Instructional Assessment and Evaluation

In education, the terms evaluation and assessment are often used interchangeably; they sometimes also are used instead of the term test. Although such use is common, it can be confusing. Successful communication with other educators is enhanced by having a firm grasp on the definitions and functions to which each applies. As this can be particularly confusing for educators new to the field, as well as for those trainers and instructors working in private and public teaching environments other than K-12, this book attempts to not only clearly define each term but also to differentiate their uses and functions. It also provides the new instructor as well as the experienced instructor some insight into curriculum design and test design for the purposes of assessing student achievement and program, course, and instructor success.