Docimology at the service of learning

Docimology to offer an effective assessment of learning

Taking a test is never fun and can even be synonymous with insurmountable stress. Assessment suffers from a negative image, seen as a “check”, an opportunity to see one's skills dissected and compared to a norm. In fact, many of us may have had some bad memories of our school years. However, beyond its frightening aspect, assessment is in fact the essential ingredient for successful training. Because it measures the learner's level of competence, it makes it possible to take stock of achievements and shortcomings and adapt the content accordingly. A good assessment therefore benefits both the evaluator and the learner. However, not all evaluations are created equal, and it is important to know how to offer an effective evaluation.

Fortunately, the art of evaluation, or docimology, is a discipline in its own right that has been developed since the 1920s. Docimology is literally the “science of testing” and was created by two renowned psychologists: Henri Piéron and Henri Laugier [1,2]. Thanks to it, you will know why and how to propose a relevant measure of learner skills..

When performance reflects competence

Evaluating is above all Situate a performance in relation to a learning objective. It is only through our performances that we can assess our skills. But this performance is punctual and only corresponds to what the learner produces at a given time, at a given level of commitment (see also our article on engagement and learning). So while we hope to see real competence by measuring performance, these two things remain distinct [1,2].

La skill answers everything that encompasses theoretical knowledge and know-how, while performance is the practice of these skills. In the theater, a performance would thus be the equivalent of the performance of the actors, through which we see all their competence, that is to say the technique acquired beforehand after hours and hours of work.

The whole challenge of evaluation is to ensure that performance is the best reflection of competence.
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Pitfalls to avoid for the evaluator

Docimology focuses on identifying problems in evaluation methods. It highlights the biases at work during the construction of a test until it is corrected.

In theory, the evaluator wants his assessment to reflect the knowledge and expertise acquired by the learner, for there to be a linear relationship between competence and the learner's performance. In other words, he wants more The learner is competent, the higher the grade he will get on the test. Unfortunately in practice, this correspondence often fails.

Some factors interfere with the accuracy of the assessment; they may be related to the task itself, the evaluator or the learner [1].

For example, during the exam, the state of stress, fatigue and concentration of the learner may influence his performance, which will no longer only reflect his skill level. During the correction this time, the place of the copy in the pile, the effect of the context when a grader adjusts his scale according to the level of the students, or even the state of fatigue (or hunger) of the proofreader, can influence the grade.

Finally, the task itself has a major influence on the accuracy of the measurement of competence. A bad formulation of the instructions will affect the understanding of the task to be carried out and reduce performance artificially. But more subtly, the context of the question asked can influence the demonstration of competence: anchoring a logical question in a daily situation can improve performance compared to an abstract situation [3] *.

Towards evaluations at the service of learning

Now, docimology is increasingly focused on studying the role of assessment in learning itself [4]. In fact, The test must accompany the practical application of the knowledge because in addition to motivating the learner by giving meaning to the skills they acquire, this approach contributes to reducing the risk of cramping and short-term retention.

The test also allows you to become aware of what you know and what you don't know. Who has never found themselves in the situation of thinking they have mastered a concept but encountered difficulties during the rendition? For avoid this illusion of control the feedback Through correction is essential : nothing better than repeated tests to reorient or reinforce your learning.

Thus, passing an assessment is not always easy for a learner, but it is a real headache for the evaluator who designs it! Docimology Give us keys to knowing how to build the right tests to properly reflect the skill level of a learner, in order to place him in relation to others or to a threshold of success, but also (and above all!) to participate in its progress. Be aware that the assessment is a real tool for learning Perhaps it will allow some to de-demonize exams and use them for new learning.

Moreover, by extrapolating slightly, we can therefore say that educational formats that allow the learner to test themselves, and without necessarily being an evaluation in the classical sense of the term, are particularly effective for learning.

Good news, the most modern e-learning platforms give designers the means to do so easily. Flagship of the new generation of LMS, the Didask platform integrates a educational artificial intelligence which allows, among other things, to create practical cases with a logic oftrial-error-feedback. This greatly simplifies the application of the tips seen above, even for profiles without educational prerequisites. To go further, you can also consult our article Learning Management System: Optimizations for Businesses.
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REFERENCES

[1] Leclercq, D., Nicaise, J., & Demeuse, M. (2004). Critical docimology: difficulties in writing down copies and assigning grades to students.
[2] C. P. Pieron Henri — Exams and docimology. In: Population, 19th year, no. 5, 1964. p. 983
[3] Wason P.C. (1966), Reasoning, B.M. Foss (Ed. ), New Horizons in Psychology, Vol. 1, Penguin, Harmondsworth
[4] Gaillot, B.A. (2002) Docimology, and after? Notes on the evaluation of achievements in the plastic arts.

* to go further [3]
Wason shows adults 4 cards with the words on them A, B, 1 and 2 respectively. Which card (s) should you turn over to check the following sentence: “If a card is marked A on one side, then it is marked 2 on the other”? The majority of the answers will be wrong because you just have to turn the card over A. On the other hand, the result of the test will be quite different if we present the problem in the following way. 4 people are in a bar, the 1st has an alcoholic drink, the 2nd is under 18, the 3rd is over 18 years old, and the 4th has a non-alcoholic drink. Who should we ask for an identity card to verify that the rule “people who drink alcohol are over 18” is true? The majority of the answers will then be correct (just ask the person who drinks alcohol). Here we can clearly see how placing an abstract question in an everyday context makes it possible to measure true logic performance, independently of the literal statement of the problem.