Assessment And Evaluation Methods: Direct Vs Indirect Methods (Research Paper Sample)

Assessment and Evaluation Methods Name Institution Date Assessment and Evaluation Methods Validity and Reliability According to Banta and Palomba (2014), Assessment and evaluations must be free of distortion and bias for them to be sound. Validity and reliability are two concepts that are crucial for measuring and defining bias and distortion. Validity refers to the precision of an assessment-whether or not it evaluates what it is expected to measure. A trial may not deliver a sound evaluation even if it is reliable. For instance, a shower scale that is constantly showing that you weigh 130 pounds. The consistency (reliability) of this scale is better, but it is not valid (not accurate) since your actual weight is 145 pounds (sounds like the scale was re-set in a weak period). Since parents, school districts, and teachers make resolutions concerning students derived from assessment (such as graduation, grades, and promotions), the validity deduced from the assessments is crucial-even more essential than reliability. Furthermore, an assessment is valid, it is nearly consistently reliable. Reliability refers to a range in which assessments are reliable. Just as one loves having cars (Cars that depart every moment one needs them), one strives in having reliable, consistent instruments for measuring student achievement. Another way of thinking of reliability is imagining a kitchen scale. If five pounds of potatoes are weighed in the morning, and the scale is consistent, the same scale should record five pounds for the potatoes an hour afterward (except if, of course, one peeled and prepared them). Also, mechanisms such as national regulated exams and classroom tests should be dependable-it should not be making any dissimilarity whether a student is taking the test one day or the following; in the morning or afternoon. Internal consistency of items is another evaluation of reliability. For instance, if a student is able of solving a math problem, one would assume that the student will also solve another math problem. Direct vs Indirect Methods It is crucial to understand the difference between direct and indirect assessment of student learning. Direct assessment of learner learning is measurable, solid, and inclines to be more convincing proof of precisely what learners have and have not learned. This is the case since one can look at the students’ performance to determine what they have learned. Indirect assessment methods tend to be constituted of proxy indications that students are presumably learning. A case of indirect assessment is a research asking learners to provide details of what they have learned. This is verification that learners are probably learning what they give an account of what they have learned but is not as convincing as a faculty associate literally looking at learner's performance. It is not unusual in learners' providing details to either inflate or underrate what they have literally learned. While it is simple to differentiate between what is the direct assessment of learner learning and what is indirect, some verification of learning is not so much clear. For instance, peer evaluation of learner's work. While learners are literally presenting in demonstrating what they have learned, a faculty associate may never view this work or have a chance to assess it. Direct methods This method of assessment is based on an evaluation of a learner's products or behaviors in which they are demonstrating how well they have grasped learning results. Direct assessment allows one to gather evidence of a learner's learning or attainment directly from students and the works that they present to you. Examples include portfolio evaluation, video and sound evaluation, and capstone course evaluation. Portfolio Evaluation This is an assessment form that students do together with their faculty members and is different from the typical classroom test. It contains the demonstrations of the students work and displays growth over time. Reflection is the keyword because, by reflection of a student's work, one can begin to identify his/her own strength and weaknesses (Suskie, 2009). Video and Sound Evaluation The faculty has used video and audio instruments as a sort of pre-test/post-test measure of learner's skills and knowledge. Disciplines such as music, art, communication, and theatre, might contemplate this resource as an evaluation tool. Capstone Course Evaluation Capstone courses combine concepts, knowledge, and skills incorporated with a whole progression of research in a program. This assessment technique is unique since the courses themselves become the tools for assessing learner’s teaching and learning. Using Indirect Assessment Method Ethnographic Research Selected learners serve as contributor-observers who gather information concerning a student and/or learning involvement through talks with colleague students, surveys, and reflection on their own surveys. Contributor-observers meet frequently with staff and/or faculty conducting the research to clear questions, share results, assess them, and plan next moves. Advantages * Providing a participant viewpoint or else unavailable. * Allowing longer-term enquiry, for instance, a semester as an object to one-moment interview. * Allowing in-depth research. * Providing an approach to elusive attitudes, values. * Is flexible, e.g., to a learner's life and also academic issues. * Can incorporate non-verbal info such as demeanor and body language. * Has potential for producing unexpected and surprising discoveries. * Has high chances of producing useful and actionable info. Disadvantages * Is...