The role of assessment in the systems approach to instruction

In 'The Systems Approach to Curriculum Development', we looked in detail at a simple algorithm that can be used as the basis of virtually all course and curriculum design (click here for a reminder). We saw that the first two stages involve carrying out a preliminary examination of the characteristics of the target population and topic area, and estimating the relevant existing skills and knowledge of the learners. The next three stages involve formulating a clear set of educational objectives/learning outcomes for the course or curriculum, selecting appropriate teaching/learning methods for achieving these, and putting the chosen methods into practice by operating the course or curriculum. The final stage involves trying to find out whether the course or curriculum was successful by means of a linked process of assessment and evaluation, and then using the feedback thus obtained to improve and refine the course or curriculum by going round the cycle once again.

The difference between assessment and evaluation

At this point, it is useful to explain exactly what we mean by assessment and evaluation. The two terms have radically different connotations when used in an educational or training context.

By assessment, first of all, we mean those activities that are designed to measure learner achievement brought about as a result of an instructional programme of some sort.

Evaluation, on the other hand, refers to a series of activities that are designed to measure the effectiveness of the instructional system or a component thereof.

Clearly, the two processes are fairly closely related, since the results of student assessment constitute one of the most important sets of data that should be taken into account in the evaluation of any course or curriculum. Both are also closely related to the learning outcomes of the course or curriculum, since they are both concerned with determining the extent to which these have (or have not) been achieved. Indeed, one cogent argument for articulating the desired educational outcomes of a course or curriculum in fairly detailed form is that this is generally of considerable assistance both in assessing the students and in evaluating the course or curriculum. Conversely, the feedback obtained from the results of properly-designed assessment and evaluation procedures often demonstrates a need for changes in the learning outcomes of the course or curriculum, as well as in the methods adopted for trying to achieve these.

This section will now look in detail at the first of these two processes, while the final web section will look in detail at the second.

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