Assessment and Evaluation

Abstract

At this stage we come to the two remaznzng components of the curriculum process outlined in Chapter 1, assessment and evaluation. Like the processes of instruction and learning, they have to meet the same objectives, and they contribute as much to the determination of objectives as do instruction and learning. This is why in Chapter 2 detailed reference was made to some procedures for assessment in order to illustrate these relationships. It is also why in other Chapters it has been appropriate to deal with some aspects of assessment within them. For example, peer assessment is considered in both Chapter 9 on projects and problem based learning, and Chapter 13 on teamwork. Many brief examples of approaches to assessment within courses have been given. Much has already been written about how instructors assess their courses, and in the course of these chapters it will have become clear that it is possible to make a distinction between traditional and nontraditional approaches to assessment. It may not have become clear, however, just how muddled the terminology of assessment has become. Therefore, this Chapter begins with a discussion of the uses to which it is put, to assist readers in accessing and understanding literature from a variety of sources. Although it often replaces ?>evaluation, ?> this term has been retained in this Chapter in that some knowledge of the theory and practice of evaluation as it has been understood in the social sciences may be helpful. The Chapter begins, therefore, with a brief discussion of the uses of the term assessment. Two uses of the term ?>multiple strategy assessment ?> are discussed, and a distinction is made between program assessment and the assessment of student learning although in practice the two overlap. A brief account of the origins and development of evaluation theory and practice follows. Since some engineering studies have used external evaluators, a section on the role of the evaluator is included. The role of the evaluator was much debated in evaluation research. The high expectations of the scientific model were not met, and the reaction against it led to the development of qualitative research based on the anthropological paradigm. Developments in evaluation research in higher education followed a roughly similar pattern. As might be expected, the scientific model has predominated in research in engineering education, but there is an emerging school of qualitative research that is throwing much light on some important issues. The remainder of the chapter is concerned with program assessment. The differences between procedures in the United States and the United Kingdom (subject review) are discussed. The remainder of the Chapter summarizes the different techniques used for program assessment. It is concluded that program evaluation has to be multiple strategy in approach and that ?>In order for a course or curriculum project to be successful, the evaluation process must also be successful. It must be carefully thought out at the very beginning of the project, implemented with the same enthusiasm as the actual content development and implementation, and executed continuously throughout the life of the project ?>(Prey, 1999).