Assessment, Evaluation, and Measurement of Learning
What the domain tests
This domain covers how teachers gather and interpret evidence of learning. You should understand formative versus summative assessment, validity and reliability, and the construction and interpretation of test items and scores.
Concepts to master
Know that formative assessment is ongoing and used to adjust teaching, while summative assessment judges achievement at the end. Understand validity (the test measures what it claims) and reliability (consistency of results), and that reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity. Know the difference between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretation, and between assessment of and assessment for learning. Understand item types, difficulty and discrimination, and the value of feedback and rubrics.
Traps to watch for
- Confusing validity with reliability; a consistently wrong test is reliable but not valid.
- Assuming a high score always means mastery without checking the standard (criterion).
- Treating formative and summative as opposites rather than purposes.
- Misreading a stem that asks for interpretation of a score rather than its computation.
Rule of thumb
Ask two questions of any assessment: Does it measure the intended learning? (validity) and Would it give the same result again? (reliability). A good assessment answers yes to both.
Worked example
A teacher uses a short end-of-lesson quiz to decide what to reteach tomorrow. Because the purpose is to adjust instruction, this is formative assessment - even though it is scored. The score informs teaching rather than certifying final achievement.