Curriculum Development

MODULE IV
Assessing the Curriculum
LESSON 2
Criteria for Curriculum Assessment

CRITERIA FOR CURRICULUM ASSESSMENT DEFINED

Criteria

A set of standards to be followed in assessment.

As they apply to curriculum, criteria are set of standards upon which the different elements of the
curriculum are being tested.

Will determine the different levels of competencies or proficiency of acceptable task performance

CRITERIA FOR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goals and objectives are statements of curricular expectations; sets of learning outcomes specifically designed
for students.
Objectives indicate clearly what the students will learn after instruction has taken place.
Goals and objectives are formulated and specified for the following purposes:
1. To have focus on curriculum and instruction which give direction to where students need to go.
2. To meet the requirements specified in the policies and standards of curriculum instruction.
3. To provide the students the best possible education and describe the students level of performance
4. To monitor the progress of students based on the goals set.
5. To motivate the students to learn and the teachers to be able to feel a sense of competence when goals are
attained.

For goals and objectives to be formulated, criteria on certain elements should be included according to Howell in
Nolet in 2000.

1. Content- From the objectives, what content should students learn?

2. Behavior- What will students do to indicate that they have learned?

3. Criterion- What level of performance should the students have to master the behavior?
4. Condition- Under what circumstance should the students work in order to master that behavior?

Writing effective goals and objectives should also use the following general criteria.
1. Are the general objectives syntactically correct?- Syntactic Correctness
See if it has all its parts
Teachers need to include logically the elements: content, behavior, criteria and conditions
Writing effective goals and objectives should also use the following general criteria.
2. Do the objectives comply with the legal requirements of the course of subjects?- Compliance with legal
requirements
There should be a direct relationship between the annual goals and the students present levels of educational
performance.
The annual goals should describe what the learners can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a
given appropriate instructional resources.
Short term instructional objectives should be stated so clearly so that it is obvious how we would measure
to see if the objectives are met.
The objectives should describe a sequence of intermediate steps between a childs present level of
educational performance and the annual goals that are established.
3. Do the objectives pass the stranger test?- The Stranger Test
Goals and instructional objectives must be measurable so that their status can be monitored.
The simplest way to judge if a goal or objective can be reliably measured is to apply the stranger test
(Kaplan, 1995).
4. Do the objectives address both knowledge and behavior?- Both knowledge and behavior are addressed
The confusion between knowledge and behavior: although it is knowledge that we are most often trying to
transmit, we need to see behavior to know if we have succeeded.
The statement of behavior must be in an objective to provide a measurable indicator of learning. But it is
the learning, not the behavior, that is of primary importance to most teachers.
5. Do they pass the so-what test?- The So-What Test (validity)
Because the purpose of education is to prepare people to be socially competent, the so-what test asks
whether the goals and instructional objectives are important.

Good objectives specify outcomes that will benefit students by teaching them things that are socially
significant (Ensminger & Dangel, 1992) and not simply make life easier for parents and teachers.
To pass the so-what test, an objective should act to develop, rather than to suppress, behavior. In cases
where behaviors need to be suppressed, goals and objectives should include alternate positive behaviors
(Kaplan, 200; Martin & Pear, 1996; Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).
6. Are the objectives aligned?- Individualization
Appropriate goals and instructional objectives are derived from assessment data. They must be aligned with
the students present level of educational performance and students goals.
7. Do they make common sense?- Common Sense
Instructional objectives dont have to fit into one sentence and trying to make them do so can be very
confusing. Objectives tell what the students will learn, not descriptions of what the students will follow to
learn.

Instruction refers to the implementation of the objectives. It is concerned with the methodologies and strategies
of teaching.
The two approaches to instruction:
1. Supplantive Approach- referred to as direct instruction (Adams & Englemann,1996).
2. Generative Approach- referred to as constructivist or developmental.

1. Supplantive Approach

The teacher attempts to promote learning by providing explicit directions and explanations regarding hw to
do a task.

The teacher assumes primary responsibility for linking new information with the students prior knowledge
and ultimately whatever the students learn.

Information is presented in an ordered sequence in which component subskills are taught directly or a
foundation for later tasks.

This approach to instruction is highly teacher-directed.

2. Generative Approach

The teacher functions as a facilitator who takes a less central role in a learning process that is studentdirected (Ensminger & Dangel, 1992).
The teacher provides opportunities for the students to make own linkages to prior knowledge and to devise
her own strategies for work.
It is constructivist because much of its emphasis is on helping students to construct their own educational
goals and experiences as well as the knowledge that results.

Information is presented on a schedule determined by students interests and goals.

Subskills may not be taught explicitly

Pre-requisites for more complex information are expected to be learned as a consequence of the larger
understanding students would be guided to construct.

Learning is assumed to be socially constructed out of the interaction between the students innate and
predisposition and the social context in which the student lives.

But advocates of the generative approach sometimes take a restrictive vie of social context In which the
student lives (Stone, 1996). Often, they do not seem to view teachers and classrooms as part of the social
context. Therefore they see intentional instruction by teachers (or parents) as unnatural or meaningful.

WHAT ARE CURRICULUM CRITERIA?

Curriculum criteria are guidelines on standard for curriculum decision making.
The objectives of a curriculum or teaching plan are the most important curriculum criteria, since they should be
used in selecting learning experiences and in evaluating learning achievement.
The criteria are stated in the form of questions as follows:
1. Have the goals of the curriculum or teaching plan been clearly stated; and are they used by teachers and
students in choosing content, materials and activities for learning?
2. Have teacher and students engaged in student-teacher planning in defining the goals and in determining
how they will be implemented?
3. 3. Do some of the planned goals relate to the society or the community in which the curriculum will be
implemented or the teaching will be done?
4. 4. Do some of the planned goals relate to the individual learner and his or her needs, purposes, interest and
abilities?
5. 5. Are the planned goals used as criteria in selecting and developing learning materials for instruction?
6. 6. Are the planned goals used as criteria in evaluating learning achievement and in the further planning of
learning sub goals and activities?

According to Hass and Parkay (1993), individual differences, flexibility and systematic planning are criteria that
depend in part on knowledge of the different approaches to learning. The criterion are as follows:
Does the curriculum or teaching plan include alternative approaches and alternative activities for learning?
Have the different learning theories have been considered in planning alternative activities for learning?
Has the significance of rewarded responses, transfer, generalization, advance organizers, self-concept,
meaningfulness of the whole, personal meaning, imitation, identification and socialization been considered
in the following?

WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CURRICULUM?

A good curriculum must possess specific characteristics in the pursuit of the aims of education the schools are to
pursue. A good curriculum includes the following:
1. The curriculum is continuously evolving.
2. The curriculum is based on the needs of the people.
3. The curriculum is democratically conceived.
4.

The curriculum is the result of long-term effort.

5. The curriculum is a complex of details.

6. The curriculum provides for the logical sequence of subject matter.
7. The curriculum complements and cooperates with other program of the community.
8.

The curriculum has educational quality.

9. The curriculum has administrative flexibility.

Some marks of a good curriculum which may be used as criteria for evaluation purposes given by J. Galen Saylor:
1. A good curriculum is systematically planned and evaluated.
A definite organization is responsible for coordinating and planning and evaluation.
Steps in planning and evaluation are logically defined and taken.
Ways or workings utilize the contributions of all concerned.
2. A good curriculum reflects adequately the aims of the school.
The faculty has defined comprehensive educational aims.
The scope of the curriculum includes areas related to all stated aims.
Each curriculum opportunity is planned with reference to one or more aims.
In planning curriculum opportunities from year to year and in each area, teachers consider the total scope of
aims.
The curriculum gives attention to each aim commensurate with its importance.
3. A good curriculum maintains balance among all aims of the school.
The total plan of curriculum opportunities in basic areas, school activities and special interest reflects
careful planning with respect to all aims.
Guidance of each individual helps provide him with a program which is well-balanced in terms of his needs
and capacities.
The school organization, schedule, and facilities help in giving appropriate attention to each aim.
Classroom activities and schedules are arranged so as to provide a balanced program of varied learning
activities.
4. A good curriculum promotes continuity of experience.

 Provisions are made for the smooth transition and continuing achievement of pupils from one classroom,
grade or school to another.
Curriculum plan in areas which extend over several years are developed vertically.
Classroom practices give attention to the maturity and learning problems of each pupil.
Cooperative planning and teaching provide for exchange of information about pupils learning experiences.
5. A good curriculum arranges learning opportunities flexibly for adaptation to particular situations and individuals.
Curriculum guides encourage teachers to make their own plans for specific learning situations.
Cooperative teaching and planning utilize many opportunities as they arise to share learning resources and
special talents.
Time allotments and schedules are modified as need justifies.
In accordance with their maturity, pupils participate in the planning of learning experiences.
The selection of learning experiences reflects careful attention to the demands of the learning situation.
6. A good curriculum utilizes the most effective learning experiences and resources available.
Learning experiences are developed so that pupils see purpose, meaning and significance in each activity.
Needed available resources are utilized at the time they are relevant and helpful.
Use of the right learning resource for each pupil is encouraged.
Teachers discriminate wisely between activities which pupils carry on independently and those in which
teacher-pupil interaction is desirable.
7. A good curriculum makes maximum provision for the development of each learner.
The program provides a wide range of opportunities for individuals of varying abilities, needs, and
interests.
Extensive arrangements are made for the educational diagnosis of individual learners.
Self-directed, independent study is encouraged wherever possible and advisable.
Self-motivation and self-evaluation are stimulated and emphasized throughout the learning opportunities of
the school.
The curriculum promotes individual development rather conformity to some hypothetical standard.
The school attempts to follow up its former students both as a service to them and for evaluative data.

WHAT IS EVALUATION?
Evaluation is the process of determining the value of something or the extent to which goals are being achieved.
It is a process of making a decision or reading a conclusion. It involves decision-making about a student
performance based on information obtained from an assessment process.
Assessment is the process of collecting information by reviewing the products of student work, interviewing,
observing, or testing.

Evaluation is the process of using information that is collected through assessment. The ultimate purpose of any
evaluation process that takes place in schools is to improve student learning. (Howell and Nolet, 2000)
Evaluation entails a reasoning process, that is based on influence. Inference is the process of arriving at a logical
conclusion from a body of evidence. It usually refers to the process of developing a conclusion on the basis of some
phenomenon that is not experienced or observed directly by the person drawing the inference.
Evaluation is a thoughtful process. We use it to help us understand things. Evaluation has been defined in a variety
of ways, all of which have at their core idea of comparison. When we evaluate, we make comparisons between
things, note the differences, summarize our findings and draw conclusion about results. (Deno, Winkin, Yavorsky,
1977)
Evaluation is the judgment we make about the assessment of student learning based on established criteria. It
involves a process of integrating assessment information from various sources and using this information to make
inferences about how well students have achieved curriculum expectations.
Evaluation involves placing a value on and determining the worth of student assessment.
Evaluations are usually made so that the progress can be communicated to students and parents.
(www.cals_ncsu.edu)
Evaluation provides informationa) Directly to the learner for guidance
b) Directly to the teacher for orientation of the next instruction activities
c) Directly to external agencies for their assessment of schools functioning in the light of the national purpose.

WHAT IS CURRICULUM EVALUATION?

Curriculum Evaluation focuses on determining whether the curriculum as recorded in the master plan has been
carried out in the classroom.
Curriculum Evaluation is the process of obtaining information for judging the worth of an educational program,
product, procedure, educational objectives or the potential utility of alternative approaches designed to attain
specific objectives (Glass and Worthem, 1997).
In evaluating a curriculum, the following key questions are usually asked:
1. Are the objectives being addressed?
2. Are the contents being presented in the recommended sequence?
3. Are the students being involved in the suggested instructional experiences?
4. Are the students reacting to the contents?

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE EVALUATION

Summative evaluation is evaluation that takes place at the end of the unit or section of instruction. It takes place at
the end of the lesson or project and tells the evaluator what has happened. It sums-up the learning.

Formative evaluation takes place during the lesson or project and tells the evaluator what is happening. It is
ongoing and yields information that can be used to modify the program prior to termination. (Howel & Nolet,
2000).