SCHOOL CURRICULUM EVALUATION FORMS OF CURRICULUM EVALUATION CURRICULUM EVALUATION APPROACHES

1. 1
CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BY HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GUF)
Curriculum Evaluation
SCHOOL CURRICULUM EVALUATION
Curriculum evaluation, as a field of study, is dynamic. For over the years it has been responsive to the developments
in the conceptualization of curriculum and the associated processes of curriculum change. The concept of
curriculum is integral to curriculum evaluation and can be defined in terms of what can and shall be taught to whom,
when, where, how, and why. Much of the decision making relates to what knowledge is to be selected for inclusion
in the 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.
Evaluation of curriculum is an integral and essential part of the whole process of curriculum development. It is a
continuous activity and not a "tail-end-process". Evaluation and planning are complementary processes which occur
almost simultaneously and continuously. Planning is made based on evaluation and vice versa. However, as a
separate state evaluation has its own entity.
Objectives of Curriculum Evaluation
1.To determine the outcomes of a program.
2.To help in deciding whether to accept or reject a program.
3.To ascertain the need for the revision of the course content.
4.To help in future development of the curriculum material for continuous improvement.
5.To improve methods of teaching and instructional techniques.
This process Is necessary to provide the evidences that institution made a step in the right direction, as well as
useful information to stakeholders. It helps in the process of identification of problems inside curriculum and
institution, solving of problems and redesigning of certain aspects of curriculum.
School curriculum evaluation
 This refers to the efforts a school may make to determine the extent to which it achieves the objectives
of the syllabuses it teaches.

2. 2
CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BY HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GUF)
 The evaluation may involve all subjects or may be directed at certain subject areas only as the need may
arise.
 It focuses on whether the national and school curriculum objectives are being translated into learning
experiences during the teacher-student classroom interaction.
FORMS OF EVALUATION
Formative and Summative Evaluation Choice of evaluation techniques also depends on the kind of decisions that
evaluators must make. In this context, two terms are used, formative and summative evaluation. According to
Scriven, following are the 3 main Forms:
1- Formative evaluation
It occurs during curriculum development. Its purpose is to contribute to the improvement of the educational
program. The merits of a program are evaluated during the process of its development. The evaluation results
provide information to the program developers and enable them to correct flaws detected in the program.
It aims to improve an existing program based on the feedback obtained from the evaluation. Formative evaluation
can occur at several stages during the curriculum development process. At any stage the validity of the content can
be checked, i.e. whether students are achieving the stated goal or objective by going through the content, if not then
that content could be modified.
Evaluators differ in their ways of conducting formative evaluation. If they are evaluating only one-unit plan, then
it would involve only those teaching the unit. However, if they are devising a new program for the entire district
then it would involve formal and systematic procedure.
Since curriculum development takes place over a span of time it provides opportunity for guiding and shaping the
curriculum. According to Gronlund (1985) it gives the teachers an opportunity to record both intended and
unintended effects. The curriculum process is kept "open" since feedback is used and adjustments are made.
2- Summative evaluation
In summative evaluation, the final effects of a curriculum are evaluated based on its stated objectives. It takes place
after the curriculum has been fully developed and put into operations.
It assesses the effect of a complete program. It is carried out at the end of an educational program. It gives the
picture of the curriculum in totality once it has been implemented on the learners. The effectiveness of the entire
curriculum can be assessed through summative evaluation, or also of a program or course within the curriculum.
This type of evaluation is based on the evidence about "Summed" effects of various components or units in the

3. 3
CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BY HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GUF)
curriculum, and hence it derives its name from it. The people involved in the curriculum process can conclude how
successfully the curriculum has worked.
One of the main purposes of summative evaluation is to select from several completing curricular programs, the
one, which should be accepted, and those which should be discontinued. An experimental design would suit the
purpose best.
3- Diagnostic Evaluation.
Diagnostic evaluation is directed towards two purposes either for placement of students properly at the outset of an
instructional level (such as secondary school), or to discover the underlying cause of deviancies in student learning
in any field of study
CURRICULUM EVALUATION APPROACHES
1. Scientific Approach
The scientific approach is probably the oldest approach to curriculum evaluation as it dates from modernism and
the emphasis on the scientific method of the 19th to 20th century. This approach to curriculum evaluation focuses
on using quantitative data generate by the learners. This allows for statistical analysis. Furthermore, the results are
compared to determine the level of success. This comparison is at the heart of decision-making when this approach
is employed.
2. Humanistic Approach
In a more post-modern worldview the Humanistic approach looks at the individual rather than the numbers. Data
is much more qualitative in nature. The rationale behind this is that life has multiple perspectives to it and
quantitative data only provides one perspective.
Humanistic evaluators want to understand the complexities of the environment they are assessing. This involves
capturing narratives through interviews and focus groups. Observation is used not to count frequencies but to take
notes of what is happening in the classroom.
3. Bureaucratic Evaluation:
This evaluation is usually initiated by the government or the Ministry of Education. In your circumstances, the
Ministry of Education could evaluate a course of study or subjects taught in schools to find out whether they need
improvement or modifications. The results of the evaluation are used by the Ministry of Education or the
government.
4. Autocratic Evaluation:

4. 4
CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BY HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GUF)
This evaluation focuses on what is the educational needs of a curriculum. Governments or ministries usually ask
independent evaluators such as consultants to conduct this evaluation. The government or ministry is not obliged
to accept the results of the evaluation.
5. Democratic Evaluation:
This focuses on the experiences and reactions the curriculum initiators have with the programs being evaluated. In
this approach, the evaluation does not lead to firm recommendations to be considered by the initiators or program
implementers.
References:
Valentina Klenowski (2010). Curriculum evaluation : approaches and methodologies, Elsevier
Cronbach, Lee J. (1982): Designing Evaluations of Educational and Social Programs, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
IRS Sindhu (2017). Approaches to Curriculum Evaluation,
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/8282/1/Unit-17.pdf
Umar Farooq (2014). Curriculum Evaluation Meaning, Importance & Objective