Importance Of Evaluation

According to Race et al (2005) evaluation or assessment is the most important thing teachers do to or for their students, since they believe that “the results of assessment influence students for the rest of their lives…”. Evaluation is an integral part of the teaching process, though it might be the most stressful part of it. Hense, evaluation practices and procedures must be constructively aligned (Biggs, 2003) with the learning outcomes that are defined for a particular course, entailing a systematic approach to learning and grading.

Evaluation is important for myriad reasons:

1. For quality learning environment. When students are evaluated based on their gained knowledge, acquired skills and competencies, ability to work in groups as

It drives learning paradigm, which is aimed at student learning, and focused on what the student does. Eventually, besides providing a grade to students, it fosters their commitment by supporting active learning. Therefore, the evaluation process should be authentic, fair, valid and reliable.

How to evaluate?

The answer to the question how to evaluate heavily depends on what should be evaluated. Teachers must ensure that teaching, learning, assignments, assessment and feedback are constructively aligned, and demonstrate the evidence of student’s achievement of the intended learning outcomes. Figure 1 shows how learning outcomes, evidence of achievement, assessment criteria and feedback linked with each other.

Hence, based on how well learning outcomes have been achieved by a learner, assessment along with the feedback should be given to a student. In the following paragraphs we will discuss various formats and types of assessments.

Examination formats

Examination formats listed below make up the lion’s share of evaluation that used by higher educational

- Vivas – oral exams. On one hand, by asking students the same questions, comparing and contrasting their answers, they can be fairly graded. On the other hand, to some individuals it might be very stressful to answer to experts orally.

Evaluation types

In this section we want to briefly list the most common types of assessment widely used within formats discussed earlier.

- Essays are used in traditional or open book formats. Writing an essay is an art per se, helping students to express their opinions freely and in their own way. Moreover, it gives a clear picture of how well students understood the subject matter.

- Reviews and annotated bibliographies are believed to be of a higher validity, since they develop students’ research skills for searching and reviewing the literature.

- Reports. It is advisable to include at least one report per subject because it prepares students for professional life enhancing research (data mining and analysis) and presentation skills.

- Projects. One of the most significant types of evaluation that can be done either individually ot in groups. The more authentic the project theme is the higher student’s interest in