Basic Notions of Evaluation

Before building an evaluation, a developer needs a few basic notions clear. Evaluation is the process of determining to what extent the educational objectives are actually being realised by the curriculum and instruction. That definition carries two aspects that shape everything else.

The two aspects

First, evaluation must appraise the behaviour of learners. Since objectives are stated as changes in learner behaviour, evaluation has to look at behaviour, not at the teacher’s activity or the content covered.

Second, evaluation must involve more than a single appraisal at any one time. This is the aspect people most often miss. To know whether a change has taken place, you have to measure at least twice: an appraisal at the entry point, and appraisals at later points. The reason is simple but decisive: without knowing where learners were at the beginning, it is impossible to tell what changes have taken place after the program. A single high score at the end proves nothing about what the program added.

Flashcard

What are the two aspects of evaluation?

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Answer

It must appraise learner behavior, and involve more than one appraisal

Behavior, because objectives are stated as behavior changes. More than one appraisal, because showing change needs a measurement at entry and at later points, not just a single score.

The three progress possibilities

The need for at least two appraisals follows from three possibilities about a learner’s progress on the objectives:

1. The learner had already made good progress before the program began.
2. The learner had made very little progress before they began the program.
3. The learner’s progress noted at the end took place during the instructional time.

Only by appraising both early in the program and at a later point can a developer tell which of these is true, and so measure the change the program actually produced.

Two appraisals are still not enough

Even two appraisals, early and late, do not finish the job. Some of the aimed-at objectives may be acquired during a program and then rapidly forgotten. A learner can pass the end-of-program test and lose the learning weeks later.

So there is still another point of evaluation: to estimate the real learning or performance of learners, it is necessary to evaluate them some time after the program is complete. These are follow-up studies, conducted to get further evidence of performance and of the permanence, or impermanence, of learning after learners have left the program. A follow-up is a desirable part of any evaluation program, and the most telling appraisal of all, because it shows what lasted.

Flashcard

Why are two appraisals, early and late, still not enough?

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Answer

Learning gained during a program may be rapidly forgotten afterward

A follow-up study some time after the program checks the permanence of learning. It is the most telling appraisal, because it shows what actually lasted once learners left the program.