Educational assessment tools: what are they, types and characteristics?

A summary of the types and utilities of these resources used by educators.

Evaluation is an essential aspect of any educational process, since it is through evaluation that students' progress and areas for improvement are identified.

Traditionally, a written test or a rubric was used, although with the passage of time more evaluation techniques have been incorporated in the educational sector.

In the following we will see the different instruments of educational evaluation, their characteristics and some examples..

What are the instruments of educational evaluation?

We understand by instruments of educational evaluation to any technique that serves to evaluate the teaching process, the quality of the learning of the students and their performance. Thus, it is possible to identify aspects that need to be improved specifically in the students, analyze the causes of unachieved learning and make decisions at the appropriate time.

Formative evaluation focuses on the collection, systematization and analysis of information obtained from various sources, with the aim of improving student learning and teacher intervention. The evaluation cannot depend on a single technique or instrument, because in this way we would only beThe evaluation cannot depend on a single technique or instrument, because in this way we would only be evaluating a single type of knowledge, skill, attitude or value in a disintegrated manner.

Below we will see a set of educational evaluation instruments, both observational and more standardized and written, which can be useful in the educational field.

Observational evaluative techniques

Within the instruments of educational evaluation, we have some that are part of the observational techniques. These techniques make it possible to evaluate learning processes as they occur. In this way, teachers can see what knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students possess and how they use them in a given situation.

1. Observation guide

The observation guide consists of an instrument based on a list of indicators, which can be written as statements or questions, and which can be used to guide the teacher's work. allowing the teacher to orient his or her classroom observation work.. It is used to observe the students' responses to a given activity, how they behave among themselves, what questions they ask about a given topic...

2. Anecdotal record

The anecdotal record is a report describing specific events or situations that are considered important for the student or the class, giving an account of their behaviors, attitudes, interests or procedures. To be useful in the evaluation, it is necessary for the observer to record significant events from one or more students.

3. Attitude scale

The attitude scale consists of a list of statements or phrases selected to measure the learner's personal attitude, whether positive, negative or neutral, towards other people, objects or situations.to other people, objects or situations.

Written evaluative techniques

Written evaluative techniques are a fairly extensive set of educational evaluation instruments. It refers to tests that are answered directly by the student, and that the teacher has to infer whether the desired knowledge or behaviors have been acquired.

Class notebook

The class notebook is a truly useful instrument for collecting information, especially for continuous evaluation. The student writes in the notebook everything he/she has done, either on a daily or weekly basis.either on a daily or weekly basis. Thus, with this tool we can check aspects such as:

• If he takes notes properly.
• Their level of comprehension, abstraction and which ideas they select.
• Their level of written expression, clarity and appropriateness of their expressions.
• Spelling, calligraphy, sentence composition...
• The approaches you make to the information provided.
• If the essential content has been understood.
• If you include your own reflections or comments.
• If he/she expands the information on the topics worked on.
• If he/she makes outlines, summaries, underlined...
• How carefully he/she keeps his/her notebook up to date.

Before analyzing the class notebook, it is necessary to establish some criteria to facilitate the evaluation of any of these aspects.Before analyzing the class notebook, it is necessary to establish some criteria that facilitate the evaluation of any of these aspects, avoiding that any of them, by themselves, completely or mostly determine the evaluation itself.

In addition, students should be informed from the very beginning about the aspects that will be taken into account when analyzing the notebook and, once the evaluation has been carried out, the moment should be used to indicate what they are doing well and what they should improve, the moment should be used to indicate what is going well and what needs to be improved..

2. Exams

The exams, both in their traditional written and oral versions, are those tests that serve to evaluate what the students have studied, presenting them with a series of questions or tasks to be solved.

From the resolution of these tasks or from the answers given by the student, the knowledge or lack of it is inferred. the knowledge or lack of knowledge of the contents or the presence or absence of the student's behavior is inferred..

Among the characteristics of the exams we have:

• They measure maximum results.
• Their application is standardized.
• The tasks are uniform for all students.
• Students are aware that they are being tested.

It is very important to understand that, although useful, these tests should not be the only tests in the evaluation process. should not be the only ones in the evaluative process of teaching and learning.. They are a means of analyzing and evaluating other aspects of students' work.

It is important to treat errors or inaccuracies in tests from an investigative rather than a punitive perspective.. If the student has not understood a certain concept, he/she may require some kind of support after the test has been taken, in order for him/her to learn.

It must be understood that both correct and incorrect answers provide valuable information to teachers to guide their classes, and to the student to correct and overcome these deficiencies.

3. Questionnaires

Questionnaires, in the field of teaching, are tests in test format. They are used to assess prior knowledge of a given didactic unit, with items in a highly standardized format and a single response. The items are presented in a highly standardized format and have a single response. Since the student does not have to write, but answer items in the affirmative or negative, it is easy for the teacher to correct these tests.

4. Concept maps

Concept maps are tools for highlighting the main ideas of a given content. They help both teachers and students to easily identify and grasp the fundamentals of the didactic unit being taught.

5. Information collection sheets

These cards are simple but very useful, both for the student and for the teacher. In the case of the student, they serve to systematize the collection of information on small research works. For the teacher it serves as a guide to evaluate other instruments.

6. Monographic works and small researches

The monographic works and small researches are works, of free thematic, that allow the students to expand their knowledge on their own. In this way, the student participates in the process of acquiring new knowledge.

This tool is particularly useful for the teacherIt allows the teacher to understand if the student has developed attitudes related to rigor, taste for order, knows how to organize the information and present it in an attractive way...

Bibliographical references:

• Lynch, J. (1977). Continuing Education and the Preparation of Teachers. United Kingdom: UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg.
• Miklos T. and Tello M. (1999). Prospective Planning. A strategy for designing the future. Mexico: Limusa
• Saad, E. and Pacheco, D. (1982). Textos de Capacitación Docente. In "La capacitación y la educación continua de ingenieros civiles en el sector público". Vázquez F. G., editor. Mexico: Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales y de la Educación A. C., Mexico. C.
• Zabalza-Beraza, M. A., Montero-Mesa, M. L. and Cebreiro-López, B. (coord.) (1995). Contents presented at the: Symposium Internacional sobre Prácticas Escolares. Editors: University of Santiago.