Educational Asssessment Practice

International Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation

2011-09-20T18:19:00.007+08:00

International Conference on Educational Measurement & Evaluation (ICEME2012)

The Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA) is organizing an International Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation on August 9-11, 2012 In Manila with the theme "Educational Assessment in a Multicultural Environment". Prof. Thomas Oakland, a world renowned Educational Psychologist and presently Visiting Professor at Macau University will be the keynote speaker.

Three pre-conference workshops will be offered on August 8, 2012 and to be facilitated by:

Dr. Maria Di Benedetto (City University of New York) on "Microanalytic Technique on Assessing Student Learning"
Dr. Judy Wilkerson (Florida Gulf Coast University) on "Developing Rubrics to Assess Learning"
Dr. Thomas Oakland (University of Florida & Macau University) on "Test Development and Adaptation"

Call for Papers is now on.

For more details, please contact: pemea2008@yahoo.com or r-gonzales@consultant.com

NCEME 2010

2010-05-20T07:44:00.002+08:00

The Second National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation (NCEME)

"Educational Assessment in Knowledge Society"

August 5-6, 2010

CSB Hotel International Conference Center

Arellano Ave.

Cor. Estrada St., Malate Manila, 1004

Philippines

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Anders Jonsson

The Second National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation (NCEME) will be held on August 5-6 in CSB International hotel in Manila. The conference is organized by the Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA) in collaboration with the Center for Learning and Performance Asessment (CLPA) of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

Click here to see registration details

August 4, 2010: Pre-conference workshop

"Assessing Competence in Teacher Education"

by Dr. Anders Jonsson

August 5, 2010: Conference Day 1

8:00-9:00 Registration

9:00-10:00 Opening Ceremonies

Invocation - CSB Chaplain

National Anthem

Welcome Remarks - Bro. Victor Franco, FSC

Opening Remarks & Presentation of Participants - Neil Parinas (PEMEA Vice

president)

Presidential Address - Richard Gonzales, PhD (PEMEA President)

Keynote Address - Anders Jonsson, PhD

Master of Ceremonies: Lina Miclat, PhD, PEMEA Secretary

10:00-10:30 Morning Snacks (Launching of the EME Review)

10:30-12:00 Panel Discussion: The Role of Educational Assessment in a Knowledge Society

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch Break

1:00-2:15 First Plenary Session: Assessment and Evaluation Practices and Standards in the Asia and the Pacific

2:15-3:00 Second Plenary Session: Modern Test Thoery and Development in Psychometrics

3:30-4:00 Afternoon Snacks

4:00-5:00 Third Plenary Session: Educational Evaluation

5:00-6:00 Challenges and Prospects of Educational Measurement and Evaluation in the Philippines (Division Chairs)

6:00-9:00 Recognition of the Editorial Board

Presentation of the First Copies to the Authors

Distribution of the EME Review

Fellowship and Dinner Socials

August 6, 2009: Day 2 Conference

8:30-10:30 First Concurrent Session

10:30-12:00 Second Concurrent Sessions

12:00-1:00 Lunch Break

1:00-2:00 PEMEA Business Meeting

President's report

Treasurer's report

Election of Board of Directors

2:00-4:00 Mini Workshops

4:00-5:00 Closing Ceremonies

Recognition of PEMEA Fellows

Recognition of PEMEA honorary members

Announcement of New Board of Directors

Closing Remarks

Master of Ceremonies: Belen Chu, PEMEA PRO

For more information you may contact the Secretariat Chair Dr. Lina Miclat at (02)5267441 loc 165 at the Center for Learning and Performance Assessment, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

You may submit your abstracts for paper presentations (concurrent session) to the Scientific Committee Chair Dr. Carlo Magno at pemea2008@yahoo.com.

Defining Assessment

2009-10-30T08:54:00.012+08:00

One of the many questions that teachers ask is what is assessment? Of course, if you do literature review, you will get 1001 definitions coming from different perspectives. Likewise, you get so many literature defining the concept and differentiating it from evaluation and even measurement.

Generally, various authors define assessment as the process that involves both gathering information and using that information as a means to improve teaching, student learning, student services, and administrative services. Authors also say that assessment includes making expectations explicit and public, and setting appropriate criteria and high standards.

As a process, it focuses on systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards. Likewise, it enables one to use the resulting information to document, explain, and enhance performance.

Assessment is very helpful in creating a shared academic culture dedicated to continually improving the quality of education at all levels.

Thus, it is obvious that assessment is not a single set of actions, BUT an on-going cyclical and dynamic process permeating any institution of learning.

Student Assessment and Examinations in Samoa

2009-04-30T11:50:00.008+08:00

Starting April 14, 2009, I am posted as National Assessment and Examination Framework Specialist for the Samoa Education Sector Project II (ESPII). I will be serving as Consultant for this ADB-funded project for a total of 12 man-months.

This is my first assignment in the Pacific Region and it is really challenging! I am sharing you how Educational Assessment is practiced here in Samoa and in other Pacific Island countries.

Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, became the first South Pacific country to be gain political independence in 1962. It is located on the western part of the Samoan archipelago while American Samoa is one the eastern part.

In ESPII, one of my major outputs is to help the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (MESC) to prepare its National Assessment Policy Framework. This policy is in line with the modernization of Samoa's primary curriculum and assessment.

At present, Samoa's education system is loaded with national examinations. The following are existing examinations in the system:

Samoa Primary Education Literacy Levels (SPELL) Test for Year 4
SPELL Test for Year 6
Year 8 National Examinations
Samoan School Certificate Examinations for Year 12
Pacific Senior Secondary Level Exams for Year 13 (administered by the South Pacific Board of Education Assessment based in Fiji)

All the national examinations are administered by the Assessment Unit of the Curriculum, Materials and Assessment Division of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture.

Purposes of the National Examinations in Samoa

1. Samoa Primary Education Literacy Levels Examinations (for Year 4 and 6)

To monitor the literacy level in the primary levels focusing on English, Gagana Samoa and Numeracy.

2. Year 8 National Examinations

For certification at the end of the primary level, and for ranking purpose to do selection to government senior schools (Avele College, Samoa College and Vaipouli College)

3. Samoa School Certificate (for Year 12)

For certification and selection to Year 13 level

4. Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate Exams (for Year 13)

For certification and selection to university and other tertiary institutions. This test is administered by South Pacific Board of Education Assessment based in Fiji.

School Based Assessment Program in Sri Lanka: An Overview

2009-01-25T21:48:00.005+08:00

This year, I am posted as Teaching-Learning Methodologies Specialist cum Team Leader of the Secondary Education Modernization Project II: Package 2 (Curriculum Development) of the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka from January to July, 2009. This project is funded by Asian Development Bank.

The SEMPII has 3 packages. Package 1 focuses on Educational Planning and Management, Package 2 on Curriculum Development, and Package 3 is on Information and Communication Technology. In package 2, the major activities include development of capacity building in teaching-learning methodologies and development of resources and use, science instruction, technology/technical instruction, library development, and student and instructional evaluation.

On January 12-13, 2009, the consultants of all packages were gathered for a Project Orientation held at the National Education Institute (NIE), Meepe Campus. Among the topics presented was the School-Based Assessment Programme of Sri Lanka. As Educational Assessment Practitioner, I am summarizing some of the points presented by Dr. G.L.S. Nanayakkara based on the materials distributed during the orientation.

What is School-based Assessment or SBA?

- An asessment carried out in schools by pupils' own teachers, with the prime purpose of improving pupils' learning.

- SBA should be formative and diagnostic

- Overall aim of SBA is to improve the quality of learning, teaching and assessment.

Why is SBA superior than one-shot written examinations?

High Validity - in many subjects some objectives cannot be assessed though a single written test alone, during a short period (e.g., subjects involving practical skills). Subject objectives can be readily assessed through SBA.

High Reliability - over a period of about 2 years, a teacher is able to assess a pupil several times using a variety of modalities. The average of such assessment is more reliable.

Evolution of SBA in Sri Lanka

1986 - Department of Examinations initiated Continuous Assessment Scheme to serve a component of the GCE (O/L) Exams. It had been abandoned in 1989.

1994 - NIE initiated a Classroom Based Assessment Program for Grades 6-9. Piloted in NWP and lated extended to 100 schools. Revised and changed as SBA. A training program on SBA was also launched during the year.

1999 - Revised SBA Programme was implemented at national level in Grade 6 and 9, under the Education Reform Programme.

2001 - Department of Examinations did further revision and implemented the revised SBA program to GCE (O/L) Grades, with SEMP assistance.

2003 - Department of Examinations extended the implementation of SBA Program to GCE (A/L) Grades.

Inclusion of SBA Grades in the certificated commenced in 2002 for GCE (O/L) and 2005 for GCE (A/L).

What are the key characteristics of the current SBA Program?

extraordinary simplicity
teacher-friendliness
openness and transparency of assessment practices
amenable to continuous external monitoring.
promotes the use of diverse assessment modalities
encourages competency-oriented teaching-learning
not being burdensome to teachers and students
use of definitive number of criteria ( n=5) and definitive number of marks per criterion (n=4)
use a simple 10-point scoring rubric

What are the identified strengths of the SBA Program?

implemented satisfactorily in the majority of schools
popularity is growing among teachers and pupils
teachers pay more attention to plan assessment tasks than before
pupils pay more attention to skills development, due to high recognition given for skills in SBA
assessment results are used to give immediate feedback to pupils

What are the recent developments relating to SBA?

A program to improve school term tests was pilot tested and arrangements are being made to include selected term tests marks to SBA marks (one per term)
SBA mark sheets submitted by schools are checked by a special panel of Subject Directors at the zonal level, before the mark sheets are forwarded to the Department of Examinations.
Discussions on integrating SBA marks and external examination marks in order to award a single grade for Aesthetic subjects of the GCE (O/L) are in progress.
A tele-drama with 15 episodes for awareness creation.

Some future needs.....

Developing suitable mechanisms to moderate raw SBA marks prior to integrating with external exams marks.
Extending integration of SBA marks and external exams marks for more subjects.
Training the National Testing and Examinations Service officers on SBA moderation practices.
Re-establishing Zonal Monitoring Panels.
Marking SBA Grades acceptable to the employer, community, and general public.

Learning Assessment in Kyrgyzstan

2008-10-27T18:45:00.010+08:00

From October 3, 2008 until November 27, I am posted as Learning Assessment Consultant for the Second Education Project (SEP) of Kyrgyz' Ministry of Education and Science funded by a grant from ADB. The SEP basically aims to modernize curricula, learning assessment and textbook development for Grades 1-11. This is my second posting here, I have been posted last 2007 to work for Grades 1-4, this year, we are working for Grades 5-9. The remaining years of the project are devoted for Grades 10 and 11.

As Learning Assessment Consultant, I am responsible in developing a capacity building program for teachers on formative and summative evaluation. As an International Consultant, I am working with two national consultants, Olga Aksenova and Galina Sahorava, both are teachers in Bishkek City.

It is rather a very challenging to work for this project because, I always need a translator/interpreter even when I meet with my national consultants. I prepare learning and training materials in English, then they have to be translated into Russian and then to Kyrgyz language. Meetings and lectures take more time because of the translation and interpretation.

In this project, we translated assessment as "Ochenibanye" and evaluation as "Ochenka" . At first, both terms are translated interchangeably as Ochenka or Ochenibanye. However, to make it clearer, we have to decide the acceptable Russian translation.

Learning Assessment in Kyrgyzstan is fully influenced by the former Soviet Union, since Kyrgyzstan has been part of the former USSR until it became independent in 1991.

At the Ministry of Education and Science, there is the National Testing Unit (NTU) that oversees testing activities of school education here. However, most of its activities are focused on standardization of entrance tests and examinations for higher education or university. The NTU staff are well-trained and I was surprised to know that they have been doing item-banking for the past 5 years. Their tests for higher education uses an MCQ and they score this through a scanning machine. The NTU revealed that the technology was acquired through the assistance of DANIDA in 1996. However, it has not been updated yet very recently.

The Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association

2008-10-01T11:26:00.023+08:00

On August 6-7, 2008, another milestone of Philippine Education happened. On these days held the First National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation (NCEME) at CSB Hotel in Manila with the theme "Developing a Culture of Assessment in Learning Institutions. This conference was attended by more than 300 participants from all over the Philippines. This event was key noted by the well-known "guru" Dr. Milagros D. Ibe, a Professor Emeritus of UP Diliman and presently the Graduate School Dean of Miriam College.

In this conference, papers on educational measurement and evaluation were presented and discussed. As this conference was organized primarily to re-unite all graduates of the Master of Science in Educational Measurement and Evaluation (MSEME) of De La Salle University, most of the paper presenters and workshop facilitators were graduates of MSEME.

One of the highlights of this conference is the organization of the Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA). This organization was organized with the following purposes:

1. Promote standards in various areas of education through appropriate and proper assessment.
2. Provide technical assistance to educational institutions and process of attaining standards.
3. Enhance and maintain the proper practice of measurement and evaluation in both local and international level.
4. Enrich the theory, practice and research in evaluation and measurement in the Philippines.

Membership to this organization is open to all who are:

1. practitioners in the field of measurement, testing, assessment and evaluation,
2. scholars, researchers, and teachers that have direct and indirect experience in measurement and evaluation.
3. students that are engaged in educational measurement and evaluation.

An election was held for the first 11 Members of the Board of Trustees. There were 18 nominees.

The Founding Executive Officers of PEMEA are:

Chairman and President : Richard DLC. Gonzales, Ph.D. , UST Graduate School
Vice President : Neil O. Parinas, Ph.D. cand., DLS - College of Saint Benilde
Executive Secretary : Lina A. Miclat, Ph.D., DLS - College of Saint Benilde
Treasurer : Marife M. Mamauag, Ph.D. cand., DLS - College of Saint Benilde
External Relations Officer : Belen M. Chu, M.Sc., Philippine Academy of Sakya

The Members of the Board of Trustees of PEMEA are:

Dennis Alonzo, MA, University of Southeastern Philippines
Paz H. Diaz, Ph.D., Miriam College
Ma. Lourdes M. Franco, M.Sc., Center for Educational Measurement
Carlo P. Magno, Ph.D., De La Salle University - Manila
Editha Y. Sillorequez, Ph.D., Western Visayas State University
Jimelo Silvestre-Tipay, M.Sc., DLS - College of Saint Benilde

Student Assessment Unit in Nepal

2008-09-24T19:30:00.005+08:00

I was posted as the Classroom Assessment and Examination Consultant for the Secondary Education Support Project (SESP) in Nepal from November 6, 2007 to May 6, 2008. I worked with the Department of Education, particularly with other four central agencies, namely: Office of Controller of Examinations (OCE), National Center for Educational Development (NCED), Curriculum Development Center and Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB).

One of the major accomplishments of this assignment was the establishment of Student Assessment Units (SAU) in the four central agencies and eventually to the Regional Education Departments and in the District Education Offices.

The SAU is an organizational unit that is primarily responsible in defining, developing, prioritizing, administering and monitoring activities related to classroom assessment and examinations.

The SAU is committed to increasing student achieving by implementing higher standards through the assessment programs and activities. The SAU of the various agencies suppports the administration of the following:

a) District Level Examinations for Grade 8
b) School Leaving Certification Examination (SLC Exams) for Grades 10 and 12
c) School-Based Assessment (SBA)
d) Teacher-training Evaluation

Continuous Assessment System (CAS), Liberal Promotion Policy (LPP) and SBA are the pillars supporting SAU in various agencies and offices under the Ministry of Education and Sports.

"Teachers are Superhumans"

2008-09-20T21:37:00.005+08:00

In my work as a consultant/specialist for Classroom Assessment and Examination Reforms in various countries adhering to diverse educational philosophies and curriculum, I realized that teachers are "superhumans" everywhere in the world.

I say they are superhumans (or let me say supermen and superwomen) because they can take on several tasks at the same time. They are the key persons in implementing curricular reforms, they are managers of a team (the class they handle or school they oversee), they are entertainers and performers to students who can only learn with funny persons in front of them, and sometimes they are referees to "fighting" students and perform also police powers and even conductors in school vehicles.

As teachers, they are not only mentors, lecturers, professors, and guidance counselors. They are also artists, scientists, linguists, mathematicians, historians, orators, sociologists, psychologists, activists, and motivators. They also serve as representatives of society and government organizations. They are also expected to be role models to students and politicians as well as social workers and community developers.

On top of these so many roles, they teach students to the best they can. They are required to give tests and examinations and evaluate student work, reports and projects. They are expected to keep track of what their students have learned and how many of their targeted learning outcomes were achieved. They are mandated to establish the credibility of their assessment procedures as well as the validity of their instruments. Hence, teachers do not only teach, they must also perform assessment activities in order to determine the achievement, strengths and weaknesses of their students.

With these in mind, I come to believe that teachers are really superhumans. Hence, I am writing this blog on assessment and evaluation of learning to share my experiences to teachers, researchers and educationists.

I hope that through this blog, all teachers and researchers will achieve their vision, mission and goals of providing the highest standards of classroom assessment and examinations.