Assessment and Evaluation 1
Assessment and Evaluation Using Technology
Yolanda Wilson
EDU697: Capstone: A Project Approach
Professor: Dr. Lisa Marie Johnson
October 22, 2012
Introduction
According to the (GAO, 2011) performance measurement is the ongoing monitoring and reporting of program accomplishments, particularly progress toward pre-established goals. It is typically conducted by program or agency management. The (GOA, 2012) further stated that program evaluations are individual systematic studies conducted periodically or on an ad hoc basis to assess how well a program is working. They are often conducted by experts external to the program, inside or outside the agency, as well as by the program managers.
(Beher, 2010) states that assessment and evaluation both have their purposes, and, when used correctly, both can add significant value to teaching/learning. Although assessment and evaluation are used for different reasons, they do have some similar steps. The aurthor further states thatboth involve specifying criteria to observe in a performance or outcome; require the collection of data and other evidence by observing the performance or by looking at the outcome or product; require a performer and a person who collects information about the performance; processes also conclude with a report of the findings which include all the similarities and at least as many differences.
(McDavid and Hawthorne, 2006) defines the term evaluation as a structured process that creates and synthesizes information intended to reduce the level of uncertainty for stakeholders about a given program or policy. As an example of being a teacher, we are constantly evaluating students, and such evaluations are usually done in the context of comparisons between what was intended (learning, progress, behavior) and what was obtained.They further defined performance measurement as not really being a part of the evaluation field. It is a tool that mangers (not evaluators) use (p.4). An example for performance measurement would be the focus on whether a program has achieved its objectives, expressed as measurable performance standards.
The term assessment taken fromthe reading, which is used in education, is to look at how the level of quality of a performance or outcome could be improved in the future; it includes strengths that should be sustained as well as high priority areas for improvement.
The Program Outcome 6 “Technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation and Program Outcome 7 “ Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings falls under the instructional design principal and theory of Constructivism/Interpretivism. Learners build personal interpretation of the world based on experiences and interactions (Dabbagh, 2006).
Conclusion
The first MATLT activity chosen demonstrate an understanding of effective assessment and evaluation through professional development. If teachers are to be adequately prepared to work effectively in the classroom and schools envisioned by reformers, policymakers must establish a coherent and more effective approach to professional development. Teachers and policymakers must abandon long held conventions about continuing education for teachers and began to understand professional development as an essential and integral part of teachers work.
The second MATLT activity demonstrates an understanding of utilizing technology to collect, analyze data, interpret results, and communicates findings using a research proposal. This study will examine the method in which one inner city public school in Georgia utilize to determine the effects of parental involvement in primary school student’s academic achievement. The study will also explore creative strategies currently being used to encourage active parental participation in the schools and the classroom.
References
Baehr, M. (Vice President for Academic Affairs, Coe College) Distinctions between Assessment and Evaluation: Retrieved (July 2, 2012) from
Dabbagh, N. (2006). Instructional design knowledge base. Retrieved from
Mc.David, J. C. & Hawthorn, L. R. L. (2006). Program Evaluation & Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
United States Government Accountability Office. (2005). Performance measurement and evaluation: Definitions and relationships. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from