A Study of the Extent of Measurement of Differential Objectives of Instruction

Abstract

The first step in educational measurement and appraisal, it is now generally agreed, is to draw up a comprehensive list of educational ob jectives. The next procedure is to state these outcomes in terms of behavior. Techniques of several sorts may then be devised to provide estimates of the extent to which students have developed behavior pat terns relevant to the objectives. This attack upon the problems of measurement has emphasized the variety of outcomes of educational experiences and produced new instru ments of appraisal. One of the first results of the movement was to sup plement tests composed almost exclusively of items of specific informa tion with measures of the ability to relate facts, to apply facts and prin ciples to new situations, and to draw inferences from data. Tyler's significant study of the relationships between the results of tests of recall, application, and inference in a variety of subject matter fields not only stimulated attempts to measure more than informational outcomes, but also called attention to the necessity for cultivating the higher mental processes by appropriate learning activities.1 He found that a large number of students studying a variety of subjects did not develop corre sponding degrees of facility in mere recall and facility in the higher mental processes of applying principles and drawing inferences. In 16 examinations from 11 different subjects, he found that the correlations between tests requiring recall of information and those requiring both recall and application of principles, ranged, when corrected for attenua tion, from .31 to .58. Most of the coefficients hovered about .45. At the University of Minnesota, the University Committee on Edu cational Research and the General College cooperated in the development