Curriculum Evaluation

ACED 7030
Curriculum Issues and Trends in Adult
and Career Education

If the student hasnt learned,

the instructor hasnt taught!
What do you think about this statement?
Do you think that other factors could come into
play?
Go to the discussion boa
rd and share your though
ts on these questions.

For this reason, curriculum evaluation

or assessment is necessary.

Of course,we know that

sometimes we can have good
instructors and good students,
but without a valid curriculum,
necessary skills to be successful
in the workplace may not be
learned.

Crunkilton and Finch (1999)

define assessment as
The

determination of the merit or worth of a

curriculum (or portion of that curriculum).
It includes gathering information for use in
judging the merit of the curriculum,
program, or curriculum materials.

This evaluation process should

include factors associated with
The learner
The curriculum
The instructor(s)
The availability of necessary facilities
Other aspects of the program that affect the
delivery of the curriculum

Curriculum evaluation should

include
The overall program (list of courses,
prerequisites, etc.)
Scope and sequence of content within
each course
Curricular materials
Recall the various definitions of curriculum
from earlier in the course. Curriculum evaluation
should be inclusive of all components.

The text suggests that

In order to conduct a meaningful assessment
that is inclusive of information from a variety
of interested personnel (administrators, deans,
division chairpersons, instructors, etc.) that an
assessment framework should be established.
This will provide a comprehensive plan that is
systematic in nature. This framework may
include the following elementsContext,
Input, Process, and Product.

These elements include

Context-whether or not to offer the
curriculumfocus, goals, and objectives.
Input-what resources and strategies are used.
Process-what effect does the curriculum
have on the students.
Product-what effect has the curriculum had
on former students.
Each of these elements are explained in detail in the text beginning
on page 272.

Now that a framework for what is being assessed has been

established and agreed upon, a plan for the assessment is
necessary. This plan should include

Overview-needs statement, benefits, objectives of the

assessment, etc.
Curriculum Description-content objectives, procedures,
overview of content, students, setting.
Assessment Design-description of assessment procedures,
instruments, timelines, budget, etc.
Assessment Report-brief description of final report and
dissemination plan.
Appendix-examples of questionnaires and other materials
used to gather and analyze information.
These items are fully explained in the text beginning on page 283.

An important part of curriculum assessment is

looking at curricular materials used in the delivery
of the program.
Crunkilton and Finch give a good description of assessing
these materials beginning on page 294. They include
looking at items such as effectiveness, efficiency,
acceptability, practicality, and generalizability. Several
sample assessment instruments are give in the appendix of
Chapter 12. By carefully assessing curriculum materials
prior to purchase, instructors and other personnel can avoid
being stuck with undesirable materials until the next time
their time comes around to get new materials.
Have you ever been stuck with poor quality materials because you or someone el
se didnt take the time to evaluate the materials prior to purchase? Go to the
discussion board and tell us about it. What effect did it have on your instru
ction?

Finally
It is most important that the results of a
curriculum assessment are used to improve
the curriculum! This includes building on the
strengths of the curriculum and improving or
eliminating the weaknesses. An assessment
that is placed on a shelf to gather dust is
major waste of time and money that could be
used elsewhere.
Be sure to visit the website for your assignment re
lated to this lesson.