Outcomes-based Assessment Research Articles

Summary Findings to a Questionnaire on the Use of Outcomes-Based Assessment in Teacher Education

In the Fall of 1993, the Research Network on Outcomes-Based Assessment (OBA) in Teacher Education was formed at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Our group's focus was to determine how OBA is interpreted in teacher education and the extent of its use. Hence, we developed a questionnaire (see Appendix A), piloted it in New York State during the summer of 1994 and expanded our inquiry across the country during the 1994 - 1995 and 1995 - 1996 academic years.

Using Portfolios for Assessment in the College Personal Health Course

Abstract Outcome-based assessment has been the subject of much discussion recently within the education profession. Much of the discussion has focused on the assessment of academic achievement of school age children and youth. Another area of interest has been the assessment of the professional competencies of students graduating from colleges and universities. Little has been reported, however, in the literature relative to outcome-based assessment of students in nonprofessional college level courses such as personal health, sexuality, and drug education. The purpose of this article is to present background information on the outcome or performance-based assessment approach, including use of portfolios, and to examine the feasibility of using portfolios for assessment in university personal health classes. Implications for course planning, instruction, and evaluation are subsequently offered.

Direct Outcome-Based Assessment Measures

Leaders from inside and outside the educational community are calling for an assessment of the quality of educational programs. These demands are being driven by the need to ensure that funding is being well spent and engineering students will be well prepared for a rapidly shifting global job market, as well as by the economic competitiveness this nation is facing. Engineering programs are fertile ground for this type of quality control, and as such they are being challenged to design an outcome assessment package. A set of measurement tools has been presented to assist programs in assessing how well their students have met the criteria and how these results must be tied into a larger set of conditions that promote academic improvement. These tools include accreditation, standard testing measures, capstone design courses, teacher evaluations, alumni achievements/satisfactions, student internship feedback, and career-services data. The development of an assessment program has been emphasized and described because such development is currently being demanded to demonstrate that a program is willing to take on its responsibility seriously to monitor the effectiveness of all aspects of its educational enterprise.

An outcome-based assessment of international transfer pricing policy

Instead of concentrating on the selection of the optimal transfer pricing method, this paper focuses on the consequences of international transfer pricing for multinational entities. A sample of U.S.-based multinational firms is employed to determine if transfer pricing results in measurable financial outcomes. Results of the study indicate that firms employ international transfer pricing to meet a variety of objectives. The dollar value of international transfers and the foreign sales percentage are both significant explanatory variables for the financial outcomes of these objectives.

Measuring small gains using the ICIDH severity of disability scale: Assessment practice among older people who are blind

This paper describes an outcome-based assessment protocol that is used with older individuals who are blind. The assessment process demonstrates how the ICIDH theoretical model can be adapted to address small gains in rehabilitation outcome. The model also illustrates refinements in the ICIDH scaling to create effectiveness measures. A two-dimensional Functional Assessment Scale for measuring personal performance capacities has been found to be quite useful in determining individual needs, in quantifying small gains in rehabilitation intervention, and in evaluating programme effectiveness.

4. The Potential of an Outcome-Based Assessment Strategy for Primary Care

4. The Potential of an Outcome-Based Assessment Strategy for Primary Care

Functional Context/Outcomes-Based Literacy Assessment

Adult literacy assessment is undergoing a shift from school-based achievement tests to functional literacy measures based on real-life tasks. Functional context assessment uses actual texts encountered by adults in their work, family life, church, and communities. Two examples of functional context assessment measures from the USA are presented: the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA). Results from research studies using the NALS and TOFHLA and implications for South African adult basic education are presented. The introduction of the outcomes-based Independent Examination Board (IEB) Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) examination system and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) are discussed in the light of functional context assessment of adult literacy. Finally, concerns about the possible narrowing of ABET objectives and instruction resulting from the use of outcomes-based and functional context assessment are raised.

An outcomes-based assessment framework for courses in English for educational development

Abstract What is presented here is a sample assessment framework designed for the EED (English for Educational Development) first year academic literacy course at the UWC (University of the Western Cape, South Africa). Elements of the framework might be relevant to other similar academic literacy courses at tertiary institutions around the country. An attempt is made in this model to bring current assessment procedures in line witti OBE (Outcomes-Based Education) as required by the ‘Curriculum 2005’ guidelines for Language, Literacy and Communication. In addition I draw on some principles underpinning curriculum design elements from current American implementation models, elements of which I have found adaptable to South African tertiary institutions. The assessment procedure and subsequent mark allocation described are based on the student producing two portfolios, one exploratory and one performance-based, which include all tasks for the year, oral and written, individual and group tasks. A basic implem...