CURRICULUM EVALUATION AND LEARNER ASSESSMENT

By

DR MP TSHISIKHAWE
 Introduction
• Evaluation permeates the entire process of
curriculum development
• The evaluator should collect data at any given
time or stage
• There are no universal standards governing the
minimum requirements for evaluation
• Local standards are the most important.
 Curriculum Evaluation
• Curriculum evaluation should be done
systematically
• There are systems for evaluation. The following
are some of them:
(1). Defining the objectives of the program.
(2). Identify situational analysis
(3). Develop instrument for evaluation
(4). Keep record of the evidence gathered
 Learner Assessment
• Assessment is a planned process of gathering information
about the performance of the learner.
• It emphasizes the learner’s individual growth and
development.
• The roles of assessment include among others the following:

-To assist student learning

-To identify students’ strength and weaknesses
-To assess the effectiveness of the instructional strategy
-To improve the effectiveness of curriculum program
 Learner Assessment
To improve teaching effectiveness
There are a variety of methods that are used to
assess learners. These methods determine the
performance of learners.
They provide a summary of how learners have
performed against the grade’s learning
outcomes.
Assessment is done after learners have
completed a series of sections.
 LEARNER ASSESSMENT
• The following are some of the Types/strategies
that are used to assess learners:
1. Diagnostic assessment-the purpose is to
identify strengths and weaknesses of a learner,
teaching methodology and barriers to learning.
2. Baseline assessment-it is usually used at the
beginning of a phase, grade or learning
experience to establish learners’ prior
knowledge. That is what they already know.
 Learner Assessment/Types Cont…
3. Formative assessment-it occurs throughout the
instructional process. The purpose is to support the
learner. Teachers can use this type of assessment to
modify their teaching strategies.

4. Summative assessment-It is usually done at the end

of the programme. Their performance is measured against
the assessment standards.

• There are methods of assessment:

 Methods of assessment
1. Self-assessment-learners assess their own individual
performance. Purpose is to enhance self esteem.
2. Peer-assessment-learners assess each other’s
performance, individually or in groups.
3. Group assessment-learners assess each other in their
respective groups.
4. Educator-assessment-the teacher assesses all the
learners.
 Methods Of Collecting Assessment Evidence
1.Observation-based
• Observation-based assessment methods tend to be
less structured and allow the development of a
record of different kinds of evidence for different
learners at different times.
• This kind of assessment is often based on tasks
that require learners to interact with one another in
pursuit of a common solution or product.
• Observation has to be intentional and should be
conducted with the help of an appropriate
observation instrument.
Methods Of Collecting Assessment Evidence.
Cont…
2. Test-based assessment
• Test-based assessment is more structured, and
enables teachers to gather the same evidence
for all learners in the same way and at the same
time.
• This kind of assessment creates evidence of
learning that is verified by a specific score.
• If used correctly, tests and examinations are an
important part of the curriculum because they
give good evidence of what has been learned.
 Methods Of Collecting Assessment Evidence.
Cont…
3.Task-based assessment
• Task-based or performance assessment methods aim to
show whether learners can apply the skills and knowledge
they have learned in unfamiliar contexts or in contexts
outside of the classroom.
• Performance assessment also covers the practical
components of subjects by determining how learners put
theory into practice.
• The criteria, standards or rules by which the task will be
assessed are described in rubrics or task checklists, and
help the teacher to use professional judgement to assess
each learner’s performance.
 Recording And Reporting
Recording and reporting involves the capturing of data collected
during assessment so that it can be logically analysed and
published in an accurate and understandable way.
• Methods of recording. There are different methods of
recording.
• It is often difficult to separate methods of recording from
methods of evaluating learners’ performances.
The following are examples of different types of recording
instruments:
• rating scales;
• task lists or checklists; and
• rubrics.
 Recording And Reporting. Cont…
1 Rating scales
• Rating scales are any marking system where a symbol
(such as A or B) or a mark (such as 5/10 or 50%) is defined
in detail to link the coded score to a description of the
competences that are required to achieve that score.
• The detail is more important than the coded score in the
process of teaching and learning, as it gives learners a
much clearer idea of what has been achieved and where
and why their learning has fallen short of the target.
• Traditional marking tended to use rating scales without the
descriptive details, making it difficult to have a sense of the
learners’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of intended
outcomes.
 Recording And Reporting. Cont…
2 Task lists or checklists
• Task lists or checklists consist of discrete statements
describing the expected performance in a particular
task.
• When a particular statement (criterion) on the checklist
can be observed as having been satisfied by a learner
during a performance, the statement is ticked off.
• All the statements that have been ticked off on the list
(as criteria that have been met) describe the learner’s
performance.
• These checklists are very useful in peer or group
assessment activities
 Recording And Reporting. Cont…
3 Rubrics
• Rubrics are a combination of rating codes and descriptions of
standards.
• They consist of a hierarchy of standards with benchmarks
that describe the range of acceptable performance in each
code band.
• Rubrics require teachers to know exactly what is required by
the outcome.
• Rubrics can be holistic, giving a global picture of the standard
required, or analytic, giving a clear picture of the distinct
features that make up the criteria, or can combine both.
• The Learning Programme Guidelines give examples of
subject-specific rubrics
 How to Design a Rubric
• To design a rubric, a teacher has to decide the following:
• Which outcomes are being targeted?
• Which Assessment Standards are targeted by the task?
• What kind of evidence should be collected?
• What are the different parts of the performance that will be assessed?
• What different assessment instruments best suit each part of the task
(such as the process and the product)?
• What knowledge should be evident?
• What skills should be applied or actions taken?
• What opportunities for expressing personal opinions, values or
attitudes arise in the task and which of these should be assessed and
how?
• Should one rubric target all the Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Standards of the task or does the task need several rubrics?
• How many rubrics are, in fact, needed for the task?
 NB
• It is crucial that a teacher shares the rubric or
rubrics for the task with the learners before they
do the required task.
• The rubric clarifies what both the learning and
the performance should focus on.
• It becomes a powerful tool for self-assessment.
 THE END
Pain can change you, but that doesn’t mean it has to
be a bad change. Take that pain and turn it into
wisdom.
Dalai Lama XIV

“ Education is the most powerful weapon which you

can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela
 THINGS TO NOTE FOR EXAM
1. Objectives, goals and aims

2. The phases or approaches for conducting needs assessment. The

external and internal factors that may affect need assessment and
how they affect the process of needs assessment.

3. Ralph Tyler and Hilda Taba’s model

4. Wheeler, Nichols and Nichols model,

5. The types of curriculum design.

6. Assessment

7. Teaching methodologies