Assessment of Student Learning 1

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Practicality, Efficiency and Ethics

Module 004 Practicality, Efficiency, and Ethics

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify terms related to practicality, efficiency, and ethics in assessment
2. Analyze the basic concept and principles related to practicality, efficiency,
and ethics in assessment
3. Examine how ethics are considered in preparing and administering
assessments

Practicality, Efficiency, and Ethics

Because of the importance of time and resources to teachers, testing and grading should be
efficient and practical. According to De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015) Assessment of
Learning 1. Manila: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc., page 74, practical means "useful" which means it should
be used for the improvement of instruction and for outcome assessment purposes. It also refers to the
intelligent utilization of classroom time. Likewise, efficient in this context refers to the development,
administration of grading of assessment with the less effort and waste of resources.

In the process of assessment, ethics and teacher’s responsibility are also important. Aside from being a
technical activity, it is likewise a human activity. Assessment has consequences for learners and other
stakeholders. Assessment is utilized to form judgments on the scope, nature, and extent of students'
learning. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to make decisions using the most reliable and valid
information possible because assessments have relevant short-term and long-term consequences for
students.
Ways on how testing can be made practical and efficient
Making testing practical and efficient requires consideration of different factors and,
according to De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015) Assessment of Learning 1. Manila:
Adriana Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 73-75 these are the following:
1. Familiarity with the method

Teachers should, indeed, utilize different methods of assessment. Because of

this, if the teacher is planning to utilize a certain method of assessment, familiarity with
the said method should be present because it will be a waste of time and resources for a
teacher to use unfamiliar assessment methods. Rule of the thumb should be considered
in giving assessment, and that is simply learning targets require simple assessment, and
complex assessment is demanded complex learning targets.

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 2. Time required
Assessments should allow students readily, and the said assessment should be
scored promptly but with a basis too. Time is a matter of choice. It hinges on the
choice of teachers with regard to the assessment method. A good example is the
multiple-choice type of test. It may take time for a teacher to prepare such type of test,
but it can be accomplished in a relatively short period of time for the students. It can
objectively and easily score. But it always depends on the appropriateness of the test to
the learning targets set. When students are allowed to express their own opinion and
ideas with relative restraints, essay type may be considered. However, the said type is
time-consuming for both teachers and students.

3. Ease in administration
Assessments should be easy to administer. Instructions in the test should have
clear and complete instructions so as to avoid questions during the administration.
Vague instructions will give confusion to students, and they will consequently provide
incorrect answers. With regards to performance assessments, students' efforts are
ineffective if directions are not expressed explicitly and directly.

4. Ease of scoring

Selected response tests are objectively marked because of the reason of having one
correct or best answer for each item. With regards to performance assessments, to
ensure objectivity, care must be observed in making use of rubrics. It will be more practical
if checklists and rating scales will be utilized rather than writing extended individualized
evaluations.

5. Ease of interpretation
Given scores to students will be useless and meaningless if these will not be
interpreted. Objective tests are the easiest to interpret. With the standard established
by the teacher, determine whether the students passed the test will be easy. By matching
the score with the proficiency level, teachers can identify if the students reached mastery
or not. In performance tasks, time spent in grading is reduced because descriptors in the
rubrics and the performance levels are there to be used to evaluate students' performance
in a specific activity or task.

6. Cost
Some tests seem to be costly compared to other assessment methods. Either it is a
classroom assessment and performance assessment, teachers should learn how to
encourage students to use indigenous and recycled materials so as for them to be able to
eliminate costs in taking assessments. Again, the type of assessment to be utilized should
fit the learning targets.

To promote practicality and efficiency in preparing and administering tests, Constructing

tests. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2018, from http://www.washington.edu/teaching/teaching-
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resources/preparing-to-teach/constructing-tests/ cites some questions to answer so as to assess

practicality, efficiency and at the same time the effectiveness of the test prepared by the teachers
and these are

1. Did the test really test what the teacher thought he/she was testing for?
2. Did the teacher test what he/she taught?
3. Did the teacher test for what the he/she emphasized in class?
4. Is the material the teacher-tested for really what he/she wanted students to learn?

Observing ethical standards in Testing

With regards to fairness in constructing and administering the assessment, validity and
reliability are two of its aspects. According to De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015)
Assessment of Learning 1. Manila: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 81-87, the following are the
other aspects of fairness and should be observed in testing.

1. Students knowledge of learning targets and assessments

This aspect of fairness refers to transparency. According to the same source,

transparency refers to the disclosure of information to learners about the assessments,
including the learning outcomes to be assessed and evaluated, assessment formats and
methods, allocated time in completing the assessment, weighting of items, and the
grading criteria rubric. Through this, the students can adequately recognize the
importance of assessment as well as to how to prepare for it. Students become part of
the process, and assessments become learner-centered.

Likewise, according to Writing objective test questions - Quals Programme.

(n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2018, from
https://www.sqaacademy.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=10649&chapterid=5486,
transparency pertains to the extent to which all participants, teachers, and students
know and understand what is required in the assessment and how the said students
will be graded and marks awarded.
With regards to written tests, it is significant that learners are aware of what is
included and excluded in the test. Giving them sample questions may be of help for
students to evaluate their strategies and current understanding levels. Together with
the content, scoring criteria should also be known by all.

For performance assessments, prior to the assessment, the criteria should be

divulged so that students will be aware of what the teacher is looking for in the actual
product or performance. With the said criteria, students can reflect on their practices
and identify their strengths and weaknesses personally. Work performance and

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 product can be evaluated and made necessary before the scheduled assessment or
work submission. For product-based assessments, originality must be emphasized,
but it will be beneficial if the teacher will show examples of products produced by
previous students so that the present ones can acknowledge the quality of work
expected from them by their teachers.

2. Opportunity to learn
Because of the breadth of content that has to be covered in addition to limited or
lost classroom time, there are teachers who are forced to give reading assignments.
Thus, students may be put to a disadvantage because they were not given ample
resources and time to sufficiently assimilate the material. And so to address this
situation, extra time may be allotted as a make-up of the sessions missed, and
encouraging team review is advisable.
3. Prerequisite knowledge and skills

If students do not possess background knowledge and skills, they may perform
poorly in an assessment. For instance, pupils in grade school were taught about inverse
proportion. They would not be able to develop a schema if they cannot connect the
meaning of proportion even if they know its meaning if they cannot find new information
with previous knowledge. The said pupils will not fully grasp the inverse proportion
concept if they lack adequate knowledge about ratios and proportions. Moreover, if the
said students have weak multiplication and division skills, they would have difficulty in
solving word problems on proportion. If there are misconceptions, the problem is
compounded. The need for correction and action is more critical.

The teacher should make early identification of the prerequisite skills necessary for
completing an assessment. Assessment items and procedures can be analyzed by the
teacher and later determine the pieces of knowledge and skills required to answer them.
The teacher may administer a prior knowledge assessment, and the results may lead to
supplemental or additional teacher or students-managed activities like compensatory
groups, peer-assisted study sessions, active review, and note swapping. Clinics or
reinforced tutorials may also be provided so as to address gaps in students' knowledge and
skills. The said teacher may also advise students to attend supplemental instruction
sessions when possible and may also recommend reading materials.

4. Avoiding student stereotyping

What is stereotype? According to the same source, stereotype refers to the
generalization of a group of people based on inconclusive observations of this small sample
group. Racial and gender remarks are common stereotypes. Stereotyping is caused by
preconceived judgments of people one comes in contact with, which are sometimes
unintended. Stereotypes may either be positive or negative. An example is how foreigners
regard Filipinos. Filipinos are hardworking and hospitable individuals (positive) and
Filipinos as caregivers and domestic helpers ( negative).

Teachers should avoid terms and examples that may be offensive to students of
different gender, religions, races, cultures, or nationalities. Students’ performance in
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examinations may be affected by stereotypes. Simple classroom instruction and

assessment changes can be implemented, such as encouraging diverse students to excel at
difficult tasks, responsible students may achieve high standards, and ensure culturally-
unbiased test items and gender positive practices.

According to Stereotype threat and assessment in schools (2015) Retrieved

September 20, 2018 from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1d08/ccd33618ab4a5549dd1a217aa9d288859a00.pdf,
aside from increased sensitivity to one's abilities, stereotype threats also increase anxiety.
If one is feeling confident, stereotype threats become a distraction when experiencing
doubt. According to the same source, how to change school performance conditions
should be considered because it encourages more positive views of one's racial gender
group. To encourage more positive views of one's group or abilities could help reduce gaps
in students' achievement, changing the nature of performance environments should be
considered. To undermine the effects of stereotype threats, a system should be created,
such as multicultural curriculum implementation.

5. Avoiding bias in assessment tasks and procedures

According to What is good assessment? (2018) Retrieved September 20, 2018

from https://www.sqaacademy.org.uk/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10649, by
avoiding bias which ensures equity can be a difficult and complex affair. Bias is usually
an unintended assessment process consequence. For instance, in UK, selection for
secondary education was traditionally based on a form of IQ testing. It was thought that
it would increase equality of opportunity when it was introduced. It was subsequently
discovered that the IQ concept was seriously flawed, and IQ tests utilized for the
purpose of selection contained bias towards children from the middle-class homes.

According to De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015) Assessment of

Learning 1. Manila: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 84-85, an assessment must be free
from bias. All learners should be given equal chances to do well and get a good
assessment. The same source enumerated the two forms of bias, namely:

A. OFFENSIVENESS – A form of bias that happens when test-takers get

distressed, distracted, or upset about how an individual or a particular
group is portrayed in the test. The assessment content may have
negative or slurred stereotypes of particular ethnic, religious, or any
other group that can cause undue discomfort, resentment, or
embarrassment on some directly affected students. Their
concentration in answering subsequent items suffers because they
tend to focus on the offensive items.

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 B. UNFAIR PENALIZATION–Student performance is harmed by the
unfair penalization due to test content not because items are offensive
but rather because the content caters to some particular groups from
the same economic class, gender, race, and leaving other groups at a
disadvantage or a loss. A good example of this is: suppose the subject
is Filipino and the class has international students. Should they be
mixed with native speakers in class? Should test items be constructed
containing heavy or deep Filipino words? This illustrates undue
penalization resulting from group membership. It causes distortion
and greater variation in scores, which is not due to ability differences.

Teachers should heighten their sensitivity towards bias and generate multiple
examples, metaphors, analogies, and problems which cut across boundaries to avoid
bias during the instruction phase. Teachers can consider a judgmental approach or an
empirical approach to eradicate or significantly reduce assessment bias.

To remove offensive items or words, teachers can have their tests reviewed by
colleagues. Content-knowledgeable reviewers can scrutinize the assessment
procedure or each test item. A review panel is usually formed, a mix of male and
female members from various subgroups who might be adversely impacted by the test
in developing high-stakes tests. Try-out evidence is sought for the empirical approach.
Differential item functioning (DIF) procedures may be employed after the test pilot
testing to different groups.

6. Accommodating special needs

Teachers should be sensitive to the needs of students. Certain accommodations

should be given, especially for those who are mentally or physically challenged. The
following are the legal bases for accommodation according to the same source:

• Republic act 7277, Sec 12 – An Act Providing for the Rehabilitation, Self-
Development, and Self-Reliance of Disabled Person and their Integration
into the Mainstream of Society and for Other Purposes
• CHED Memorandum 09, s. 2013 – Enhanced Policies and Guidelines on
Student Affairs and Services

The first legal basis talks about access to quality education - that learning
institutions should consider the special needs of learners with disabilities in terms of class
schedules, facilities, physical education requirements, and other related matters. The
other one states that higher education institutions should ensure the academic
accommodation is made available to persons with disabilities and learners with special
needs.

Accommodation does not mean giving the advantage to students with learning
abilities. It means allowing the said students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on
assessments without hindrances from their disabilities. It is different from assessment
modification because accommodation does not insinuate altering the assessment construct.
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According to Accommodations Professional Development Module (n.d.) Retrieved

September 20, 2018 from
http://sde.ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/documents/files/Accommodations%20PD%
20Module.pdf, there are four categories of accommodation types, and these are the
following:
a. Setting

Setting accommodations are a change in location a student receives

instruction on the conditions of an instructional or assessment setting or
participates in an assessment. Whether the student should be in the
general education setting with the same age peers or in a smaller group
should be considered. The latter help eliminates distractions and benefits a
student's ability to concentrate without the need to feel pressured to finish in
the same amount of time as non-disabled peers.

b. Timing/scheduling

The allowable length of time to complete assignments, activities

assessments, and how the time is organized are changed by timing and
scheduling accommodations. These provide students the needed time and
breaks to complete activities, assignment, the time of day or number of days
over which activity will take place. Examples are the following:
✓ Frequent breaks
✓ Extra time
✓ Time of day
✓ Multiple test sessions

c. Presentation

Access to instruction and assessment in ways that do not require them to

read standard point visually is allowed by the presentation accommodation.
Examples are:
✓ Magnifier
✓ Auditory amplification devices like hearing aids or noise buffers
✓ Large print or braille
✓ Text to speech, human reader or sign language interpreter

d. Response
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 Response accommodations benefit students who have difficulty with
memory, directionality, sequencing, alignment and/or organization. It benefits
many students with a physical disability who struggle to provide documentation
or their response from a typical paper/pencil format. Examples are:

✓ Assistive technology communication device/s

✓ Marking answers in the test booklet
✓ Pencil grip and utilized typewriter, word processor, or computer
without the use of “Help” features

According to De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015) Assessment of Learning

1. Manila: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc. , pp. 86-87, to ensure that the supplied
accommodation is appropriate, the following important elements should be taken into
account:
• Nature and extent of the student’s disability

The type and degree of disability possessed by the students should be

taken into consideration in giving accommodations. For instance, a
moderate visual impairment student will need a larger print edition of
assessment or special lighting condition.

• Type and format of assessment

The type and format of assessment are matched with the

accommodation to be given to students. Accommodation differs on the
length of assessment, mode of response, the time allotted, etc.

• Competency and content being assessed.

The level of performance or content which the assessment measures
are not altered by accommodation. For instance, in Mathematics, if the
objective is to add and subtract numbers quickly, extending time would not
be a logical accommodation to provide to learners with disabilities.

7. Relevance

Another aspect of fairness is relevance. An unimportant assessment would

mean not giving students worthwhile assessment experiences. It should be set in a
context that students will find it relevant and with a purpose. According to the same
source, the following are the additional criteria for attaining quality assessments:
• Knowledge and skills which are most important for students to learn should
be reflected in the assessment.
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• The assessment should support every student's opportunity to learn things

that are important.
• Teachers and individual learners should be taught by the assessment of
something which they do not already know.

8. Ethical issues

Asking students to answer sensitive questions like family problems or their

sexuality is unwarranted, especially without parents' consent. Students' grades and
teachers report generated from unreliable and invalid test instruments, resulting in
misleading and inaccurate interpretations.

Other ethical issues interesting which may arise include deception regarding the
purpose and utilization of assessment, the confidentiality of results, temptation to assist
the students in answering tests, confidentiality, and presence of concealment or deception

According to Principles of High-Quality Statement (n.d.) Retrieved September 20, 2018

from
http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/JeffersonCountySchools/JeffersonCountySchools/Departments
/DocumentsCategories/Documents/Principles%20of%20Learning%20-
%20Defining%20Learning%20Targets.pdf, ethics as one of the principles of high quality
assessment should consider informed consent and anonymity and confidentiality in
• Gathering data
• Recording data
• Reporting data

Likewise, according to the same source, ethics in assessment pertains to the process of
weighing whether practices related to assessment belongs to "right" and "wrong" sides. It also
refers to the process of conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group.

References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals
1. De Guzman, Estefania.S., Adamos, Joel L. (2015) Assessment of Learning 1.
Manila: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc.
2. Constructing tests. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2018, from
http://www.washington.edu/teaching/teaching-resources/preparing-to-
teach/constructing-tests/
3. Writing objective test questions - Quals Programme. (n.d.). Retrieved September
17, 2018, from

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 https://www.sqaacademy.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=10649&chapterid=5
486
4. Stereotype threat and assessment in schools (2015) Retrieved September 20,
2018 from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1d08/ccd33618ab4a5549dd1a217aa9d28885
9a00.pdf
5. What is good assessment? (2018) Retrieved September 20, 2018 from
https://www.sqaacademy.org.uk/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10649
6. Accommodations Professional Development Module (n.d.) Retrieved September
20, 2018 from
http://sde.ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/documents/files/Accommodation
s%20PD%20Module.pdf
7. Principles of High Quality Statement (n.d.) Retrieved September 20, 2018 from
http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/JeffersonCountySchools/JeffersonCountySch
ools/Departments/DocumentsCategories/Documents/Principles%20of%20Lea
rning%20-%20Defining%20Learning%20Targets.pdf

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. Lee, A. M., & J. (n.d.). Accommodations: What They Are and How They Work.
Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-
attention-issues/treatments-approaches/educational-
strategies/accommodations-what-they-are-and-how-they-work
2. Fairness in Educational Assessment (2016) Retrieved September 20, 2018 from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304999512_Fairness_in_Educational
_Assessment
3. American Psychological Association Education Directorate. (2016, December
06). Ethical Issues in Assessment. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from
https://www.slideshare.net/spagball/ethical-issues-in-assessment

Online Instructional Videos

1. Ethical and Cultural Issues in Assessment. (2016, September 14). Retrieved
September 20, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIdRSCbTHRY
2. Ethical Issues with Evaluators. (2017, May 21). Retrieved September 20, 2018,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fuDDJL2aU
3. Ethical and Professional Issues in Psychological Testing. (2018, January 08).
Retrieved September 20, 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzfDYqXfe_w
4. Fairness in Assessment. (2015, September 29). Retrieved September 20, 2018,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eH_vCil-Uk
5. Fairness and Bias in Testing (ED615- DB 3). (2017, February 07). Retrieved
September 20, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDd1HGUdOqg