Different types of evaluation

Meaning of Evaluation:

The word “evaluation” can be interpreted quite broadly. Evaluation refers to the comparison of data to a standard for the purpose of judging worth or quality. It is a systematic collection and analysis of data in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, and organizations to improve their effectiveness. It is the act of using judgment to determine the value of an item depending or in reference to a certain model. Evaluating can also be used to refer to assessing, hypothesizing, experimenting, detecting and testing.

Different types of evaluation:

There are different types of evaluation

Formative Evaluation:

Formative evaluation, as the name suggests takes place during the process of instruction. It is regarded as a part of the teaching-learning process. It is done to find out if the students have achieved sufficient mastery of specific skills and whether further instruction over these skills is appropriate. The evaluation is formative in the sense that it is utilized to indicate how student is changing with respect to their attainment of the instructional goals.

According to Dr. Bloom and others, “If evaluation is to aid both the teaching and learning process, it must take place not only at the termination of the processes but while they are still fluid and susceptible to modification”.

Formative evaluation provides feedback to teacher and helps him to improve upon particular points in the instruction that need modification. It is also used to provide information for curriculum review, identification of the effectiveness of the instructional process and the assessment of the teaching process.

The purpose is not to grade or to certify student but to motivate him for learning.

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments:

• Help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work
• Help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately
• Formative assessments are generally low stakes. which means that they have low or no point value. Examples of formative assessments include asking students to:
• Draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topic
• Submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture
• Turn in a research proposal for early feedback.

Summative Evaluation:

Summative evaluation takes place at the conclusion of instruction. It is used primarily to grade student’s achievement that provides information about how students have changed with respect to the aim in view. It provides a basis for assigning, divisions or grades after the end of the session. It also helps the teacher to determine whether his teaching has been satisfactory or his instructions should be modified before teaching a new lesson.

The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

Summative assessments are often high stakes, which means that they have a high point value. Examples of summative assessments include:

• A midterm exam
• A final project
• A paper
• A senior recital

Information from summative assessments can be used formatively when students or faculty use it to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses.

In fact, both summative and formative evaluations are related to instruction and both seek to appraise changes in learner’s behavior. The evaluation during the ongoing programmed is referred to as formative evaluation while terminal evaluation is called summative evaluation.