AIOU

1. Assignment No. 2
Q.1 Explain the process of curriculum development.
The curriculum development process systematically organizes what will be taught, who will be
taught, and how it will be taught. Each component affects and interacts with other components.
For example, what will be taught is affected by who is being taught (e.g., their stage of
development in age, maturity, and education). Methods of how content is taught are affected by
who is being taught, their characteristics, and the setting. In considering the above three essential
components, the following are widely held to be essential considerations in experiential education
in non-formal settings:
Essential Considerations for Curriculum Development:
1. issue/problem/need is identified (issue ® what),
2. characteristics and needs of learners (target audience ® who),
3. changes intended for learners (intended outcomes/objectives ® what the learners will
be able to do),
4. the important and relevant content ®(what),
5. methods to accomplish intended outcomes ®(how),
6. Evaluation strategies for methods, content, and intended outcomes ® (What works?).
The CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT MODEL on the next page shows how these
components relate to each other and to the curriculum development process. It begins when an
issue, concern, or problem needs to be addressed. If education or training a segment of the
population will help solve the problem, then curriculum to support an educational effort becomes
a priority with human and financial resources allocated. The next step is to form a curriculum
develop-ment team. The team makes systematic decisions about the target audience (learner
characteristics), intended out-comes (objectives), content, methods, and evaluation strategies.
With input from the curriculum development team, draft curriculum products are developed,
tested, evaluated, and redesigned -if necessary. When the final product is produced, volunteer
training is conducted. The model shows a circular process where volunteer training provides
feedback for new materials or revisions to the existing curriculum.

2. PHASES AND STEPS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT (See Figure 2 on the previous
page) further illustrates how the 12 essential steps progress from one to the next. It also shows the
interaction and relationships of the four essential phases of the curriculum development process:
(I) Planning, (II) Content and Methods, (III) Implementation, and (IV) Evaluation and
Reporting. It is important to acknowledge that things do not always work exactly as depicted in a
model! Each phase has several steps or tasks to complete in logical sequence. These steps are not
always separate and distinct, but may overlap and occur concurrently. For example, the curriculum
development team is involved in all of the steps. Evaluations should occur in most of the steps to
assess progress. The team learns what works and what does not and determines the impact of the
curriculum on learners after it is implemented. Each step logically follows the previous. It would
make no sense to design learning activities before learner outcomes and content are described and
identified. Similarly, content cannot be determined before learner outcomes are described. In the
experience of the author, and confirmed by other curriculum specialists, the following curriculum
development steps are frequently omitted or slighted. These steps are essential to successful
curriculum development and need to be emphasized.
Essential Curriculum Development Steps Needing Emphasis
1. Needs assessment: if not conducted, wonderful curriculum could be developed,
but the appropriate needs of the target audience may not be met.

3. 2. Involving youth: the target audience and volunteers (or staff) who will be the
implementers of the curriculum must be involved (i.e., they participate as full
members of the curriculum development team).
3. Recruiting and training volunteer facilitators: competent and skilled
curriculum implementers are critical (the printed word
cannot teach experiential group process, it doesn't provide feedback).
4. Evaluating and reporting on the impact of the curriculum: is critical for
securing human and financial support from key policy decision makers and for
assessing whether the curriculum has achieved the intended outcome.
Two types of evaluation are included in the Phases and Steps illustration: (1) Formative provides
feedback during the process of developing the curriculum, and (2) Summative answers questions
about changes (impact) that have occurred in learners because of their learning experiences.
Summative evaluation provides evidence for what works, what does not work, and what needs to
be improved.
In every step of the curriculum development process, the most important task is to keep the learner
(in this case, youth) in mind and involve them in process. For example, the curriculum team
members, who have direct knowledge of the target audience, should be involved in conducting the
needs assessment. From the needs assessment process, the problem areas are identified, gaps
between what youth know and what they need to know are identified, and the scope of the problem
is clarified and defined. The results may prompt decision makers to allocate resources for a
curriculum development team to prepare curriculum materials.
Q.2 Explain why change as function of curriculum improvement is important.
Meaning and concept of curriculum development
Curriculum development in its word meaning stands for the development of curriculum.
1. Rogers and Taylor:-
Curriculum development describes all the ways in which teaching or training organization plans
and guides learning. This learning can take place in groups or with individual learners. It can take
place inside or outside the classroom. It can take place in an institutional setting like school,
college, training center, or in a village or a field. It is central to the teaching-learning process.
2. Curriculum development is a process involving the activities like
 conceptualizing the curriculum,
 selecting and organizing the content, material and learning experiences
 suggesting the method and ways of providing these experiences
 Evaluating the learning outcomes in terms of attainment of desired educational objectives.
What is curriculum
In simple words
A curriculum refers to a defined and prescribed course of studies, which students must fulfill in
order to pass a certain level of education.
Some influential definitions combining various elements to describe curriculum are as follows

4.  John Kerr:- According to John Kerr a curriculum is a planned and guided by the school, whether
it is carried on in groups, individually inside or outside the school.
 The curriculum is a total learning experience provided by the school. It includes the content of
courses (the syllabus), the method employed (strategies) and other aspects like norms and values,
which relate to the way school are organized.
 Thus a curriculum is neither a development nor a sequence of experiences. It is a plan for
facilitating learning for students.
 This plan starts with where the child is. It enumerates all the aspects and dimensions of learning
that are considered necessary. It gives a reason why such learning is considered necessary and
what educational aims it would serve.
In a nutshell,
 the curriculum is a means followed by the teachers and students for achieving the set goals and the
aims or objectives of education being provided in the school.
 Curriculum, in every sense, is supposed to be used for all experiences. These may be curricular or
co-curricular, imparted by the school for the realization of the stipulated aims and objectives of
the school education.
Need and importance of curriculum development (or construction)
 Curriculum development is a purposeful activity.
 It is undertaken to design or redesign for the realization of certain specific educational objectives.
 The curriculum is the heart of the student’s college/school experience.
 The curriculum should be reviewed and revised on a regular basis so that it is able to serve the
changing needs of both students and society.
 Following points iterates the needs and importance of curriculum development.
1. Clear purpose and goals:- Curriculum construction provide written curricular goals which are
nothing but intended student development outcomes. These goals and objectives are specified in
considerable detail and in behavioral language.
2. Continuous assessment and improvement of quality:- Valid and reliable assessment of
curriculum is necessary. The curriculum followed by an institution should be reviewed
regularly in order to maintain its effectiveness in regards to changing needs of the society
as a whole.
3. A rational sequence:- In a curriculum educational activities are carefully ordered in
developmental sequence. This developmental sequence helps to form a well-planned (or coherent)
curriculum based on intended goals and outcomes of the curriculum and its constituent courses.
4. Making strategy in teaching and learning:- Curriculum development helps in suggesting
suitable teaching-learning strategies, teaching methods, instructional materials etc. It helps in
providing for the proper implementation of the curriculum on the part of teachers and learners.
5. Helps in the selection of learning experiences:- Curriculum development is needed for
appropriate selection and organization of learning experiences. It helps in the selection of study
matter and other activities so that learners are able to acquire goals and objectives of teaching.

5. 6. The process of curriculum development is needed for conceptualizing a curriculum in terms of the
determination of educational objectives for teaching-learning at a particular grade of school
education.
7. Helps in continuous and comprehensive education:-
Curriculum development considers the need of providing a scheme of education for CCE of the
teaching-learning outcomes. With proper feedback, it helps to bring necessary improvement in the
teaching-learning process and environment.
Q.3 critically examine curriculum development at primary and secondary level.
Curriculum Development at Primary and Secondary Level
Why Curriculum??? Education plays a vital role in nation building. Ministry of (provisional)
Education, is responsible for the cohesion, integration and preservation of the ideological
foundation of the states. Curriculum Bodies at Primary and Secondary Levels
• IN PUNJAB: PUNJAB CURRICULUM AUTHORTY (PCA) is responsible to develop
curriculum for Punjab Province.
• IN SINDH: BUREAU OF CURRICULUM AND EXTENSION WING (BCEW) is responsible
for develop curriculum for Sindh Province
• IN KPK: DIRECTORATE OF CURRICULUM AND TEACHER EDUCATION(CTE) is
responsible for develop curriculum for Khyber Paktunkhwa Province.
• IN BALOCHISTAN: No Curriculum body its in process • IN ICT, FATA, FANA and AJK:
CURRICULUM WING is responsible for the develop curriculum for these Areas.
1. Main Functions of these bodies • prepare or cause to be prepared schemes of studies,
curricula, manuscripts of textbooks, standards of education and schedules or strategy for
their introduction in various classes of an institution in connection with the implementation
of the education policy of the Government.
2. Main Responsibilities Ministry of Education (Curriculum Development Body) is
responsible in making of: 1. Curriculum 2. Syllabus 3. Planning 4. Policy and 5.
Development of Educational Standards.
3. Curriculum Design and Development Process in Pakistan 1. Evolution of Curriculum
Objectives. 2. Development of Scheme of Studies. 3. Development of Syllabus of each
subject. 4. Development of Textbook, Instructional material. 5. Approval of Textual
Material. 6. Teacher Training.
4. Evolution of Curriculum Objectives. • Prepares the draft of objectives. (Send to inter-
provincial Ministry for discussion curriculum development). • Objectives are finalized. •
Translated to the specific teaching objectives. Factors considered in finalizing the
objectives • be precise • Assist in the selection of teaching strategy • Produce a designated
behavior pattern • Enables teachers to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of learning.
5. Developing Objectives are derived from • Recommendation of the Education Policy •
Provisional Level Seminars • Forums of research studies • Inter Board Committee of
Chairmen
6. The studies Scheme (Scheme of Studies) It is based on three key factors: • The Education
policy • Market Demand • Global Issues Task work in this area is undertaken with the

6. participation of: • Provincial government • Research organizations and experts • Feedback
of the IBCC
7. Development of Syllabi It is based on objectives and scheme of study. 1. Subject specific
syllabi is prepared in consultation with: 2. Subject expert 3. Psychologist 4. Serving teacher
Syllabi must satisfy the following conditions: 1. based on the needs of learner. 2. Take into
account the existing knowledge and the environmental experience of the learner. 3. The
development level of the learner is considered in the cognitive, effectiveness and psycho-
motor domain. 4. Content should be focused on attaining the objectives.
8. Textbook Development • Provisional Text Book Boards are responsible for the
development of the text-books according to the approved syllabi. How textbook is
developed? 1. Establish a list of text book writers. 2. Invitation are sent to the writers to
submit the material within the syllabus parameter. 3. Selection is made on the basis of
relevance of material. 4. The selected material is transformed into a textbook.
9. Review the Approval Review committee comprises on five or six members: • At least one
expert form the syllabus Formulation Committee. Two subject experts. Two school
teachers • Textbooks Review Parameter • the books truly reflects the curriculum. • It meets
the objectives stated in the curriculum. • Book does not contain any material repugnant to
Islamic and Pakistani ideology. • In case of approval, textbook is sent for publishing and
distribution. • In case of objection, complaints are relayed with revision recommendations.
10. Teacher Training • Teacher training for curriculum implementation is the responsibility of
the provincial government. • It is now stressed that each textbook must have a teacher's
guide or included in textbook. • In some cases assistance in the training of the master’s
trainers is arranged by the provincial government.
Q.4 Vocationalization has political approach rather than educational. How?
Although this perspective on the science curriculum has a long history, in recent decades it has
received little attention. This article examines recent research into the vocational and work‐related
aspects of secondary school science, and the historical and policy background. Its empirical focus
is a late secondary course with the title “Applied Science”, which was introduced into schools in
England and Wales in 2002. It draws on the preliminary findings of a research study focusing on
the origins and implementation of this course. Overall, the article provides an overview of the
major issues and research agenda associated with the notion of a vocational or applied school
science curriculum, focusing ultimately on the key issues of educational purpose, pedagogy, and
status. The vocationalization of education is different in economically less developed countries
(LDCs) than in the economically more developed ones (MDCs). Although there may appear to be
similarities, there are also important differences between them that largely arise from three
contexts: (1) their social and economic structures and the resulting differences in demand for
skilled labor; (2) the role of the LDCs as "price-takers" rather than "price-makers" on the world
market; and (3) the development strategies they use, often without full recognition of their own
realities and resource limitations. As a result, the problems arising from the efforts by these
countries to vocationalize the curriculum of their schools are in many ways qualitatively different,
and this whole educational strategy is usually much more problematic for them than for the MDCs.

7. There are also major differences between the developing countries themselves, which make any
kind of overall generalization on this issue even more difficult, but there are enough commonalities
among them that would make these observations somewhat applicable to most of the LDCs. With
a more appropriate development strategy, changes in the curriculum, including the introduction of
vocational subjects, might play a more effective role in increasing the contribution that education
can make toward raising the productivity of an LDC. However, political leaders in the LDCs have
not followed this course. Therefore, to say that vocational education is or is not a useful educational
approach is by itself meaningless, despite the research results that now exist. The special priority
given to primary education since the early 1990s has also until recently deflected donor interest from
secondary education—whether vocationalized or not. But some countries have continued to pursue
vocationalization policies. Botswana, Ghana and Kenya—the case studies chosen for the present
report- - are main examples. Even if its cost-effectiveness is in dispute for some decades, many
countries will continue to have an active interest in an updated discussion of the topic, since
vocationalization purports to address the urgent concern about how to improve the relevance of what
is learned in school for the world of work. Thus the purpose of the present study to provide an update
on a topic of recurring policy importance. The study reviews literature on vocationalization and
presents three especially commissioned case studies on Botswana, Ghana and Kenya (Part Two of
the report). These case studies are substantial studies in their own right and their contribution is in no
way exhausted by the use made of them in Part One. The Case Studies made use of available
documentation but could not collect extensive primary data beyond information gathered during
brief visits to schools and consultations with government officials. It is recognized that in high-income
countries in which secondary education will include the great majority of youth (in particular the
OECD countries), models of secondary education that blend general education and vocational
training, may be achievable, affordable and appropriate. There are also middle income countries
which are pursuing such policies. However, the present question is whether vocationalized
secondary education in the medium term is appropriate for developing countries in Sub- Saharan
Africa—given the concerns which are important for Vocational Education and Training (VET). In
particular, is vocationalization superior to purely general education in preparing for labor market
entry and for subsequent vocational and technical training? Eventually, the issue is whether it is
superior in improving the productivity of labor, and at what cost? Thus, the study looks at one aspect
of secondary education—through lenses which we think are appropriate for VET.
Personal development goals
Dominant theories of general education point to the ideal of educating ‘the whole person’. A well
rounded education would develop a wide range of talents including moral, aesthetic, and physical
capacities- - not only a grasp of academically disciplined knowledge. Practical subjects are valued
because they add variety to the school week by allowing students to learn from more active ‘doing’
than what is typical in academic subjects. Under this perspective, the teaching of practical skills and
familiarization with the ‘world of work’ donot need to bejustified only as skills preparation for specific
occupations. They arelegitimate partsof general education. Oneexample is the teaching of handicrafts
skills (sløyd) within lower secondary education in the Nordic countries, or contemporary Design

8. and Technology courses in a number of other countries- - including Botswana (Weeks, BCS). To be
sure, preparation for the world of work is in a general way part of what such subjects usually for, but
under this perspective these subjects can be valued as general skills in practical design and problem
solution—not only in work situations but also for their private use and. Further, teaching about the
‘world of work’ is legitimately valued as a means of enabling young people to make better informed
choices about their future as well as teaching knowledge about an important part of human life. A
‘diversified curriculum’ structure in secondary schools has sometimes beenseen as an organizational
means to achieve greater equality of opportunity because it would cater to a wider range of talents
and purports to prepare for a wider range of future activity, than purely academic curricula This view
has been associated with the development of comprehensive secondary schools in many countries.
The influence of the United States helped propagate this idea of comprehensive secondary education
internationally. Socialist and social democratic policies on education have seen the inclusion of
practical and vocational subjects as a means to break down social class barriers and teach respect
for manual labor. Some African countries have also historically been influenced by respectively North
American or Soviet models of comprehensive secondary school. However, in Africa practical
subjects have a more complex history. Under colonial regimes, Africans struggled against racial
discrimination in order to gain access to academic education and to the opportunity which such
education led to. Practical and vocational subjects were then part of resented racially segregated
provisions ‘adapted’ for African subjects (see e.g., Anderson 1970,on Kenya). After Independence,
depending on the political orientation of governments, in some countries practical subjects became
part of wider measures (e.g., national youth service) intended to assure the identification of the future
educated elite with ordinary working people and build national solidarity. With passage of time
since Independence, arguments of this type now have become less important for policy making. By
teaching vocational skills the hope has beenthat students would more easily find work when they leave
school, and become more productive and trainable. Sometimes, a declared goal is even preparation
for self-employment. By easing the transition to work for school leavers, the hope has also been that
the prevalence of antisocial behavior among youth would be reduced. Carol Coombe (1988)
confirmed that economic goals were by far the most important driving motives behind
vocationalization policies in Commonwealth countries. The goals noted by her included: provision
of skilled and semi-skilled manpower, reduction of wasted resources caused by weak articulation
between education and the labor market, technological literacy, and generally facilitating economic
growth and national development. As noted in BCS, there was in the past also some influence of rural-
centered populist ideas of development which would see a high rate ofmigration to townas a problem
to be countered by educational means. In African countries, the issue at the heart of policy debate on
vocationalization has been undoubtedly been ‘economic relevance’. The recurring question has been
whether vocationalized secondary education in effect turns out to be more ‘economically relevant’
than purely ‘general’ education, and if any gains worththe extra costincurred in producing them. From
a VET point of view, these goals are indeed the overridingly important ones. But other issues and
objectives have also be evident in African countries when curricula and syllabuses have been framed
by educationists—below the ‘political’ level.

9. Q.5 Curriculum of the schools cannot be better than the quality of persons prepared by
teacher education institution, make comments.
Increasing graduation rates and levels of educational attainment will accomplish little if students
do not learn something of lasting value. Yet federal efforts over the last several years have focused
much more on increasing the number of Americans who go to college than on improving the
education they receive once they get there.
By concentrating so heavily on graduation rates and attainment levels, policy makers are ignoring
danger signs that the amount that students learn in college may have declined over the past few
decades and could well continue to do so in the years to come. The reasons for concern include:
 College students today seem to be spending much less time on their course work than their
predecessors did 50 years ago, and evidence of their abilities suggests that they are probably
learning less than students once did and quite possibly less than their counterparts in many other
advanced industrial countries.
 Employers complain that many graduates they hire are deficient in basic skills such as writing,
problem solving and critical thinking that college leaders and their faculties consistently rank
among the most important goals of an undergraduate education.
 Most of the millions of additional students needed to increase educational attainment levels will
come to campus poorly prepared for college work, creating a danger that higher graduation
rates will be achievable only by lowering academic standards.
 More than two-thirds of college instructors today are not on the tenure track but are lecturers
serving on year-to-year contracts. Many of them are hired without undergoing the vetting
commonly used in appointing tenure-track professors. Studies indicate that extensive use of
such instructors may contribute to higher dropout rates and to grade inflation.
 States have made substantial cuts in support per student over the past 30 years for public
colleges and community colleges. Research suggests that failing to increase appropriations to
keep pace with enrollment growth tends to reduce learning and even lower graduation rates.
While some college leaders are making serious efforts to improve the quality of teaching, many
others seem content with their existing programs. Although they recognize the existence of
problems affecting higher education as a whole, such as grade inflation or a decline in the rigor of
academic standards, few seem to believe that these difficulties exist on their own campus, or they
tend to attribute most of the difficulty to the poor preparation of students before they enroll.
Many colleges provide a formidable array of courses, majors and extracurricular opportunities, but
firsthand accounts indicate that many undergraduates do not feel that the material conveyed in
their readings and lectures has much relevance to their lives. Such sentiments suggest either that
the courses do not in fact contribute much to the ultimate goals that colleges claim to value or that
instructors are not taking sufficient care to explain the larger aims of their courses and why they
should matter.
Other studies suggest that many instructors do not teach their courses in ways best calculated to
achieve the ends that faculties themselves consider important. For example, one investigator
studied samples of the examinations given at elite liberal arts colleges and research universities.
Although 99 percent of professors consider critical thinking an “essential” or “very important”
goal of a college education, fewer than 20 percent of the exam questions actually tested for this
skill.
Now that most faculties have defined the learning objectives of their college and its various
departments and programs, it should be possible to review recent examinations to determine
whether individual professors, programs and departments are actually designing their courses to

10. achieve those goals. College administrators could also modify their student evaluation forms to
ask students whether they believe the stated goals were emphasized in the courses they took.
In addition, the average time students devote to studying varies widely among different colleges,
and many campuses could require more of their students. Those lacking evidence about the study
habits of their undergraduates could inform themselves through confidential surveys that faculties
could review and consider steps to encourage greater student effort and improve learning.
The vast difference between how well seniors think they can perform and their actual proficiencies
(according to tests of basic skills and employer evaluations) suggests that many colleges are failing
to give students an adequate account of their progress. Grade inflation may also contribute to
excessive confidence, suggesting a need to work to restore appropriate standards, although that
alone is unlikely to solve the problem. Better feedback on student papers and exams will be even
more important in order to give undergraduates a more accurate sense of how much progress
they’ve made and what more they need to accomplish before they graduate.
Improving graduate education. Colleges and universities need to reconfigure graduate programs
to better prepare aspiring professors for teaching. As late as two or three generations ago,
majorities of new Ph.D.s, at least in the better graduate programs, found positions where research
was primary, either in major universities, industry or government. Today, however, many Ph.D.s
find employment in colleges that are chiefly devoted to teaching or work as adjunct instructors and
are not expected to do research.
Aspiring college instructors also need to know much more now in order to teach effectively. A
large and increasing body of useful knowledge has accumulated about learning and pedagogy, as
well as the design and effectiveness of alternative methods of instruction. Meanwhile, the advent
of new technologies has given rise to methods of teaching that require special training. As evidence
accumulates about promising ways of engaging students actively, identifying difficulties they are
having in learning the material and adjusting teaching methods accordingly, the current gaps in
the preparation most graduate students receive become more and more of a handicap.
Universities have already begun to prepare graduate students to teach by giving them opportunities
to assist professors in large lecture courses and by creating centers where they can get help to
become better instructors. More departments are starting to provide or even require a limited
amount of instruction in how to teach. Nevertheless, simply allowing grad students to serve as
largely unsupervised teaching assistants, or creating centers where they can receive a brief
orientation or a few voluntary sessions on teaching, will not adequately equip them for a career in
the classroom.
A more substantial preparation is required and will become ever more necessary as the body of
relevant knowledge continues to grow. With all the talk in graduate school circles about preparing
doctoral students for jobs outside academe, one has to wonder why departments spend time
readying Ph.D. candidates for entirely different careers before they have developed adequate
programs for the academic posts that graduate schools are supposed to serve, and that most of their
students continue to occupy.
Many departments may fail to provide such instruction because they lack faculty with necessary
knowledge, but provosts and deans could enlist competent teachers for such instruction from
elsewhere in the university, although they may hesitate to do so, given than graduate education has
always been the exclusive domain of the departments. Enterprising donors might consider giving
grants to graduate schools or departments willing to make the necessary reforms. If even a few
leading universities responded to such an invitation, others would probably follow suit.

11. Finally, there is an urgent need for more and better research both to improve the quality of
undergraduate education and to increase the number of students who complete their studies.
Among the many questions deserving further exploration, four lines of inquiry seem especially
important.
 How can remedial education be improved? At present, low rates of completion in remedial
courses are a major impediment to raising levels of educational attainment. The use of
computer-aided instruction in remedial math provides one promising example of the type of
improvement that could yield substantial benefits, and there are doubtless other possibilities.
 Far too little is known about the kinds of courses or other undergraduate experiences that
contribute to such noneconomic benefits in later life as better health, greater civic participation
and lower incidence of substance abuse and other forms of self-destructive behavior. Better
understanding of those connections could help educators increase the lasting value of a college
education while providing a stronger empirical basis for the sweeping claims frequently made
about the lifelong benefits of a liberal education. Such understanding would also reduce the risk
of inadvertently eliminating valuable aspects of a college education in the rush to find quicker,
cheaper ways of preparing students to obtain good jobs of immediate value to economic growth.
 Existing research suggests that better advising and other forms of student support may
substantially enhance the effect of increased financial aid in boosting the numbers of students
who complete their studies. With billions of dollars already being spent on student grants and
loans, it would clearly be helpful to know more about how to maximize the effects of such
subsidies on graduation rates.
 More work is needed to develop better ways for colleges to measure student learning, not only
for critical thinking and writing but also for other purposes of undergraduate education.
The importance of this last point can scarcely be overestimated. Without reliable measures of
learning, competition for students can do little to improve the quality of instruction, since
applicants have no way of knowing which college offers them the best teaching. Provosts, deans
and departments will have difficulty identifying weaknesses in their academic programs in need
of corrective action. Academic leaders will be handicapped in trying to persuade their professors
to change the way they teach if they cannot offer convincing evidence that alternative methods
will bring improved results. Faculty members will do less to improve their teaching if they continue
to lack adequate ways to discover how much their students are learning.