particular concept has been learnt.

·         Finds better placement of concepts at different grade levels.

·         Makes instructional decisions of what to do with a Lerner in individually prescribed instruction programme.

Guidelines for constructing, administering and Evaluating Criterion referenced Tests.

1.       State the objectives: The purpose of the test should be stated clearly and concisely. Objectives should be written in such a way that each item could be identified with one objective. The classroom teacher should be in a position to adapt the test to meet local situation. The set of objectives of the test should be a true representation of content domain.

2.       Prepare test items:  The test items to be prepared should be free from any bias and technical flaws. The set of test items should measure an objectives for which it has been included in the test. The test items should be valid indicators of the objectives for which they have been prepared. The test items should be in appropriate form to measure the objectives for which they have been selected. A heterogeneous sample should be used in the test items. Item analysis should be used to detect flawed items. The item review process should be described.

3.       Prepare instructions to the administrators: The test manual should specify the role and responsibilities of the examiner. The test administrator should have adequate information relating to the purpose, time limits, answer sheets and scoring of test. The directions of the test should be clear. The test should be easy to score. Test booklets should be attractively printed. The layout of test booklet should be convenient for examiners.

Norm Referenced test (NRT)

Gronlund (1976) states that norm referenced tests are “designed to rank students in order of achievement, from high to low, so that decisions based on relative achievements(e.g., selection, grouping and grading) can be made with greater confidence”.

     This test is used primarily for comparing achievement of an examinee to that of a large representative group of examinees at the same grade level. The representative group is known as the ‘Norm’. Norm group may be made up of examinees at the local, district, state or national level. Since the development of norm referenced test is expensive and time consuming commercial test publishers produce them. The following derived scores are generally recruited in these published tests.

a)      Percentile Rank:A number telling the percentage of examinee in a defined group scoring lower than the particular raw score.

b)      Linear Standard Score: A number telling the location of the particular score in relation to the mean and standard deviation of a defined group.

c)       Normalized Standardized Score: A number telling the location of the particular score in relation to a normal distribution defined in terms of a particular group.

d)      Grade Equivalent Score: A number telling the grade placement for which the particular raw score is the average for a defined group.

       Norm referenced test measures student’s achievement in curriculum based skills for a particular grade level.

It is administered after instruction. It is used for forming homogeneous groups out of heterogeneous class groups. It classifies achievement as above average, average or below average for a given grade.  It is generally reported in the form of Percentile Rank, Linear Standard Score, Normalized Standard Score and Grade Equivalent Score.

Process for developing norm-referenced achievement test:

According to L.M. Carey (1988), the process for developing norm referenced test may be done in following stages:

1.       Design Stage: It is done through curriculum analysis, Selecting objectives to be measured, analyzing objectives for determining pre-requisite skills, developing table of specifications for test and determining specifications for items.

2.       Development stage: This consists of writing items according to specifications like developing needed artwork and illustrations, writing response directions and examples, writing administrative directions, reviewing items illustrations and direction developing test lay-out and finally developing a simple test.

3.       Conducting field test: At this stage, testis tried out through selecting representative group, administering test, scoring, analyzing information, analyzing data, and selecting items and developing final test form.

4.       Developing test norms: Norms of the test are developed through describing characteristics of population, selecting representative norm group, administering test to norm group, scoring, converting raw score to standard scores and creating norm tables.

Writing Test Manual: The test manual is written describing,

1.       The designed process and skills measure,

2.       Thefield test process,

3.       The developing process,

4.       Criteria used to select items,

5.       Norm group selection procedure,

6.       Norm group characteristics,

7.       Test characteristics viz, reliability and standard error of measurement,

8.       Standard administrative procedures,

9.       Scoring procedure and derivations and

10.   Score interpretation procedures.

Uses of norm referenced test

1.       It is useful in aptitude testing for making differential prediction.

2.       To get a reliable rank ordering of the pupils with respect to the achievement we are measuring.

3.       To identify the pupils who have mastered the essentials of the course more than others.

4.       To select the best of the applicants for a particular programme.

5.       To find out how effective a programme is, in comparison to other possible programmes.

Evaluation Types: Levels and Uses

Formative	Diagnostic assessment	Summative
Evaluation of an individual learner used to help individual improve performance; –      Identification of areas for improvement –      Specific suggestions for Improvement.	A distinct form of measurement. Its purpose is to ascertain, prior to instruction, each student’s strengths, weaknesses, Knowledge, and skills.  Establishing these permits the instructor to remediate students and adjust the curriculum to meet each learner’s unique needs.	Evaluation of an individual  learner used for judgments or decisions about the individual –     Verification of achievement for individual –     Motivation of individual to  maintain or improve performance –     Certification of performance –     Grades –          Promotion

1.4: AREAS OF ASSESSMENT: SCHOLASTIC AND NON-SCHOLASTIC

Assessment of Scholastic Area

Meaning

To all of us assessment at school level revolves around percentages and performance based on

a Test. On basis of this we try to judge or certify the child as intelligent or a slow learner. It is always

the  Normal  Probability  Curve,  which  demarcates  the  students  into  various  performance  categories

made as per some fixed criteria, which majorly depends on the Test taken by the school. So this means

that the Scholastic aspects are duly taken into account in our assessment system. Also these days lot of

schools  are  focusing  on  the  holistic  development  of  the  child,  which  is  also,  known  as  the  all  round

Development of the child.  This also highlights the need of E.Q.  more than I.Q.  For example-An

Engineer scoring 80% designs a beautiful product and is not able to sell it or talk about it or market it

for  which  special  skills  are  required  or  is  not  confident  enough  to  deal  with  teams,  customers,

Competition, etc.  Then those 80% are not going to do much for him in life. So would this mean that

the assessment done by the educational institutes serves no value to him? That is where the importance

of Life skills, E.Q. lies which is another significant area that needs to be assessed in association with

the scholastic  area  mentioned  above. The scholastic areas  are  more  concerned  with  cognitive  or

Knowledge aspects.  This  can  be  assessed  directly  by  observing  their  reactions  to  various  learning

Experiences.i.e. How well have they learnt what was taught to them.

All the intelligence or mental ability tests come under this category. For example-the memory

test, Speed, verbal Reasoning, Space  word  ability  etc.  Which measure the cognitive ability of the

learner.

Scholastic areas 

™ are more concerned with cognitive and knowledge aspects. 

™ can be assessed directly by observing their reactions to various learning experiences.

™ the intelligence or mental ability tests come under its category.

Scholastic Assessment Framework for 4th& 5th Graders in English, Mathematics and Science  

Formative Assessment (Flexible Timings)		Summative Assessment (Written/End of term)
Tools	Tools techniques
• Questions	• Examination	• Objective type 1. MCQ’s 2. Out of the box questions
• Observation	·         Assignments	·         Short answer
·         Schedule	·         Quizzes and competitions	·         Long answer
·         Interview schedule	·         Projects
·         Check list	·         Debates
·         Rating scale	·         Elocution
·         Anecdotal records	·         Group discussion
·         Document analysis	·         Club activities
·         Tests and Inventories	·         Experiments
·         Portfolio analysis	·         Research
·         Student conferences for evaluation and goal setting	·         Objective type
·         Learning journals	·         Short answer
·         Learning contracts	·         Long answer
·         Rubrics	·         Revision through teaching sessions (RTT)
·         Random checks	·         Knowledge polish
·         Peer review	·         Open book exams
·         Inquiry based learning	·         Anchor activities

ASSESSING CO-SCHOLASTIC AREAS

Evaluation deals with the collection of evidences regarding changes which occur in the learner's behaviour during the teaching learning process. Based on these evidences, interpretation and judgement, the progess of the learner is arrived at and decisions taken. Thus evaluation involves four main sub processes i.e. gatheringinformation, interpretation of information, making judgements and taking decisions. 

      The extent of a child's learning needs to be comprehensive. We need a curriculum in which creativity, innovativeness and development of the whole being mark the growth of learners in addition to learning in the cognitive domain. Development of co-scholastic aspects of the personality such as Life Skills, Attitudes and Values, participation and achievement in Co-Curricular activities as well as Health and Physical Education need to be considered.

It is always desirable that while assigning grades in co-scholastic activities a team of two teachers including the class teacher should get together.

Assessment in co-scholastic areas needs to be done systematically and methodologically.

It may include the following steps:

1. Identifying qualities.

2. Specifying behaviors/indicators of the concerned area/skill

3. Collection of evidence in respect of behavior/indicators through observation and other techniques.

4. Recording of the evidences.

5. Analysis of the recorded evidences.

6. Reporting or awarding grades. The analysis of records raised as a result of periodic observation is done to validate the attainment of the quality resulting into growth in the co-scholastic areas. The grades and descriptive indicators are assigned on the basis of the degree of attainment of a particular skill/behavior outcome.

Co-Scholastic areas Attitudes and Values

Participation and Achievement	Techniques and Tools of Evaluation
* Slogan Writing On-the-Spot Painting Theatre Scientific Skills *Science Club*Projects*Maths Club *Science Quiz*Science Exhibition *Olympiads Aesthetic Skills *Music Vocal *Instrumental *Dance *Drama *Craft *Sculpture*Puppetry *Folk Art forms	certification and reporting by a team of teachers, in addition to the class teacher. Coverage Every student will be required to choose any two activities from different areas.

Towards Teachers

Towards schoolmates

Towards schools/

Public property

Environment

Literary & Creative Skills	Observation over a period of a time
·         Debate
·         Declamation	Anecdotal record forms (recorded in register)
·         Creative writing	Three point grading scales for each item will all points defined.
·         Recitation	Periodicity of Evaluation
·         Drawing	Continuous observations to be recorded in the Anecdotal Record Forms.
·         Poster making	Consolidation of observations twice in an academic session for

• Observation in day to day situation.

Tools of evaluation:

• Anecdotal Record Forms (recorded in register)

• Three point grading scales for each item will all points defined.

Periodicity of Evaluation

• Continuous observations to be recorded in the Anecdotal Record

Forms.

• Consolidation of observations twice in an academic session for

Certification and reporting by a team of two teachers, one should be

Class teacher.

• Coverage

• All students to be rated on all items.

CO-SCHOLASTIC AREA

Skill Area	Indicators of Assessment	Rating Scale  A*, A, B
Literary & Creative Skills	• Participates actively in literary and creative creative skills  activities at school/ inter school/state/ national /international levels	Mostindicators in a Skill-A+
	Takes the initiative to plan and drive various literary events like debates,  Recitation, book clubs etc.	Many indicators in a skill-A
Scientific skills	Participating in science activities like Quiz, model making, seminars etc.
Aesthetic skills and participating Arts	·         Participates actively in activities that involves arts. ·         Plays(drama),art-competition, mural painting, dances, music festivals etc.
Clubs (Eco Health and wellness and others)	·         Festivals, environmental week, fund raisers, seminars, Quizzes etc.
Sports and Physical Education	·         Sports/Indigenous sports (kho-kho etc.) ·         NCC/NSS ·         Scouting and Guiding ·         Swimming ·         Gymnastics ·         Yoga ·         First-Aid ·         Gardening/Shramadaan.

1.5: CONTINUOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION (CCE):

               The term Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) is used for school based evaluation of pupils in which their assessment is done on a continuous basis throughout the year and which is also comprehensive in nature, in the sense that it is not confined to assessment in scholastic subjects but also covers co-scholastic areas such as performance in games/sports, Physical education, Creative Education, Art, Music, Dance, Drama, other cultural activities and Personal & Social qualities.

What is `Continuous' and `Comprehensive' Evaluation?

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) refers to a system of school-based evaluation of

students that covers all aspects of students development.

It is a developmental process of assessment which emphasizes on two fold objectives. These objectives are

Continuity in evaluation and assessment of broad based learning and behavioral outcomes on the other.

In this scheme the term     `continuous'is meant to emphasize that evaluation of identified aspects of students

`growth and development' is a continuous process rather than an event, built into the total teaching-learning

Process and spread over the entire span of academic session.  It means regularity of assessment, frequency of unit

testing, diagnosis of learning gaps, use of corrective measures, retesting and feedback of evidence to teachers and

students for their self-evaluation.

The second term    `comprehensive’ means that the scheme attempts to cover both the scholastic and the co-

scholastic aspects of students' growth and development. Since abilities, attitudes and aptitudes can manifest

themselves in forms other then the written word, the term refers to application of variety of tools and techniques

(both testing and non-testing) and aims at assessing a learner's development in areas of learning like :

        *

Knowledge * Understanding/Comprehension * Applying * Analysing * Evaluating * Creation

Education aims at making children capable of becoming responsible, productive and useful members of society. Knowledge skills and attitudes are built through learning experiences and opportunities created for learners in school. It is in the classroom that learners can analyse and evaluate their experiences, learn to doubt, to question to investigate and to think independently.

Globalization in every sphere of society have important implications for education. We are witnessing the increasing commercialization of education. We need to be vigilant about the pressures commodity schools and the application of market-related concepts to schools and school quality. The increasingly competitive environment into which schools are being drawn and the aspirations of parents place a tremendous burden of stress and anxiety on children, including the very young to the detriment of their personal growth and development, and thus hamper the joy of learning.

The aims of education simultaneously reflect the current needs and aspirations of a society as well as its lasting values and the immediate concerns of a community as well as broad human ideals. At any given time and place they can be called the contemporary and contextual articulations of broad and lasting human aspirations and values.

An understanding of learners, educational aims, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of the school as a social space can help us arrive at principles to guide classroom practices. Conceptual development is thus a continuous process of deepening and enriching connections and acquiring new layers of meaning.

Alongside is the development of theories that children have about the natural and social worlds, including themselves in relation to others, which provide them with explanations for why things are the way they are, the relationships between causes and effects, and the bases for decisions and acting. Attitudes, emotions and values are thus an integral part of cognitive development, and are linked to the development of language, mental representations, concepts and

reasoning.

Continuous and comprehensive evaluation is a process of assessment, mandated by the Right to Education Act, of India. This approach to assessment has been introduced by state governments in India, as well as by the Central Board of Secondary Education in India, for students of sixth to tenth grades and twelfth in some schools. The Karnataka government has introduced CCE for grades 1 through 9. The main aim of CCE is to evaluate every aspect of the child during their presence at the school. This is believed to help reduce the pressure on the child during/before examinations as the student will have to sit for multiple tests throughout the year, of which no test or the syllabus covered will be repeated at the end of the year, whatsoever. The CCE method is claimed to bring enormous changes from the traditional chalk and talk method of teaching, provided it is implemented accurately.

         As a part of this new system, student's marks will be replaced by grades which will be evaluated through a series of curricular and extra-curricular evaluations along with academics. The aim is to decrease the workload on the student by means of continuous evaluation by taking number of small tests throughout the year in place of single test at the end of the academic program. Only Grades are awarded to students based on work experience skills, dexterity, innovation, steadiness, teamwork, public speaking, behavior, etc. to evaluate and present an overall measure of the student's ability. This helps the students who are not good in academics to show their talent in other fields such as arts, humanities, sports, music, athletics, and also helps to motivate the students who have a thirst of knowledge.

As children's metacognitive capabilities develop, they become more aware of their own beliefs and capable of

Regulating their own learning.

Importance of C.C.E

1. Teacher evaluate students in day-to-day basis and use the feedback for improvement in teaching-learning process.

2. Teacher can use variety of evaluation methods over and above the written tests.

3. Students can assessed in both scholastic and co-scholastic areas.

4. Evaluation is done throughout the year and therefore is expected to provide more reliable evidence of students progress.

5. C.C.E encourages the students, informing the students in good study habits.

6. The feedback provided by C.C.E can be effectively used in remedial teaching to slow learners.

7. C.C.E helps in improving students performance by identifying their learning difficulties at regular time interval right from beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measure for enhancing their learning performance to help to involve learner actively in learning process.

8. To integrate teaching and evaluation.

9. Students become more regular and punctual in learning etc.  

Shortcoming of traditional External Examination

·  

It is a one shot examination at the end of a year at the terminal stage of schooling.

It mainly evaluates only the scholastic aspects of learning of the students.

It does not evaluate all the abilities of the children. On the basis of marks obtained in written

examination the students are declared pass or fail and further classified into predetermined divisions.

Pass and fail system causes frustration and is inhumane because the failed candidates come to feel that

they are good for nothing

Co-scholastic areas are almost totally ignored and have no place in the currently prevalent scheme of

education and evaluation.

The practice of testing of untaught content also reflects poor learning achievement.

Only limited techniques of evaluation without potential for judging a student are being used.

The aim of evaluation is to improve learner's quality which is not served by external examination.

The current practice of awarding marks suffers from many discrepancies due to variety of errors.

The varied ranges of obtained scores of students in different subjects create the problem in declaring

reliable results.

Analysis and interpretation of test results is not done in a scientific way.

School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system should be established to:

  •reduce stress on children

  • make evaluation comprehensive and regular

  • provide space for the teacher for creative teaching

  • provide a tool of diagnosis and remediation

• produce learners with greater skills

Advantages of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

1.       Teachers evaluate students in day-to-day basis and use the feedback for improvement in teaching – learning process.

2.       Teachers can use varieties of evaluation methods over and above the written tests.

3.       Students can be assessed in both scholastic and co-scholastic areas.

4.       Evaluation is done throughout the year and therefore it is expected to provide more reliable evidence of students’ progress.

5.       CCE encourages the students in forming good study habits.

6.       The feedback provided by CCE can be effectively used in remedial teaching to slow learners.

Advantages of CCE System in CBSE

CCE helps in reducing stress of students by -
 * Identifying learning progress of students at regular time intervals on small portions of content.

 * Employing a variety of remedial measures of teaching based on learning needs and potential of different students.

* Desisting from using negative comments on the learner’s performance.

* Encouraging learning through employment of a variety of teaching aids and techniques.

Advantages of CCE System in CBSE

CCE helps in reducing stress of students by –

·         Identifying learning progress of students at regular time intervals on small portions of content.

·         Employing a variety of remedial measures of teaching based on learning needs and potential of different students.

·         Desisting from using negative comments on the learner’s performance.

·         Encouraging learning through employment of a variety of teaching aids and techniques.

·         Involving learners actively in the learning process.

·         Recognizing and encouraging specific abilities of students, who do not excel in academics but perform well in other co-curricular areas

GRADING SYSTEM

        Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements of varying levels of achievement in a course. Another way the grade point average (GPA) can be determined is through extracurricular activities. Grades can be assigned as letters (generally A through F), as a range (for example 1 to 6), as a percentage of a total number of questions answered correctly, or as a number out of a possible total (for example out of 20 or 100).

      In some countries, all grades from all current classes are averaged to create a GPA for the marking period. The GPA is calculated by taking the number of grade points a student earned in a given period of time of middle school through high school.^[1] GPAs are also calculated for undergraduate and graduate students in most universities.

        The GPA can be used by potential employers or educational institutions to assess and compare applicants. A cumulative grade point average is a calculation of the average of all of a student's total earned points divided by the possible amount of points. This grading system calculates for all of his or her complete education career.

What is the GPA in school?

A grade point average (GPA) is a calculated average of the letter grades you earn in school following a 0 to 4.0 or 5.0 scale. Every semester, you'll receive a GPAbased on the grades you earned in all of your classes during that semester.

What is CGPA in education?

The GPA can be used by potential employers or educational institutions to assess and compare applicants. A cumulative grade point average is a calculation of the average of all of a student's grades for all of his or her complete education career.

CGPA	Letter Grade	Status
3.76 – 4.00	A++	Accredited
3.51 – 3.75	A+	Accredited
3.01 – 3.50	A	Accredited
2.76 – 3.00	B++	Accredited
2.51 – 2.75	B+	Accredited
2.01 – 2.50	B	Accredited
1.51 – 2.00	C	Accredited
≤ 1.50	D	Not- Accredited

HOW CBSE’S GRADING SYSTEM WORK

1.       All students have been awarded grades, not marks

2.       The practice of declaring Compartment/Fail has been discontinued

3.       The result of candidates is now declared in two cate¬gories: Eligible for qualifying certificate (QUAL) and Eligible for improvement of performance (EIOP)

4.       All candidates, even if they have failed in all subjects will now have five chances to improve their performance without having to repeat a year.

THE NEW ORDER

With Board exams being made optional from the academic year 2010-11, a new system of evaluation – Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) – based on grades has been approved. It comprises formative and summative assessment of the student to be done over two terms – first and second -during the year-long academic calendar.

Summative Assessment: Based on the term-end examination

1.       There will be two evaluations each in the first and second terms.

2.       The first term-end exam will carry 20 marks.

3.       The second term-end exam will carry 40 marks.

Formative Assessment: To evaluate and grade class work, homework, assignment and project work

1.       There will be one term-end exam for each term.

2.       Each evaluation will carry 10 marks apiece.

EVALUATION

Students of class IX and X will be evaluated on a 9-point grading system. Each grade, given on the basis of both formative and summative assessments, will correspond to a range of marks as indicated below :

MARKS RANGE	GRADE	GRADE POINT
91-100	A1	10.0
81 -90	A2	9.0
71 -80	B1	8.0
61-70	B2	7.0
51 -60	C1	6.0
41 -50	C2	5.0
33-40	D	4.0
21-32	E1
00-20	E2

Points to Remember:

(i) Assessment of theory/practical papers in external subjects shall be in numerical scores. In addition to numerical scores, the Board shall indicate grades in the marks sheets issued to the candidates in case of subjects of external examinations. In case of internal assessment subjects, only grades shall be shown.

(ii) Subjects of internal examination in Class X the assessment shall be made on a five point scale I.e. A, B, C, D& E.

(iii) The grades shall be derived from scores in case of subjects of external examination. In case of subjects of internal assessment, they shall be awarded by the schools.

(iv) The qualifying marks in each subject of external examination shall be 33% . However at Senior School Certificate Examination, in a subject involving practical work, a candidate must obtain 33% marks in the theory and 33% marks in the practical separately in addition to 33% marks in aggregate, in order to qualify in that subject.

Important:

(a) In case of a tie, all the students getting the same score, will get the same grade. If the number of students at a score point need to be divided into two segments, the smaller segment will go with the larger.

(b) Method of grading will be used in subjects where the number of candidates who have passed is more than 500.

(c) In respect of subjects where total number of candidates passing in a subject is less than 500, the grading would be adopted on the pattern of grading and distribution in other similar subjects.

Advantages:

1. It will minimize misclassification of students on the basis of

       marks.

2. It will eliminate unhealthy cut-throat competition among high Achievers.

3. It will reduce societal pressure and will provide the learner with

        more flexibility.

4. It will lead to a focus on a better learning environment.

Advantages of Using Grading System:

1. Takes the pressure off from the students at certain levels: In a general grading system as considered above, a student’s real scores and its associated marks are not accounted on the official transcript, which denotes that their GPA will not have an effect on the either a pass or a fail mark category. This spares the students from getting preoccupied and become fussy about getting an elevated letter grade like that of an O, and permitting them to unwind. It still provides the necessary educational prerequisites for them to land themselves comfortably on a good job and also mould themselves to become more responsible citizens in the future. An even better aspect is that they will also receive some credit for the course that they have studied for all these years in the past.

2. Grading Pattern description: One of the main advantage of this method is that the studious children were clearly discriminated from the average and below average type of students but this led to the development and mounting up of an intense pressure amidst the students. The learning was not thought of a process that is revered to be a fun task, but rather as a hard task which they had to properly deal with in a obedient manner. The advantages of the grading system are that the development of pressure upon the students in terms of studying has appreciably reduced.

Here, the students are bundled and grouped according to the grades they get which are entirely based on the marks that they get in each subject that is taught in school.

A common grading scale in the United States is A- 90 to 100, B- 80 to 89, C- 70 to 79, D- 60 to 69, E- 0 to 59.
In case of India the general pattern is as follows A1: 91 to 100, A2 : 81 to 90, B1: 71 to 80, B2: 61 to 70, C1 : 51 to 60, C2 : 41 to 50, D for 33 to 40 and lesser for E’s.

(Grading pattern courtesy: The Department of Education, Government of India and Government of United States of America)

Another advantage that this method has conveyed in the field of education is that it has introduced the notion of measuring the students’ knowledge based on their internal assignments, projects, their answering ability in class and their overall performance in all the major examinations and is not just a solitary examination forced method.
Earlier the marks that were obtained in the exams are the only indicator of whether a child is studying or not. But, this system analyzes whether a child understands the concept or not.

3. Gives the students an obvious idea about their weaknesses and strengths: Knowing precisely which subject(s) are their weak spots, students can easily decide where to toggle their focal point on. In a grading system where the alphabets are the scales, a grade of C or grade of D is known to speak a lot. So, when the total grades arrive these students can easily get to know their forte.

4. Make class work easier: Yes. You have read it right. Suppose if a student knows that getting a D is enough to scrape through the class assignments section in the marking division, he or she will only focus on getting a D without any fuss. Of course, getting a higher grade than a D lies with the student’s prerogative only. The point is that the student does not need to toil themselves to achieve the necessary minimum.

5. Leads to a better rendezvous of ideas: Classes or the courses that are often taught in a classroom medium within the confined premises of a school are highly difficult and are taken in the ultimate sense as getting a pass or a fail in a subject and this builds a sense of responsibility in their minds to work and train hard in their weak spots.

Disadvantages of the Grading System

1. It doesn’t instill a sense of competition: When all that is required is a mere pass mark, we would neither have the urge to outperform others nor do we want to excel with the overall grades. The A grade speaks a lot about our calibre than a D or a F. With a D or a F, we can be only satisfied that we are okay enough in studies, which will make us go lazy.

2. Not an accurate representation of the performance and the knowledge gained: As we have said already, passing in an examination cannot be considered as plausible enough to declare that the same student has gained an immense amount of knowledge by these exams. An alphabet cannot explain the inner knowledge gained by a student and there is no easy way of gauging a student’s level of performance and knowledge in the examinations.

3. It is not an exact scoring system: Suppose, let us consider that the science subject is your weak point and with a tremendous effort, let us say that you got an A or a C for all your attempts, which would have made a vast disparity in your sense of accomplishment. Still, the inner knowledge you have gained via these grades can be nil, as you may have attempted for learning without understanding the concept, with the sole perspective of getting an A or a C.

4. Lack of incentives: The traditional letter grading system considers that every alphabet is an inducement to perform good or better or the best. Getting a B could kindle the students to put an extra effort to get an A and is a step closer to getting the highest mark in a class. But, the highest rank in class tag is going to do no good for the students. To get the tag, the students will only go for rote learning rather than exploring and explaining the concepts on their own.

So, is the Grading System a Better One?

Even though there are several disadvantages of grading system it has removed several disadvantages of the marking system as a recent survey has shown that with the advent of the grading system the number of students who give sufficient importance to education has got drastically reduced as this notion stems from the fact that the grades are a fleeting sort of thing and are able to fetch only in the short-term and have no use in the long run. Especially when these students appear to college entrance examinations with these grades and a nil amount of knowledge, these grades will not speak on behalf of them. Grades without knowledge, is like a batsman going to a cricket field without a bat to play a cricket match. There is no use in encouraging both. In the same way, the schools should also come forward to implement some changes in their already designed curriculum to insert some changes that makes the students to get procative in order to learn in a meaningful way so that the concept remain with them all through their life.

As long as schools carry on to allocate their grades, with non-meaningful consequences, like a class rank or a top to down scorer method or any other name sake methods, fastened to them, students will keep on believing that the grades are the ultimate purpose of studying and getting a good one will only determine their life and will lead them to pursue their lives in the right way. Hence, it lies only in the hands of the school’s curriculum management division to consider all these aspects and make sure they devise a learning pattern that takes all these factors into account and do the needful for the student community. If we start implementing these issues right from today, we can see a wholesome and fully knowledgeable student community within a few years and after which there will only be a competition for soft skills and intensity of knowledge and nothing else.

How would the CCE Scheme help?

The above steps would help the learners and parents, who are the primary stakeholders of school education, in the following manner:-

a) It will reduce stress and anxiety which often builds up during and after the examination which could have an adverse impact on young students especially in the age group of 13-15 years.

b) It will reduce the dropout rate as there will be less fear and anxiety related to performance.

c) In the past there was practice to often finish the entire syllabus much before time and follow it up with Pre-Board(s) and study leave. Now there will be greater focus on learning rather than teaching to the test.

d) The emphasis on conceptual clarification through experiential learning in the classroom will increase since there will be more time available for transaction of curriculum.

e) It will help the learners to develop holistically in terms of personality by also focussing on the co-scholastic aspects which will be assessed as part of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation scheme.

f) It is expected to prepare the students for life by making students physically fit, mentally alert and emotionally balanced.

g) The students will have more time on their hands to develop their interests, hobbies and personalities.

h) It will enable the students, parents and teachers to make an informed choice about subjects in Class XI.

i) It will motivate learning in a friendly environment rather than in a fearful situation.

j) It will equip students with Life Skills especially Creative and Critical thinking skills, social skills and coping skillswhich will keep them in a good stead when they enter into a highly competitive environment later on.