Test Theories, and Evolution in Technology
The Role of Assessment in Teaching, Learning and Education
There are essentially four categories in which testing and assessment play a role:
(1) Teaching and Learning
(2) Program Evaluation and Research
(3) Guidance and Counselling
(4) Administration
While these are interrelated and test results can be used in several categories.
Teaching and Learning: All teaching has some goal or objective as its purpose
All teaching has some goal or objective as its purpose. The objective may be implicit or explicit. Teaching, then, is for the purpose of having students reach some intended learning outcome (objective). The only sound means by which a teacher can determine the extent to which students have achieved the objectives is to assess performance. The outcome of the testing, therefore, is an evaluation of not only student performance, but the effectiveness of the teaching itself as well. A main function of testing is to measure the extent to which the instructional objectives have been met.
Here are some examples of learning objectives that can be measured by testing, or assessment, including direct observation with a checklist:
- The student will be able to describe in writing the interaction of tRNA and mRNA in protein synthesis.
- At the conclusion of the neurology course, students can write a cost effective approach to the initial evaluation and management of patients with dementia.
- At the conclusion of internal medicine clerkship, third-year medical students will be proficient in the diagnosis and management of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, angina, and asymptomatic HIV.
- Student will demonstrate proper hand-washing technique prior to changing a dressing on a patient.
Tests also have a number of other functions in teaching and learning.
Enhance Learning: Testing promotes overlearning
Increasing student motivation to work and academic engagement will also increase their learning. When students anticipate a forthcoming test, they will attend to material more closely, increase their study time and work harder to learn the relevant material than they otherwise would. Also the anticipation of a test improves students’ learning set so that they increase their memory capacities for the material (through rehearsal, elaboration, organization). Students will make a conscious effort to improve their knowledge and understanding of material when they anticipate a test as opposed to when they do not.
Testing also promotes overlearning which occurs when you systematically study and prepare for a test. Of course some of the material learned for the test will be forgotten afterwards (hence the term overlearning) but more material will be retained in the long-run than if overlearning had not occurred. This “forgotten” material is much easier to recall or relearn even years later than if it had to be acquired without prior knowledge. Thus testing promotes not only learning in the immediate future but results in longer more stable learning as well.
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