Concept of Educational Measurement
The term “Educational Measurement” refers to any device for the general study and practice of testing, scaling, and appraising the outcomes of educational process. It includes administration and scoring or tests, scale construction, validation and standardization, and application of statistical techniques in the interpretation of obtained measures or test results.
Definition of Educational Measurement
Educational Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to individuals or their characteristics according to specified rules. Measurement requires the use of numbers but does not require the value judgments be made about the numbers obtained from the process. We measure achievement with a test by counting the number of test items a student answers correctly, and we use exactly the same rule to assign a number to the achievement of each, student in the class. Measurements are useful for describing the amount of certain abilities that individuals have.
For that reason, they represent useful information for the evaluation process. But can we measure all the important outcomes of our instructional efforts.
Education is an extensive, diverse, and complex enterprise, not only in terms of the achievements it seeks to develop, but also in terms of the means by which it seeks to develop, but also in terms of the means by which it seeks to develop them. Our understanding of the nature and process of education is far from perfect. Hence it is easy to agree that we do not know how to measure all important educational outcomes. But, in principle, all-important outcomes of education are measurable. They may not even be measurable in principle, using only paper and pencil tests. But if they are known to be important, they must be measurable.
To be important, an outcome of education must make an observable difference. That is, at some time, under some circumstances, a person who has more of it must behave differently from a person who has less of it. If different degrees or amounts of an educational achievement never make any observable difference, what evidence can be found to show that it is in fact important? But if such differences can be observed, then the achievement is measurable for all that measurement requires is verifiable observation of a more-less relationship. Can integrity be measured? It can if verifiable differences in integrity can be observed among individuals. Can mother love be measured? If observers can agree that a hen shows more mother love than a female trout, or that Mrs. “A” shows more love for her children than Mrs. “B” then mother love can be measured.