E

Educational Age (EA) - on administering a test to a group of learners (normative group), average scores for each age group are calculated. They are called 'age norms'. Then, the individual's score is compared with the age norms. For instance, if the score of a 10-year old learner is equivalent to that of only 8-year old, then he is considered behind his age group. This score is often referred to as the 'Educational Age' of that learner. This is useful for the teachers to modify the course materials in order to suit the learners, besides framing the evaluation tools appropriately.

Educational Impact is the effect of the process of teaching and learning. The effectiveness of a test depends not only on its measuring characteristics but also its impact/effect on the educational process. The value of a test must therefore be assessed not only in terms of its measuring characteristics but also according to its impact on the educational processes.

Educational Measurement is the practice of applying measurement principles to educational processes, viz., teaching, learning and testing it includes the conventional practice of marking or grading of one's performance, the rating of his personality and character, and testing of all sorts in the schools and colleges. [Also see, Evaluation, Review].

Educational Objectives are the goals of education, expressed in behavioural terms; they specify the behavioural changes expected in the learner as a result of his learning. Educational objectives have been listed in various taxonomies of education, of which the one prepared by Bloom et al., is widely known. [See, Objectives].

Educational Quotient (EQ) is the answer to a division sum (quotient). It is obtained by dividing the achievement age (educational age) of a child by his chronological age and multiplying the result by 100. for example, the EQ of a child whose achievement age is 12 years and chronological age is 10 years is commuted as

12_ x 100 = 120
10

The EQ is intended to represent the child's relative progress in the school.

Effectiveness of Distractors is one of the major elements of an item analysis (applicable for multiple choice items), besides the 'discrimination index' and 'item difficulty'. Distractors are wrong answers. The number or proportion of students choosing each response is calculated while studying their effectiveness. If the purpose of the test is to separate students according to their knowledge of the material being tested, it is essential that most students who do not know the answer to an item get it wrong. The purpose of distractors is to attract students who do not know the answer to an item.

Effective Range refers to the portion of distribution where only scores with meaningful discrimination found. For instance, in the following distribution of scores obtained by 40 students on a test of 20 multiple choice items (each with 4 options) the 'Effective Range' is calculated as shown in the following Table. In this test, 5 items (25%) are expected to be answered correctly by guessing alone. Thus, scores upto 5 are excluded from this range. Therefore, the test would have an effective range of 6 to 18, where the meaningful discrimination actually takes place. Generally, tests with broadest possible effective range are most useful in discriminating the examinees on the ability under consideration. The effective range is different from possible and actual ranges.

 

 

Emphatic Quality is one of the social qualities and it refers to the interpersonal relationship. This is one of the non-scholastic quality to be acquired by a learner in the process of his/her education and hence needs to be evaluated.

Empirical Test is one that requires an effort to verify a statement based on factual information.

Enumeration or Count Scoring is one of the various marking schemes available to the teacher for essay marking. It (Cliff, et al., 1981) can be used when each piece of information or fact for which a mark is awarded can be assessed as correct or incorrect quite independently of the examiner's opinion. Ranking, qualitative grading, numerical evaluation or mixture of numerical evaluation and count scoring are the other types of marking schemes which are in use.

Equated Forms are forms of test having scoring distributions adjusted to coincide with the same scale. Equating methods, viz., 'equi-percentile' and 'regression' are used for this purpose.

Equivalence - in a set of two data or scores, if one can be substituted for the other in a given context without making any substantial difference, the relation between them is said to be equivalence. {Also see, Equivalent Forms, Equivalent Groups Measure].

Equivalent Forms are also known as alternate forms or parallel forms. The forms (or items) of a test are said to be equivalent if their scores reveal equal means, variances and co-variances, when they are administered to the same set of examinees within a reasonable time gap. The type of items, content coverage and the distribution of difficulty levels will also be the same in equivalent forms.

Equivalent-Groups Measure is an experimental procedure in which the examinees are so divided that the groups are regarded as of equal merit or ability for all practical purposes. When the groups are exposed to different experimental conditions, the differing effects (if any) are measured. In a systematic work, it is quite possible to match that the ability of each person in one group with that of a person in the other group. It is also sometimes referred to as Matched Groups Procedure.

ERC is an abbreviation of the phrase 'Explain with Reference and Context'. This is a kind of comprehension question usually asked in the school examinations. This is comparable to the 'annotation' type questions which require the examinee to provide the reference and context of the given passage or quotation followed by an explanation or description. It attempts to measure the examinee's knowledge, comprehension and application ability.

Error generally would mean a 'mistake'. In the area of evaluation, it refers to the difference between an occurring value (computed value) and its true or unexpected value. It occurs usually due to sampling effects; the deviation in scores occurs due to chance effect and hence it is 'chance error'. The error which affects the entire set of observations is called 'constant error'. There is also an another type of error called 'absolute error' which is expressed only in terms of units irrespective of whether positive or negative. There are some errors like copying error, interpretation error and so on which can easily be avoided.

Error Control Test is one of the computer adaptive tests, used to re-estimate the examinee's ability after each item is attempted. An appropriate ability estimation algorithm is used for this purpose. This procedure includes the calculation of a standard error associated with each successive ability estimate. An acceptable criterion level of error is specified in advance. This testing procedure is terminated when the size of the standard error has diminished to the pre-specified criterion level, indicating the confidence in the accuracy of the ability estimate.

Error of Measurement is the difference between an obtained score and the corresponding true score. True score is the average of a very large number of scores that might be obtained on similar tests, under similar conditions for the same individual.

Error Variance is the variance of an error component. It is the mean of the squared errors of measurement for each score in a set of test scores. The error variance for a given set of scores is calculated as below :

Error variance = 110/10 = 11

Essay Test which usually consist of a few questions only, requires an examinee to present lengthy written responses in 2 or 3 hours of time. It has a long tradition and popularity in view of its convenience. Essay test suffers from 'subjectivity' at various levels, viz., setting the question papers, administering the test and marking the answer scripts. It requires the examinee to produce answers on his own and not by selection. It is an accepted tool to measure the higher order abilities like comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, etc., which require the examinees' command over the language and the subject matter. There liability of scoring essay answers could be improved by adopting an appropriate marking scheme/system. {Also see, Analytic Scoring].

Essay Type Question requires the examine to provide a lengthy written discussion in response to a question. The length of the response may vary from a single page to several pages. Essay question is classified as one of the 'supply type' questions, and widely used for measuring complex abilities (higher order abilities) of an examinee.

Estimate refers to a particular value yielded by an estimator in a given set of circumstances. 'Estimate' implies the element of approximation also it is concerned with inference about the numerical value of unknown population values from incomplete data such as a sample.

Eta Coefficient is commonly used to indicate the strength of relationship between two variables when the relationship is non-linear. This is usually contrasted with the 'Product moment correlation'.

Evaluation is a systematic process of determining the extent to which the pre-determined objectives are achieved. It is also a process of making a value judgement based on factual information, i.e., evidence. This is clarified further in contrast with 'measurement'. While 'measurement' attempts to bring out a quantitative description of observed phenomena, the 'evaluation' goes one step further and assigns value judgement to the quantitative description. Thus 'evaluation' includes both quantitative measurement and qualitative judgement. The skill of evaluation is one of the higher order abilities and is the highest level in the process of intellectual development. Ebel [1979, p.376] defines it as "a judgement of merit, sometimes based solely on measurements such as those provided by test scores, but more frequently involving a synthesis of various measurements, critical incidents, subjective impressions, and other kinds of evidence". Judge, argue, validate, assess, decide, etc., are the action verbs that would represent evaluation. Written tests of long answer, open ended problems, assignments, etc., are some of the tools which could be used for measuring one's skill of evaluation.

Examination - the term 'examination' refers to the whole area of language measurement, and the term 'test' to a specialized part within it, so that a test would be seen as a kind of examination [Allen and Davis, 1977, p.49]. another important distinction is that examination is conducted usually at the end of the course or training programme for the purpose of certification whereas test is conducted usually at the end of every term or month or week or even everyday. Moreover, for an examination there is no follow up remedial measures, whereas a test has got both. Sometimes, for an examination there is no follow up remedial measures, whereas a test has got both. Sometimes, distinction is made in terms of time also. One that is conducted for 2 or 3 hours is called 'examination' and the one that is conducted for an hour or half an hour is called 'test'. Another distinction visualized is 'hierarchical', i.e., a professor examines his research student, whereas a teacher tests his wards in Standard II. Distinction is also made sometimes on the basis of the methods of assessment - either subjective or objective. When the element of subjectivity is involved, it is named as examination, whereas the presence of objectivity makes it a test. However, none of the distinctions is fully accepted. There are three types of examinations, viz., written, oral and practical, which are being widely followed. However, among these examinations, written one plays a vital role at every stage of the education system. Depending on the purpose and the nature, it takes a number of shapes with various prefixes like pre-, post-, entrance, final, preliminary, etc.

Examinee refers to the one who is examined or the one who takes an examination. Similarly, 'testee' refers to the one who is tested or the one who takes a test.

Examiner is the one who examines a student, a candidate, a textbook or a dissertation.

Expectancy Table is a double-entry table and the figures in each cell [Ebel, 1979] indicate the relative frequency with which an individual having a given score on the predictor will receive a given score on the criterion of achievement. In this table the rows ordinarily correspond to score intervals on some predictor of achievement, and the columns correspond to score intervals on some measure of actual achievement. [Syn.: Contingency Table].

External Examination is the one for which question papers, etc., are prepared by someone other tan the class teacher. It also refers to the common examination which is conducted nationwide or statewide. In the external examination, organization, supervision, etc., are extremely controlled. Complete anonymity of evaluators, is usually maintained. As it provides an independent assessment, the results are widely accepted and even used for inter institution comparisons. It also provides the uniformity of practice and standards on the basis of which the students are assessed upon common qualities by common criteria. The external examination provides the final appraisal of student's achievement also.

Extract refers to the gist of a passage, pamphlet, journal or a book. Gist making requires an extra talent which involves the skill of skimming and scanning. It is an essential skill that a student is expected to develop during the course of his education at the higher level. Questions requiring the responses in the form of 'extracts' are useful to measure the skimming and scanning abilities of the students of language and literature.