Overview of evaluation system
Pradeep Kumar Singh
PERFORMANCE evaluation of students is an important component of the education system. In general, the evaluation is made through formal tests/examinations, where result is displayed either in terms of absolute marks or grade points as per a predetermined scheme.

Parents influence child’s pursuit of maths, medicine
Parental influence and access to maths courses are crucial to their children’s pursuit of careers in science, technology, engineering, maths or medicine (STEMM), according to a new research.

Campus Notes

• Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
  12 students placed

• Lecture on urban planning

• Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak
  First-of-its-kind winter school

• Training program on acutely ill children

Admission Deadline

Overview of evaluation system
Pradeep Kumar Singh

PERFORMANCE evaluation of students is an important component of the education system. In general, the evaluation is made through formal tests/examinations, where result is displayed either in terms of absolute marks or grade points as per a predetermined scheme.

Performance evaluation in examination based on absolute marks system has been the most common, but sometimes grading system seems to be more appropriate. In preprimary, primary, junior and other classes, subjects like creative activities, sports and games, discipline and moral education, etc., also form a part of the curricula. These subjects in general require performance evaluation subjectively in terms of grades. The other subjects involving written examination are evaluated in absolute marks. In higher classes, where the aforementioned subjects hardly form a part of the curricula, the performance is evaluated mostly through written examination in terms of absolute marks.

Some educationists advocate the implementation of the grading system, quoting the one implemented in a few engineering institutions, especially at IITs. In fact, the premier institutions such as IITs and a few others have implemented the credit-based curricula and grading based evaluation for all the subjects. Here it is important to mention that the credit-based curricula and grading-based evaluation go side-by-side, and are important where different credit (weightage) is assigned to different subjects. Accordingly, contact hours for each subject are planned in the teaching scheme. The result is represented as grades in individual subjects, as well as the grade point average (GPA) in a semester. The sincere students work hard to secure superior grade in each subject so as to secure a higher value of the GPA. In fact, the credit-based curricula and grading-based evaluation have nothing to do with pressure of examination. The grading is just another, rather a vague form of representation of result.

The merit is the soul basis or comparison of candidates in any selection process. While preparing merit based on the results represented in form of grades, it is not possible to workout correct percentage. Though the institutions declaring result in terms of grades do provide a conversion formula for working out percentage, different institutions and regulatory bodies prescribe different conversion formulae, which yield different percentage for the same value of the GPA. In general, for working out percentage for common merit, the grading system is not a recommended choice.

There are two grading systems—absolute grading and relative grading. In relative grading, the grades are awarded based on the statistical analysis of the class performance. If the class performance is very good, even high scoring students may also get inferior grades, and vice-versa. In general, teachers are also provided sufficient flexibility in finalising range of marks for various grades. The relative grading system can be satisfactorily implemented only in a robust academic system. Such a system is being applied in a few IITs successfully, but majority of other engineering institutions seem to have bad experience due to the non-robust education system. On the other hand, the absolute grading is based on the specified slabs of marks, and the teachers have just to segregate the marks obtained into grades. The system seems to be a better evaluation approach as compared to the relative counterpart.

Both the relative and the absolute grading systems suffer from one major weakness, that for the students who score marks near the boundaries of slabs, a mere fall of couple of marks would not only downgrade performance to a lower grade, but also equate them to others who are at the lowest rung of that very grade.

The HRD Ministry has introduced grading system at Class X under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from this year. A few state boards of education are also planning to adopt this system. In addition, a few experts have also been advocating for the credit-based curricula.

Now, for the primary and secondary education, which forms the academic foundation of students, almost all the subjects can be considered equally important. Therefore, the credit-based curricula and grading-based evaluation don’t seem to be useful. In addition, the expectation, that the proposed change may help reduce examination pressure also seems to be baseless. Whatever is the mode of curricula or evaluation, hard work has no alternative, and, therefore, pressure of examination has to be there for getting success and achieving excellence.

A few educationists are of the opinion that with the credit system, students have to clear a fixed number of credits, so the system will offer flexibility in making choice of subjects in a particular programme. Here it is important to note that the flexibility in choice of subject does not reflect in the system unless excess faculty and infrastructure are available in a planned manner. Also, the flexibility in choice of subjects can be met, even with the absolute marks system itself. For this, in addition to the core subjects, a few optional subjects can be offered to widen the knowledge base of students. For example, in BSc with different specialisations, the elective subjects like computer applications, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, economics, entrepreneurship, etc. can be offered. The students can be given choice of any one or two subjects depending on the availability of the subject experts.

The credit-based curricula and grading based evaluation seem to be useful to programmes with different subjects having varying credit. However, the proposed change from the existing absolute marks-based evaluation system to the grading-based one in secondary education does not seem to be appropriate, and thus needs to be reviewed. 

Parents influence child’s pursuit of maths, medicine

Parental influence and access to maths courses are crucial to their children’s pursuit of careers in science, technology, engineering, maths or medicine (STEMM), according to a new research.

Jon Miller, Michigan State University (MSU) professor of integrative studies who led the study with colleagues, said the education of more researchers, engineers and others in the field of science is critical.

“Failure to build and maintain a competitive scientific workforce in the decades ahead will inevitably lead to a decline in the American standard of living,” Miller said.

The research also found that sons were slightly more encouraged than daughters to do well in science and maths. Miller used data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, which kept track of nearly 6,000 students from middle school through college, attempting to determine what led them to or guided them away from STEMM careers.

“The pathway to a STEMM career begins at home.” He said this is especially true in families in which children were strongly encouraged to go to college.

“Only four per cent of students who experienced low parent encouragement to attend college planned to enter a post-secondary programme and major in a STEMM field,” he said.

“This compares to 41 per cent of students whose parents strongly encouraged college attendance.”

Also influential, although not on the same level as parental encouragement, is the parents’ education level.

The research found that approximately 27 per cent of the children of college graduates planned to major in a STEMM field, compared to 18 per cent of parents with a high school diploma. The research also reinforced the role mathematics plays in the pursuit of a STEMM career, says an MSU release.

“Mathematics is a primary gateway to a STEMM career,” Miller said, “beginning with algebra track placement in grades seven and eight, and continuing through high school and college calculus courses.”

These findings were presented at a symposium titled “Tomorrow’s Scientists and Engineers” at this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. — IANS

Campus NoteS
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
12 students placed

TWELVE students of B.Tech (Electronics) of Guru Nanak Dev University have been recruited by a multinational company, Avaya Global Connect, through a campus placement drive. Chandan Gambhir, manger, HR Division of Avaya Global Connect, visited the university and recruited these students.

Dr Sukhdev Singh, director, Placements, said the company recruited five students of the B.Tech (Electronics) 2010 batch at a salary package of Rs 4.5 lakh per annum, while seven students of the B.Tech (Electronics) 2011 batch had been selected on recruitment-cum-internship basis.

He said the demand for the university students by the corporate itself speaks of the quality infrastructure and facilities available at the university. He said the students of the 2011 batch had been selected before one year of the initialisation of the placement process. Many more companies have confirmed their visit in near future for the placement of students, he added.

Besides this, he said, Bajaj Allianz had conducted the placement drive and 17 students belonging to various courses had been selected. He said among them eight students were from social science, six from MBA and one each from MCA, M.Tech and MA (English). So far, more than 260 students of the 2010 batch of various courses have been placed in reputed multinational companies, he added.

Lecture on urban planning

Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu delivered a special lecture on ‘Urban Planning in Amritsar: Challenges and Prospects’ organised by the School of Social Sciences of the university. Speaking on the occasion, he said a master plan and development planning for all round development of the city had been prepared by the government for the beautification and to develop holy city as a tourist center.

The Deputy Commissioner said the government had got the master plan and development planning of the city prepared from the private companies, while the development works would also be entrusted to private companies. He said a loan of Rs 450 crore was being taken from a Japanese bank for water supply and sewerage works.

Apart from the faculty and students of the university, residents of Amritsar were present on the occasion. A 22-member delegation of the students under the University Exchange Program from the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, University of Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, led by Prof. Satwinder Kaur Bains, director of the centre, also participated in the discussion.

Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak
First-of-its-kind winter school

To promote specialised research on a wide range of subjects, including cancer, regenerative biology, drug design and bioinformatics, and to produce global class faculty, the Department of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine, PGIMS, of Pt. B.D.S. University of Health Sciences has organised a first-of-its-kind 'Winter School in Molecular Medicine'.

The school on the theme 'Gene to Disease' is being attended by select health science undergraduates. During the three-week period, the students will get hands-on training. They will also be offered valuable practical and theoretical exposure to some new advances made in life sciences and biotechnology.

According to the HoD, Dr Dhara B. Dhaulakhandi, biotechnology and molecular medicine deals with the gamut of molecular genomic, clinical, and engineering procedures for quick and accurate diagnosis of diseases and replacement of defective genes and cells.

The multi-centric scientific activity school is being organised with the support of seven premier institutes of the National Capital Region. After the school, the students will be able to join the specialised research projects on cancer, pharmacogenics, regenerative biology, angiogenesis, drug design, proteomics and bioinformatics.

Vice Chancellor S.S. Sangwan said the university would fund research projects under the Undergraduate Research Fellowships. The school would help young scientists in gaining confidence and experience in experimental skills of molecular medicine and biotechnology, he said, adding that trained manpower would be an asset to medical and research institutions all over the state.

Training program on acutely ill children

A one-day 'Training Program on Identification Assessment Stablisation and Transportation of Acutely Ill Children (IAST)' was organised by the Department of Pediatrics, PGIMS, Rohtak, recently.

Dr Kundan Mittal, coordinator, said the main purpose of the training was to teach the participants about the identification of illness, assessment of its seriousness and stabilising the child before transporting him to another hospital for treatment. The participants were trained to stabilise the severely ill child so that he could be shifted to another hospital in time and a precious life be saved.

— Contributed by P. K. Jaiswar and Bijendra Ahlawat