Evaluation of Curriculum

Unit # 07
Mehlah Jabeen
 Evaluation
Evaluation is the process of examining a
program or process to determine what’s
working, what’s not, and why.

Evaluation determines the value of programs and

acts as blueprints for judgment and
improvement.
 Significance of Evaluation
Many people think of evaluation as taking a
snapshot of outcomes at the end of a program to
prove to a funder that it worked or failed.
These same people don’t hold evaluation in much
regard because they feel they are getting too little
information too late in the day, especially if their
program fell short of expectations or made no
difference at all.
Evaluation can, and should be used as an on-going
management and learning tool to improve an
organization's effectiveness.
 Significance of Evaluation (Cont…)
 Well-run organizations and effective programs
are those that can demonstrate the achievement of
results.
 Results are derived from good management.
Good management is based on good decision
making.
 Good decision making depends on good
information. Good information requires good data
and careful analysis of the data. These are all
critical elements of evaluation.
 What is curriculum evaluation?
• Curriculum evaluation is a kind of general
program evaluation.
• Curriculum can be perceived not only as static
curriculum texts, but also as dynamic curriculum
activities.
• Therefore, curriculum evaluation is evaluation of
components and process of curriculum activities,
which is not equal to academic achievement
assessment or classroom instruction assessment.
 Why we should evaluate any curriculum?

• Before understanding how to evaluate curriculum we

must first know why we should evaluate any
curriculum. The reasons are:
• Students could be dissatisfied with the current
curriculum and methods of teaching.
• Students are not achieving the desired goals set in the
curriculum.
• There is a change in the student market.
• The professional expectations could be changing,
which in turn call for a change in the curriculum.
• There could also be changes in the time and staff
resources.
Curriculum Evaluation
Curriculum evaluation refers to the
collection of information on which judgment might be
made about the worth and the effectiveness of a particular
programme.

Types of Curriculum Evaluation

Formative
Summative
Evaluation Diagnostic
Evaluation
Evaluation
 1. Formative Evaluation
 Formative evaluation is generally any
evaluation that takes place before or during a
project’s implementation with the aim of improving
the project’s design and performance.

It is an ongoing classroom process that keeps

students and educators informed of students’
progress toward program learning objectives.

The main purpose of formative evaluation is to

improve instruction and student learning.
Judgemental
Data Observational
Data
Student
Learning
 Judgemental Data
First type of evaluation involves judgemental
data. In that experts, teachers, supervisors, as
well as student (how have made use of the
curriculum materials and method) provide
opinions, judgement, and reaction of the
curriculum materials:
This type of evidence is gathered by rating,
questionnaires, interviews.
 Observational Data
The second type of evidence involves
observational data, which trained or untrained
observers systematically gather during
teaching – learning situations in the classroom
or elsewhere.
This type of evidence is obtained by direct
observations in a free manner.
 Student Learning
• The best source of evidences for formative
evaluation curriculum seems to be a sort of
combined use of all of them to arrive at valid
conclusions.
• It is better to use one source for corresponding
the finding of the other two then depending
upon just one source of evidences.
Benefits of Formative Evaluation
 It identifies problems in teaching and learning
and helps to correct it.
 By being formative it diagnostic weakness at an
early stage for purpose of remediation or
individual teaching, for instance, the teacher is
failing to read the teacher can quickly find
remedy.
 Thus keeps pupils on toes and even in the track of
progress gives immediate feedback which is
motivating.
 Benefits of Formative Evaluation
(Cont…)
• Formative is also ideal for future planning in terms
of changing teaching methods and pupils activities
through resetting objectives, use of effective media,
regrouping and assessment methods as it helps to plan
also extension work for the excelling students.
 2. Summative Evaluation
 Summative evaluation can take place during the
project implementation, but is most often
undertaken at the end of a project. As such,
summative evaluation can also be referred to
as ex-post evaluation.
 The teacher uses summative evaluation to
determine what has been learned over a period of
time, to summarize student progress, and to report
to students, parents and educators on progress
relative to curriculum objectives.
 It occurs most often at the end of a unit.
 Benefits of Summative Evaluation

Benefits of summative evaluation:

 is judgemental in nature, hence it shows the
worth or the value of programme.
 It can be used for decision making so that the
learners can easily selected into placement
streams such as pupils are put into classes
according to their test results.
It is a useful tool for guidance and counselling.
Above all it is done to evaluate the effectiveness
of teachers.
 3. Diagnostic Evaluation

It usually occurs at the beginning of the school

year or before a new unit.
It identifies students who lack prerequisite
knowledge, understanding or skills.
Diagnostic testing also identifies student
interests.
Diagnostic evaluation provides information
essential to teachers in designing appropriate
programs for all students.
 3. Diagnostic Evaluation (Cont…)

Usually analysis of this evaluation occurs when:

1. content of curriculum is updated
2. something is added
3. something is taken out

Teachers take evaluation by these methods.

Benefits of Diagnostic Evaluation
It is helper in solving problems of
students.
 it is helper in make teacher’s
performance better.
It is helper in encourage students and
teachers.
It is helper in educational plans.
 Problems in Curriculum Evaluation in
Pakistan
• Financial problem
• Problem of accommodation
• Lack of professional development
• Staff relations
• Lack of supervision
• Political interference
 Evaluation Design
• The plan for an evaluation project is called a
"design“.
• It is a particularly vital step to provide an
appropriate assessment.
• A good design offers an opportunity to
maximize the quality of the evaluation, helps
minimize and justify the time and cost
necessary to perform the work.
 Design Process
• 1. Identifying evaluation questions and issues
• 2. Identifying research designs and
comparisons
• 3. Sampling methods
• 4. Data collection instruments
• 5. Collecting and coding qualitative data
 Evaluation Design Approaches Mixed-
Quantitative Qualitative Method
• Quantitative approach
• Quantitative data can be counted, measured, and
reported in numerical form and answer questions such
as who, what, where, and how much.
• The quantitative approach is useful for describing
concrete phenomena and for statistically analyzing
results.
• Data collection instruments can be used with large
numbers of study participants.
• Data collection instruments can be standardized,
allowing for easy comparison within and across
studies.
 Experimental Designs
• Experimental designs tend to be rigorous in
that they control for external factors and
enable you to argue, with some degree of
confidence, that your findings are due to the
Experimental effects of the program rather
than other, unrelated, factors.
• They are rarely applicable in educational
settings where there is a chance that students
may be denied an opportunity to participate in
a program because of the evaluation design.
 Qualitative Approach
• Qualitative data are reported in narrative form.
• Qualitative approach can provide important
insights into how well a program is working
and what can be done to increase its impact.
• Qualitative data can also provide information
about how participants – including the people
responsible for operating the program as well
as the target audience – feel about the
program.
 Qualitative Approach (Cont…)
• It promotes understanding of diverse
stakeholder perspectives (e.g., what the
program means to different people).

• Stakeholders, funders, policymakers, and the

public may find quotes and anecdotes easier to
understand and more appealing than statistical
data.
 Observation
• Observational techniques are methods by which an individual or
individuals gather firsthand data on programs, processes, or
behaviors being studied.
• They provide evaluators with an opportunity to collect data on a
wide range of behaviors, to capture a great variety of
interactions, and to openly explore the evaluation topic.
• By directly observing operations and activities, the evaluator can
develop a holistic perspective, i.e., an understanding of the
context within which the project operates.
• Observational approaches also allow the evaluator to learn about
things the participants or staff may be unaware of or that they are
unwilling or unable to discuss in an interview or focus group.
 Interviews
• Interviews provide very different data from
observations: they allow the evaluation team to
capture the perspectives of project participants, staff,
and others associated with the project.
• In the hypothetical example, interviews with project
staff can provide information on the early stages of
the implementation and problems encountered.
• An interview, rather than a paper and pencil survey, is
selected when interpersonal contact is important and
when opportunities for follow up of interesting
comments are desired.
 Interviews (Cont…)
• Two types of interviews are used in evaluation
research.
• Structured interviews, in which a carefully
worded questionnaire is administered; and in
depth interviews, in which the interviewer
does not follow a rigid form.
 In-depth Interviews
• The emphasis is on obtaining free and open responses,
and answers to carefully phrased there may be a trade off
between questions. comprehensive coverage of topics.
• Interviewers are trained to and in depth and limited set of
deviate only minimally from the questions. question
wording to ensure
• In depth interviews also encourage uniformity of
interview capturing of respondents’ administration.
perceptions in their own words. This allows the evaluator
to present the meaningfulness of the experience from the
respondent’s perspective.
• In depth interviews are conducted with individuals or
with a small group of individuals.
 Focus Groups
• Focus groups combine elements of both
interviewing and participant observation.
• The focus group session is, indeed, an interview
not a discussion group, problem-solving session,
or decision- making group.
• The hallmark of focus groups is the explicit use of
the group interaction to generate data and insights
that would be unlikely to emerge without the
interaction found in a group.
• Focus groups are a gathering of 8 to 12 people
who share some characteristics relevant to the
evaluation. Originally used as a market research
tool to investigate the appeal of various products.