On the Evaluation and Measurement of Academic Achievement

Abstract

  Amid current developments in high school/university articulation reforms, we frequently experience a sense of lacking a shared, sufficient understanding of how to frame and evaluate "academic achievement." This arises because we fail to consider differences in the purposes of evaluation and measurement for surveys and selection examinations, and simply evaluate non-cognitive factors of academic achievement (e.g., motivation, perseverance, self-control) in student selection. For evaluation and measurement, it is important to utilize methods appropriate for the corresponding aims and subjects as required by circumstances. This should be the standard for not only high school/university articulation reforms but also educational psychology research. In light of these requirements, the present paper discusses the following points while introducing research cases from the educational psychology research field: (a) Separate use of individual and group scores, data collection design, and so on, in large-scale academic achievement surveys to guarantee the integrity of aims and design specifications; (b) Formative evaluation that is effective in everyday practice of school education; (c) Research trends and tasks related to the "non-cognitive" aspects of the mind, nurtured early in life and thought to influence child development.