Glossary

12.1 Models of Curriculum Evaluation

3 min read•july 22, 2024

Curriculum evaluation models help educators assess and improve educational programs. Formative models provide ongoing feedback during development, while summative models determine overall effectiveness at the end. These approaches ensure curricula meet learning goals and adapt to student needs.

The offers a comprehensive framework for evaluation, examining , , , and . Other approaches like goal-based, decision-facilitation, and expertise-oriented evaluations provide unique perspectives. Choosing the right model depends on the curriculum's purpose, context, and stakeholder needs.

Types of Curriculum Evaluation Models

Formative vs summative evaluation models

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    • Conducted during curriculum development and implementation phases
    • Provides ongoing feedback for iterative and refinement
    • Emphasizes the process of curriculum design, delivery, and adaptation
    • Identifies strengths, weaknesses, and areas for modification (pacing, content sequencing)
    • Conducted at the conclusion of a curriculum or educational program
    • Determines the overall effectiveness, value, and impact of the curriculum
    • Focuses on the outcomes and results achieved by the curriculum (student learning, program goals)
    • Informs decisions about curriculum continuation, expansion, or termination (resource allocation, program viability)

Key Components and Stages of the CIPP Evaluation Model

Components of CIPP evaluation model

    • Assesses needs, problems, assets, and opportunities within the educational setting
    • Defines program goals and priorities based on contextual factors (student demographics, community needs)
    • Collects and analyzes data to inform decision-making (, focus groups, needs assessments)
    • Assesses the feasibility and potential of various curricular strategies and resources
    • Determines the most effective approach to achieve program goals (instructional methods, materials, technology)
    • Compares alternative strategies and selects the most promising one (, expert review)
    • Assesses the implementation fidelity of the chosen curriculum or program
    • Monitors the actual process and identifies deviations from the planned implementation (classroom observations, feedback sessions)
    • Provides formative feedback for and adjustment (professional development, resource allocation)
    • Assesses the outcomes and impact of the curriculum on student learning and development
    • Measures the achievement of curricular goals and objectives (standardized tests, )
    • Determines the overall effectiveness and value of the curriculum (, cost-effectiveness)

Evaluation Approaches and Their Characteristics

Approaches to curriculum evaluation

    • Advantages
      • Provides a clear focus and direction for the evaluation process
      • Determines the extent to which predefined curricular goals are achieved (mastery of learning objectives)
    • Limitations
      • May overlook unintended outcomes or side effects of the curriculum (development of critical thinking skills)
      • Relies heavily on the quality and relevance of the goals set during curriculum planning
    • Advantages
      • Provides timely and relevant information for curriculum-related decision-making
      • Engages stakeholders in making informed choices at key points (course sequencing, assessment strategies)
    • Limitations
      • May be influenced by the interests and biases of decision-makers (administrators, funding agencies)
      • Requires close collaboration and communication among stakeholders (teachers, students, parents)
    • Advantages
      • Draws on the knowledge and experience of subject matter experts (curriculum specialists, master teachers)
      • Provides in-depth insights and recommendations for curriculum improvement (content accuracy, pedagogical soundness)
    • Limitations
      • May be subjective and dependent on the qualifications and perspectives of the experts
      • Requires careful selection and coordination of experts from relevant fields (academia, industry)

Applicability of evaluation models

  • Consider the purpose and scope of the curriculum evaluation
    • Formative evaluation for ongoing curriculum development and refinement
    • Summative evaluation for assessing overall curriculum effectiveness and impact
  • Analyze the characteristics and needs of the educational context
    • Level of education (elementary, secondary, post-secondary)
    • Subject area or discipline (mathematics, social sciences, arts)
    • Institutional culture, resources, and constraints (public vs private schools, funding availability)
  • Evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness of each evaluation model
    • CIPP model for comprehensive, context-sensitive evaluation (large-scale curriculum reforms)
    • Goal-based approach for evaluating specific curricular objectives (targeted interventions)
    • Decision-facilitation approach for stakeholder involvement (community-based curricula)
    • Expertise-oriented approach for specialized or innovative curricula (STEM programs, arts education)
  • Adapt and combine evaluation models to suit the specific context and requirements
    • Integrate elements from different models (goal-based and expertise-oriented)
    • Modify or customize evaluation procedures and tools (observation protocols, surveys)

Key Terms to Review (35)

Accountability: Accountability refers to the responsibility of individuals and organizations to provide explanations for their actions and decisions, ensuring that they are held answerable for their performance and outcomes. This concept is essential in education as it encourages transparency, enhances the quality of instruction, and promotes effective use of resources. It also plays a critical role in evaluating educational systems and their ability to meet standards, making it relevant to discussions on integrating skills for the 21st century and models for assessing curriculum effectiveness.
CIPP Model: The CIPP Model is a comprehensive framework for evaluating educational programs and curricula, focusing on four key components: Context, Input, Process, and Product. This model emphasizes the importance of understanding the environment in which a program operates, the resources needed, the implementation process, and the outcomes achieved. By addressing each of these components, the CIPP Model provides a systematic approach to curriculum evaluation that helps educators make informed decisions and improvements.
Context: Context refers to the circumstances, conditions, or factors that surround and influence an event, concept, or situation. In relation to curriculum evaluation, context is crucial as it shapes the processes, methodologies, and outcomes of evaluating educational programs, helping educators understand how various elements interact and affect learning experiences.
Context evaluation: Context evaluation refers to the assessment of the various factors surrounding a curriculum that may influence its implementation and effectiveness. This includes analyzing the social, cultural, economic, and institutional environments in which the curriculum will be delivered, helping educators understand the broader circumstances that impact student learning and educational outcomes.
Context Evaluation: Context evaluation is a systematic process used to assess the various factors that influence the implementation and effectiveness of a curriculum within its specific environment. This evaluation helps educators understand the setting in which the curriculum is delivered, considering aspects such as the socio-economic conditions, cultural norms, institutional structures, and stakeholder needs. By analyzing these contextual elements, educators can make informed decisions about curriculum design and improvements.
Continuous Improvement: Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to enhance products, services, or processes through incremental improvements over time. It involves regularly assessing and refining curriculum practices to boost effectiveness and ensure that educational goals are met consistently.
Cost-benefit analysis: Cost-benefit analysis is a systematic approach used to evaluate the economic worth of a project or decision by comparing its costs with the anticipated benefits. This method helps stakeholders make informed choices by quantifying potential outcomes, allowing for a clearer understanding of the value and effectiveness of different educational strategies.
Curriculum alignment: Curriculum alignment refers to the process of ensuring that the curriculum is structured in a way that meets established standards, learning goals, and assessment criteria. This involves mapping the content, skills, and assessments to both national and state learning standards to create a cohesive educational experience that supports student success.
Daniel Stufflebeam: Daniel Stufflebeam is an influential figure in the field of educational evaluation, best known for developing the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model. This model emphasizes a comprehensive approach to evaluating educational programs by considering various aspects such as the context of the program, the resources and inputs provided, the processes involved in program implementation, and the outcomes achieved. Stufflebeam's work has significantly shaped how educators assess curriculum effectiveness.
Decision-facilitation evaluation: Decision-facilitation evaluation is a type of assessment aimed at providing information that helps stakeholders make informed decisions regarding curriculum development and implementation. This approach emphasizes the need for relevant data to guide choices about what works best in educational settings, ensuring that decisions are rooted in evidence rather than assumptions or tradition.
Efficiency: Efficiency refers to the ability to achieve maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense. In the context of curriculum evaluation, it involves assessing how well educational programs utilize resources to produce desired outcomes, such as student learning and development, without unnecessary expenditure of time or materials.
Expertise-oriented evaluation: Expertise-oriented evaluation is a method of assessing educational programs that emphasizes the judgments and insights of experts in the relevant field. This approach focuses on the quality and depth of knowledge possessed by these experts, allowing for a nuanced analysis of the curriculum's effectiveness and relevance. By prioritizing expert opinions, this evaluation model aims to ensure that educational practices align with best practices and current standards in the discipline.
Formative evaluation: Formative evaluation is a continuous process that involves assessing students' learning and understanding during the instructional process, aimed at improving teaching and learning outcomes. This type of evaluation helps educators identify strengths and weaknesses in their teaching strategies and student comprehension, enabling timely adjustments to improve educational effectiveness. It is distinct from summative evaluation, which measures learning at the end of an instructional unit.
Goal-based evaluation: Goal-based evaluation is an assessment approach that focuses on measuring the extent to which specific educational goals and objectives have been achieved. This method emphasizes aligning curriculum design, instruction, and assessment with clearly defined goals, ensuring that all educational activities work towards desired outcomes and provide a framework for accountability and continuous improvement.
Improvement: Improvement refers to the process of enhancing or refining a curriculum to better meet the educational needs and goals of students. This concept is central to curriculum evaluation, as it focuses on identifying strengths and weaknesses in educational programs, which ultimately leads to more effective teaching and learning practices.
Input: In curriculum evaluation, input refers to the resources, information, and elements that are essential for the successful implementation of a curriculum. This encompasses various factors such as the educational materials, teacher qualifications, administrative support, and learner characteristics that contribute to shaping the learning environment. Understanding input is crucial for assessing how effectively a curriculum can be executed and its potential to achieve desired educational outcomes.
Input Evaluation: Input evaluation refers to the assessment of resources, materials, and instructional strategies used in the curriculum before implementation. This process is crucial as it helps identify strengths and weaknesses within the curriculum components, ensuring that they align with educational goals and learning outcomes. By analyzing inputs, educators can make informed decisions about modifications or enhancements needed for effective teaching and learning.
Interviews: Interviews are structured or unstructured conversations designed to gather information, insights, and opinions from individuals about a specific subject or experience. They are essential tools in curriculum evaluation and data collection, allowing evaluators to gain a deeper understanding of stakeholder perspectives, including teachers, students, and administrators, which can inform improvements and decision-making processes.
Learner outcomes: Learner outcomes are specific statements that describe what students are expected to know, understand, or be able to do by the end of a learning experience. They serve as measurable objectives that guide both teaching and assessment, ensuring that educational activities align with desired results and goals. These outcomes are crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of curricula and instructional strategies.
Outcomes assessment: Outcomes assessment refers to the systematic process of evaluating the effectiveness of educational programs by measuring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that students are expected to achieve. This process helps educators understand how well students meet established learning goals, allowing for continuous improvement in curriculum design and teaching strategies. Through outcomes assessment, institutions can ensure accountability and demonstrate the value of their educational offerings.
Participatory Evaluation: Participatory evaluation is an approach that actively involves stakeholders in the evaluation process, ensuring that their voices and perspectives are heard and considered. This method encourages collaboration among participants, evaluators, and decision-makers, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability in assessing the effectiveness of programs or curricula. By engaging stakeholders directly, participatory evaluation aims to produce more relevant findings that can lead to actionable improvements.
Performance assessments: Performance assessments are methods of evaluating students' knowledge and skills through the completion of tasks that demonstrate their abilities in real-world or applied contexts. These assessments emphasize not just what students know, but how well they can apply their learning to solve problems, create products, or perform tasks that resemble actual practices in a given field.
Process: In educational contexts, 'process' refers to a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end in learning and instructional methods. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the journey of learning, rather than solely focusing on the end results. This concept is crucial for tailoring educational experiences that meet diverse learner needs and for evaluating the effectiveness of curricula.
Process evaluation: Process evaluation refers to the systematic assessment of the implementation and delivery of a program or intervention. It focuses on how well the components of the program are being executed and whether they align with the intended design, providing insights into the processes involved in achieving the desired outcomes.
Product: In education, 'product' refers to the tangible outcome or result of a learning process, demonstrating what students have learned and how they can apply that knowledge. This can take many forms, such as projects, presentations, or portfolios, and is crucial for assessing student understanding and skills. A well-defined product helps educators tailor their instruction to meet diverse learner needs and evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods.
Product Evaluation: Product evaluation refers to the systematic assessment of educational materials or programs to determine their effectiveness, quality, and relevance in meeting established learning objectives. This process is essential for ensuring that curriculum resources align with desired outcomes and effectively enhance student learning experiences.
Ralph Tyler: Ralph Tyler was an influential educator and curriculum theorist known for his systematic approach to curriculum development, particularly through his 'Tyler Rationale.' This framework emphasizes the importance of educational objectives, assessments, and learning experiences, making him a key figure in the field of curriculum studies. His ideas laid the groundwork for understanding how to effectively assess educational needs, structure subject-centered models, and evaluate curriculum outcomes.
Reliability: Reliability refers to the consistency and stability of assessment results over time. It indicates how consistently a tool measures what it is intended to measure, ensuring that scores or outcomes are dependable and reproducible across different instances. High reliability in assessments and evaluations is crucial as it affects the validity of the results and the overall effectiveness of the educational process.
Robert Stake: Robert Stake is a prominent figure in the field of educational evaluation, best known for his work in qualitative research and his contributions to curriculum evaluation methodologies. He is particularly recognized for developing the Responsive Evaluation approach, which emphasizes the importance of understanding the context and experiences of those involved in educational programs. Stake’s focus on qualitative data helps educators assess curriculum effectiveness in a more nuanced way, aligning closely with models that prioritize the experiences and feedback of students and teachers.
Rubrics: Rubrics are scoring guides used to evaluate student work based on specific criteria and performance levels. They provide clear expectations and standards, helping both educators and students understand the goals of an assignment and the quality of work expected. Rubrics are particularly important in integrating 21st century skills and assessing curriculum effectiveness, as they allow for objective measurement of student learning and progress.
Stakeholder feedback: Stakeholder feedback refers to the input and opinions gathered from individuals or groups who have an interest in a program or initiative, often impacting its success or improvement. This feedback is crucial for understanding different perspectives, ensuring alignment with goals, and making informed decisions about curriculum development and evaluation. Engaging stakeholders in the feedback process promotes transparency and accountability, ultimately leading to better educational outcomes.
Stakeholder satisfaction: Stakeholder satisfaction refers to the degree to which the needs and expectations of individuals or groups who have an interest in an organization's activities are met. It plays a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum programs, as it directly impacts their success and sustainability. In this context, understanding stakeholder satisfaction helps ensure that various perspectives, including those of students, parents, educators, and the community, are considered in the decision-making process.
Summative evaluation: Summative evaluation refers to the assessment conducted after a program or curriculum has been implemented, aimed at measuring its effectiveness and impact on learners. It helps determine whether the educational goals have been achieved and provides valuable data to stakeholders for making informed decisions about future improvements.
Surveys: Surveys are systematic methods for collecting information from individuals, often used to gather data about opinions, behaviors, and needs. They can take various forms, such as questionnaires or interviews, and are essential for understanding the perspectives of different stakeholders, which helps in making informed decisions related to educational needs, evaluating curricula, supporting teachers, and analyzing data effectively.
Validity: Validity refers to the extent to which an assessment measures what it is intended to measure. It is crucial for ensuring that the results of an assessment accurately reflect the knowledge or skills it aims to evaluate. Validity is not just about whether an assessment yields consistent results, but also about how well it aligns with learning objectives and outcomes.
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