Unit 1
Concepts of
Testing,
Measurement and
Evaluation
Introduction
As a teacher-learner, you should be familiar with the
process of assessment to which pupils are subjected from
time to time. In this module, we shall discuss the subject of
assessment in great detail. In so doing, we hope you will
acquire both the knowledge and skills to enable you to
assess pupils in your subject better. In this first unit, we
shall try to establish the extent and content of the subject
matter by examining some of the key concepts. You will
need to understand the concepts of testing, measurement
and evaluation in order to understand the content of this
module. Quite often, teachers use these terms
interchangeably because they all occur in a single process
of assessment, but they are different.
Domasi College of Education
Objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

define the terms testing, measurement and
evaluation

distinguish between testing, measurement and
evaluation in the assessment process

distinguish between qualitative and quantitative
variables

associate attributes with appropriate measurement
units.
Key Words
You will find the following key words or phrases in this unit.
Watch out for these and make sure you understand what
they mean and how they are used in the unit.
test
measurement
evaluation
qualitative
formative evaluation
summative evaluation
attributes
variable
quantitative variable
qualitative variable
scales of measurement
measurement unit
nominal scale
ordinal scale
interval scale
ratio scale
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation
Domasi College of Education
Definitions of Key
Concepts
In this section we shall explain some of the key concepts
presented in this course. You will notice that this module
introduces a number of new terms. Understanding these
terms is critical to understanding the course. It may
therefore be necessary for you to develop the habit of listing
new terms and their meanings as you study the course.
Such a practice may help you understand and remember
the new terms more easily. We shall now look at the terms
test, measurement and evaluation. These terms are often
easily confused because they all happen in a single process
of assessment. For example, a teacher may ask a series of
questions on a subject matter to which pupils may respond.
The pupils’ responses are then scored by giving points to
correct answers. On the basis of the pupils’ scores, the
teacher may then conclude whether the pupils are making
good progress or not.
In this example of an assessment process

a series of questions on the subject matter constitute
a test

scoring the responses by giving points to right
responses is measurement

concluding whether pupils are making good learning
progress is evaluation.
Let us now elaborate on the meaning of each of these terms.
Test
A test a systematic procedure for observing and describing
one or more characteristics of a person with the aid of either
a numerical scale or category system (Nitko, 1983). All
systematic procedures used in a school to assess child
behaviour, such as teacher observations, questionnaires,
interviews, class projects, term papers or assignments and
paper and pencil examinations, are some forms of tests. You
will recall that in a teaching–learning process, each time
tests are used they yield measurements, which describe
behaviour numerically (using a numerical scale) or
categorically (using a category system such as letter grades
in the Junior Certificate Examination (JCE) or point scale in
the Malawi School Certificate Examination (MSCE) and
college assessments).
Concepts of Testing, Measurement and Evaluation
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Domasi College of Education
Measurement
Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to
individuals or their characteristics according to specified
rules. An example of a specified rule is assigning 1 to a right
answer and 0 to a wrong answer. You may agree that
measurement is a quantitative method of describing the
attributes or characteristics of persons, which have been
observed through testing. In order to come up with
measurements, one needs to identify:

the person to be measured

the attributes or characteristics to be measured in
that person

the procedure or rule to be used to assign numbers
to those characteristics.
When measurements are used to describe attributes, one
should ensure that the resulting scores represent the realworld relationship regarding the attribute being measured.
For example, if you were to describe the heights of Mary and
John in your classroom, your resulting measurements
should agree with what people who see the two pupils think
about their heights. If the results of measurements show
that Mary is taller than John when real-world observation
considers it differently, people will doubt the accuracy of the
measurements. Similarly, if in a classroom testing one pupil
performs outstandingly when her or his general
performance has always been below average, it may cast
doubt on the accuracy of measurements reported in the
test.
Self Evaluation — Activity 1-a
Having gone through this section, how would you describe
the relationship between testing and measurement?
Possible answers to this activity are at the end of this unit.
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation
Domasi College of Education
Evaluation
Evaluation is the process of making a value judgement
about the worth of someone or something being judged?
Evaluation involves judgement, which may or may not be
based on a test. When evaluation is based on a test, it uses
measurements by comparing the numbers or categories to
judge the worth of someone with regard to the
characteristics being measured. When evaluation occurs in
the absence of measurements or testing, it solely depends
on what the evaluator thinks about the attribute or the
person being judged. In both cases, evaluation depends on
the experience and knowledge of the evaluator. You can
agree that almost all evaluations are influenced by
subjectivity and bias.
There are two forms of evaluation which are used in
curriculum development and instruction. These are

formative evaluation

summative evaluation.
Formative Evaluation
Formative evaluation monitors the instructional process to
determine whether learning is taking place. It provides
feedback to both teachers and students about how well
things are going. Such feedback is used to modify
instructional methods or materials and to facilitate learning
if things have not been going well.
Summative Evaluation
A summative evaluation is conducted at the end of an
instructional segment to determine if learning is complete
and if the learner can move to the next segment of
instruction. The major role of summative evaluation is to
determine the status of achievement at the end of an
instructional segment and determine how well things went.
According to Gronlund and Linn (1990), summative
evaluation describes judgements about an already
completed programme, procedure or product. It may
consider whether the stated objectives were achieved, or
whether a particular method works, or under which
conditions or under what degree of implementation.
Concepts of Testing, Measurement and Evaluation
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Domasi College of Education
Assessment Task 1-b
List all assessment activities which your school conducts,
and categorise them as formative and summative evaluation
procedures.
You must submit this task together with Assessment Tasks
2-a, 3-c and 3-d to your instructor for feedback. This will be
Assignment 1.
Relationship Between
Testing, Measurement
and Evaluation
You may now agree that there is a close relationship
between the three concepts we have discussed so far.
Evaluation seems to be a more comprehensive and inclusive
term than testing and measurement. As we have seen,
testing is just one type of measurement which represent
gathering information through a series of questions. Tests
are a subset of the quantitative tools or techniques used in
evaluations. In a way, tests and measurements are
necessary to increase the objectivity of evaluations.
Figure 1.1 illustrates the relationship we have described in
this section.
Evaluation
Measurement such
Non-measurement
as testing
observation
such as informal
Value judgement
such as Good learning progress
Fig. 1.1. Relationships of Evaluation, Measurement, etc.
Source: Gronlund and Linn, 1990 page 6
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation
Domasi College of Education
Other Relevant
Concepts or Terms
You need to learn other terms in order to understand
testing, measurement and evaluation better. Below are
some key definitions.

Attribute or characteristic refer to a quality
regarded as natural or typical of someone, such as
height, weight, eye colour and so on.

Variable refers to a phenomenon which varies from
one trial to another during observation.

Quantitative variable is an attribute or
characteristic whose observations vary in magnitude
from trial to trial, such as family size, class size,
mortality rate or cost of living.

Qualitative variable is an attribute or characteristic
whose observations vary in kind but not in degree,
such as sex, prison status, political affiliation,
marital status and religious affiliation.
Scales of Measurement
There are four scales of measurement scales used in
research and evaluation to describe variables. You will
notice that these measurement scales express quantities of
various variables in appropriate measurement units. There
are many different measurement units: for example,
distance is expressed in millimetres, centimetres, metres
and kilometres or inches, feet, yards, and miles. Weight is
described in grams and kilograms or ounce and pounds.
Intelligence is expressed in intelligence quotient while
temperature uses degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit.
Tests use points, scores or grades.
The four measurement scales discussed here are

nominal scale

ordinal scale

interval scale

ratio scale
Let us look at each of these measurement scales in more
details.
Concepts of Testing, Measurement and Evaluation
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Domasi College of Education
Nominal Scale
Nominal scale refers to the process of grouping objects into
classes while ensuring their equivalence with regard to
some attribute or property. Each class relates to a
qualitative category that is either named or numbered. The
names or numerals are given for identification purposes.
For example, sex may be coded 1 for male and  for female.
This scale is called nominal because it is a way of giving
names to measurements.
Ordinal Scale
An ordinal scale is the type of measurement that describes
rank ordering of things from low to high. Apart from
incorporating the features of the nominal scale, ordinal
measurements rank or order observations by degree. The
numerical values used in an ordinal scale of measurement
represent differing amounts of the characteristics being
measured such as athletic achievement. Similarly, some
tests demand a rank ordering of things, as may be the case
with some questionnaires.
Interval Scale
An interval scale incorporates all the features of the
ordinal scale. In addition it specifies distances between its
levels, and its zero point is arbitrary and does not
correspond to the absence of the characteristics being
measured. For example 0 0C is not a total absence of heat
or temperature, and the difference between 50 0C and 60 0C
is equal to the difference between 90 0C and 100 0C. But
1000C is not twice 50 0C in terms of heat molecular motion
(Wiersma & Jurs: 1990).
Ratio Scale
A ratio scale makes ratio type comparisons possible
because its zero point indicates an absence of the property
being measured. For example, zero height is no height and
two kilometres long is one half of four kilometres. Just like
the interval scale, in the ratio scale equal differences
between the numbers assigned in measurement reflect
equal differences in the amount of the property possessed
by things being measured. The scale is called a ratio scale
because its ratios are meaningful. With ratio scale, it is
possible to consider proportions or fractions of quantities of
things. We can talk of enrolment of Chichiri Secondary
School of 1200 is ten times that of Songani Community Day
Secondary School.
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation
Domasi College of Education
Hands On Activity 1-c
From your regular observation, identify appropriate
measurement scales for the following variables:
1. Societies and clubs numbering in the school register
2. Sizes of classrooms
3. Numbering of players in a volleyball team
4. Shoe sizes for teachers in the school
5. Salaries of teachers in the school
6. Colour of shoes for girls in the school
7. Years of Christian calendar
8. Ranks of pupils in a test
9. Ranking of one’s preferences in a questionnaire
10. Reading of temperatures on a thermometer
Answers to this activity are at the end of this unit.
Reading Assignments
At your own time read the following in the library:
Hopkins, K.D. Stanley J.C., & Hopkins B.R. (1990).
Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation.
Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon (pp 1-7)
Wiersma, W. & Jurs, S.G. (1990). Educational Measurement
and Testing. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: AALyn and
Bacon (pp7-13)
Ott, R.L. Rexroat, C, Larson, R., & Mendenhall W. (1992).
Statistics: Tool for the Social Sciences. Boston: PWS – Kent
Publishing Company (pp18-42)
Concepts of Testing, Measurement and Evaluation
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Domasi College of Education
Reflection
Imagine what could happen in assessment if schools did not
use measurement when evaluating pupils who complete
instructional segments.
Summary
In this unit, we have attempted to define the key concepts
which should be understood when studying testing,
measurement and evaluation. This information will help you
understand the other issues covered in this module. This
unit has elaborated in particular on the topics of evaluation
and measurement, which are necessary components in
testing. In the next unit, we shall examine reasons why the
education process includes testing and evaluation.
Unit 1 Test
In your own words, define the following terms:
(i) test
(ii) formative evaluation
(iii) ordinal measurement
(iv) attribute
(v) qualitative variable.
Answers to this unit test are at the end of this unit.
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation
Domasi College of Education
Answers to Unit 1
Activities
Answers to Self Evaluation Activity 1a
Relationship between testing and measurement
Testing is a subset of measurement. Testing is a necessary
condition for measurement because measurement cannot
be obtained without systematic observation (testing) of the
characteristic to be measured. Testing procedure helps to
identify rules or tools for measurement.
Assessment Task 1-b
Assessment activities
You must submit this task together with assessment tasks
2-a, 3-c and 3-d to your instructor for feedback. This will be
Assignment 1.
Answers to Hands on Activity 1-c
1. Nominal scale
2. Ratio scale
3. Nominal scale
4. Ratio scale
5. Ratio scale
6. Nominal scale
7. Interval scale
8. Ordinal scale
9. Ordinal scale
10. Interval scale
Concepts of Testing, Measurement and Evaluation
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Domasi College of Education
Answers to Unit 1 Test
1. Test: a series of questions on a subject matter or a
systematic procedure of observing attributes.
2. Formative evaluation: an evaluation aimed at assessing
how well things are going.
3. Ordinal measurement: a measurement scale for things
that must be ranked, such as positions of pupils in class
tests results.
4. Attribute: a characteristic which is typical of someone,
such as height.
5. Qualitative variable: an attribute which varies in kind
and not in magnitude, such as marital status.
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Education —Module 8, Introduction to Testing,
Measurement and Evaluation