Anecdotal Record, Rating Scale & Checklists

ANECDOTAL RECORDS

            A fundamental purpose of assessment is to communicate what the child knows and is able to do. Teacher-generated, anecdotal records provide an insider’s perspective of the child’s educational experience. This perspective is vital to communication with the child and the child’s family about academic progress. Anecdotal records also facilitate assessment conversations as educational professionals describe their observations of student learning and consider ways to develop appropriate strategies to build on strengths and address academic needs. The more focused the observational records, the more helpful they can be in making daily decisions about instructional approaches.

            Anecdotal Records are collections of narratives involving first-hand observations of interesting, illuminating incidents in children’s literacy development. Anecdotal records are reports about the teacher informal observations about students. It will helps the teacher to collect details regarding student’s behaviours at different situations. It will be a good tool to bring positive behavioral patterns through daily observation and correction. It involves the following informations ;

§ Social interactions and literacy exchanges that teacher have observed

§ Children’s everyday routines, such as what they choose to do in center workshops; a particular writing topic in a journal or on a sheet of paper during independent writing time; the book they choose during independent reading time; and when they spend time with blocks, sand, painting, or other forms of creative expression

§ Children’s learning styles

§ Recurring patterns in children’s ways of understanding

§ Changes in children’s behaviors

§ Milestones in children’s development

Steps Involved In Preparation Of Anecdotal Records

Teachers basically use the following steps for the preparation of Anecdotal records ;

1. Observing children in instructional settings :  Formal and information is the starting point in the preparation of anecdotal records.

2. Maintaining a standards-based focus :

Follow some criterias as standards at the time of observation.

3. Making anecdotal records :

Writing quality anecdotal records is facilitated by keeping in mind the following considerations: Write observable data, use significant abbreviations, write records in the past tense.

4. Managing anecdotal records            :

            Once the records are coded for strengths, needs, or information, simply list an abbreviated summary of the strengths and the needs in the space provided below the records. Separating the records into strengths and needs allows the teacher to summarize what patterns are being exhibited by the student. The summary also helps clarify and generate appropriate instructional recommendations.

5. Analysis of anecdotal records:

Anecdotal records assessment is informed by comparing the standards to the child’s performance. The standards also inform the selection of strategies and activities for instructional recommendations. Periodically, analyze the compiled records for each student. The time between analyses may vary according to your own academic calendar.

RATING SCALE

Rating scale is one of the scaling techniques applied to the procedures for attempting to determine quantitative measures of subjective abstract concepts. It gives an idea of the personality of an individual as the observer judge the behavior of a person includes a limited number of aspects of a thing or of traits.

Rating means the judgment of one person by another. “Rating is in essence directed observation”. Writes Ruth Strang. A.S. Barr and other define, “Rating is a term applied to expression of opinion or judgment regarding some situation, objects or character. Opinions are usually expressed on a scale or values. Rating techniques are devises by which such judgments may be qualified.”

A rating scale is a method by which we systematize the expression of opinion concerning a trait. The ratings are done by parents, teachers,  a board of interviewers and judges and by the self as well.

Rating is a term applied to expression of opinion or judgment regarding some situation, object or character. Opinions are usually expressed on a scale of values.

Rating scale refers to a set of points which describe varying degrees of the dimension of an attribute being observed.

CHARACTERISTICS

There are two characteristics of a rating scale.

1.                 Description of the characteristics to be related,

2.                 Some methods by which the quality, frequency or importance of each item to be rated may be given.

PRINCIPLES GOVERNING RATING SCALE

1.                       The trait to be treated should be reading observable.

2.                       The specific trait or mode of behavior must be defined

properly. For example, we want to rate a child’s originality in performing a task. First of all we must formulate a definition of ‘originality’ and then try to rate it.

3.                       The scale should be clearly defined ie, We are rating at a three, four or fire-point scale.

4.                       Uniform standards of rating scale should be observed.

5.                       The rater should observe the rates in different situations involving the trait to be rated.

6.                       The number of characteristics to be rated should  be limited.

7.                       In the rating scale, card, some space may be provided for the rater to write some supplementary material.

8.                       The directions of using the rating scales should be clear and comprehensive.

9.                       Several judges may be employed to increase the reliability of any rating scale.

10.                  Well informed and experienced persons should be selected for

rating.

TYPES OF RATING SCALE

A number of rating techniques have been developed which enable the observers to assign numerical values or ratings to their judgments of behavior.

According to Guilford (1954, P. 263) these techniques have given rise to five board categories of rating scale.

1.                 Numerical scale (Itemized rating scale)

2.                 Graphic scale

3.                 Standard scale

4.                 Rating by cumulative points

5.                 Forced choice ratings.

Numerical Scale

In the typical numerical scale, a sequence of defined numbers is applied to the rater or the observer, The rater assigns an appropriate number in line to each stimulus.

Eg. Guilfor (1954, P 263) used in obtaining ratings of the effective values of colours and orders as follows:-

10.        Most pleasant imaginable

9.         Most pleasant

8.         Extremely pleasant

7.         Moderately pleasant

6.         Mildly present

5.         Indifferent

4.         Mildly unpleasant

3.         Modularity unpleasant

2.         Extremely unpleasant

1.          Most unpleasant

0.         Most unpleasant imaginable

Thus in a typical numerical scale, numbers are assigned to each trait. If it is a seven point scale the number of 7 represents the maximum amount of that trait in the individual and 4 represents the construct.

Numerical rating scale  are easiest to construct and to apply. They are simplest in handling the results. But this rating scales are rejected in favor of other types of scales because it is believed that they suffer from many biases and errors.

Graphic Scale

Graphic scale is the most popular and widely used type of rating scale. In this scale, a straight line is shown. Vertically or horizontally, The line is either segmented in units or it is continuous. Scale points with brief description may be indicated along the line.

There are many advantages of graphic scale.

-                   Simple and easy to administer

-                   Require little added motivation

-                   Provides opportunity for fine discrimination

It has certain limitation also. The respondents may check at almost any position along the line which fact may increase the difficulty of analysis. The meaning of the terms like ‘very much’ and ‘some what’ may depend upon respondent’s frame of reference.

Standard scales.

In standard scales a set of standards is presented to the rater. The standards are usually objects of some kind to be rated with preestablished scale values. The man to man scale and portrait matching scale are other two forms that conform more or less to the principle of standards scales. Man – to – man scale is used in connection with military personal. The portrait – matching technique was first used in connection with the studies of character by Hartyshorne and May

(1929)

Rating By Cumulative PointS

Here the rates is asked to give the percentage of the group that prosses the trait on which the individual is rated

Forced Choice Ratings:

In this method, the rater is asked, not to say whether the rate has a certain trait or to say how much of a trait the ratee has but to say essentially whether he was more of one trait than another of a pair. In the construction of a forced – choice rating instrument, descriptions are obtained concerning persons who are recognized as being at the highest and lowest extremes of the performance continue for a particular group to be rated. Descriptions are analyzed into simple behavior qualities stated in very short sentences, which have been called – ‘elevents’ by Sission (1945) and preference value are determined for each element. In forming an item, elements are paired. Two statements or terms with the same high preference value are paired, one of which is valid and the other not. Two statements or terms with about equally low preference value are also paired, one being valid and the other not.

USE AND ADVANTAGES OF RATING SCALES

1.                 Helpful in measuring specified outcomes or objectives of education

2.                 Helpful in supplementing other sources of understanding about the child.

3.                 Helpful in  their simulating effect upon the individuals who are rated.

4.                 Helpful in writing reports to parents

5.                 Helpful in filling out admission

6.                 Helpful in finding out student’s needs

7.                 Helpful in making recommendations to the employers.

8.                 Helpful to the students to rate himself.

LIMITATIONS

1.                 Some characteristics are  more different to rate.

2.                 Subjective element is present.

3.                 Lack of opportunities to rate students.

4.                 Rates tend to be generally generous.

ERRORS IN RATING

Rating scales have several limitations. Some of them are discussed as under.

a)         Generosity Error.

Sometimes raters would not like to bring down their own people by giving them low ratings. The result is that high ratings are given in almost all cases. Such an error is known as generosity error.

b)         Stringency Error

The opposite of generosity error may be called stringency error.

Some raters have a tendency to rate all individuals low.

c)                 Halo Error :  ‘Halo’ means a tendency to rate in terms of general impressions about the rates formed on the basis  of some previous performance.

d)                Error Of Central Tendency. There is a tendency in some observers to rate all or most of the rates near the midpoint of the scale. They would like to put most of the rates as ‘Average’ etc.

e)                 The Logical Error. Such an Error occurs when the characteristics or the trait to be rated is misunderstood.

CHECK LIST

A checklist is a simple device consisting of a prepared list of items which are thought by the researcher to be relevant to the problem being studied. A checklist is a selected list of words, phrases, or sentences following which an observer records a  check ( ) to denotethe presence or absence of whatever being observed. When we want to asses whether some traits are present or absent in the behavior of an individual, we can use check list method. This consists of a number of statements on various traits of personality. The statement which applies to the individuals is checked.

Thus responses to the checklist items are a matter of ‘fact’, not of ‘judgment’. The checklist is an important tool in gathering facts for educational surveys, that is for checking of library, laboratory, game facilities, school building, textbooks, instructional surveys, that is for checking of library, laboratory procedures, etc. checklist are sometimes used in the form of a questionnaire. Which are completed by the respondent rather than by the observer.

CONSTRUCTION OF A CHECKLIST

The items are determined may be arranged in logical and psychological order. There are various ways of writing and arranging the items in a checklist.

Kempler (1960) has suggested four ways and the researcher may make use of all or some of them to serve his purpose best.

1.                 The form in which the observer or respondent is asked to check all items found in a situation for example, put a tick mark (*) in the blank provided before each game played in your school.

*       Football

*       Hockey

*       Cricket * Volleyball

*       Basket ball

2.                 The form in which questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ are asked to be encircled, underlined or checked in response to the item given. Eg. Does your university have a Teacher’s Union? Yes/No.

3.                 The form in  which items are positive statements and the respondent or observer is asked to put a tick mark (  ) in thespace provided

Eg. Our school has a student’s union

4.                 The form where items can best be put in sentences and the observer on respondent is asked to check, underline or encircle the appropriate word/words.

Eg. The school organizes debates weekly, fortnightly, monthly,

annually, irregularly.

The items of the checklist should be phrased in such a way that they are discriminative in quality. It will increase the validity of the check list. A preliminary tryout of the check list may also prove helpful in making the tool one objective.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF CHECK LIST RESPONSES.

The tabulation, qualification and interpretation of the checklist response is done in very much the same way as that of the questionnaire responses.