[Evaluation of students and teachers]

Area of Science:

• Educational Assessment
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The study differentiates between assessment for learning (student improvement) and assessment of learning (student performance).
• The Systematic Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) instrument can be used for either assessment type.
• Recent validation focused on assessment of learning, particularly for teachers.

Discussion:

• The paper questions the suitability of factor analysis for validating instruments intended for performance improvement (assessment for learning).
• It suggests that research should focus on potential judgment biases rather than solely on psychometric properties.
• Qualitative feedback may offer more valuable insights than quantitative data for performance enhancement.

Key Insights:

• The choice of validation approach for educational instruments depends on their intended use (assessment for vs. of learning).
• For instruments aimed at teacher development, exploring judgment biases is crucial.
• Qualitative data can be more informative than numerical outcomes for guiding improvement.

Outlook:

• Future research should investigate the impact of judgment biases on the validity of teaching quality assessments.
• Developing validation frameworks that incorporate qualitative feedback alongside psychometric analysis is recommended.
• Further exploration into the application of assessment for learning principles in instrument validation is warranted.