SMEC 624: Evaluation Issues
Glossary of Terms
Compiled by Bill Atweh
This is a set of selected commonly used terms used in the literature on
assessment. Please note that these definitions are not universally acceptable –
different authors may have different understanding of terms. Also, please note
that this list is not arranged alphabetically; rather, related terms are listed
together.
Approaches to Assessment
Criterion-referenced assessment, typically using a criterion-referenced test, as the name
implies, occurs when candidates are measured against defined (and objective) criteria. Criterionreferenced assessment is often, but not always, used to establish a person’s competence (whether s/he
can do something). The best known example of criterion-referenced assessment is the driving test,
when learner drivers are measured against a range of explicit criteria (such as “Not endangering other
road users”). (Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessments#Formative_and_summative).
Criterion-referencing, as the name implies, involves determining a student’s grade by comparing
his or her achievements with clearly stated criteria for learning outcomes and clearly stated standards
for particular levels of performance. Unlike norm-referencing, there is no pre-determined grade
distribution to be generated and a student’s grades is in no way influenced by the performance of
others. Theoretically, all students within a particular cohort could receive very high (or very low)
grades depending solely on the levels of individuals’ performances against the established criteria and
standards. The goal of criterion-referencing is to report student achievement against objective reference
points that are independent of the cohort being assessed. Criterion-referencing can lead to simple passfail grading schema, such as in determining fitness-to-practice in professional fields. Criterionreferencing can also lead to reporting student achievement or progress on a series of key criteria rather
than as a single grade or percentage. (Source: James, R., McInnis, C. and Devlin, M. (2002) Assessing
Learning in Australian Universities. This section was prepared by Richard James.)
Norm-referenced assessment (colloquially known as "grading on the curve"), typically using a
norm-referenced test, is not measured against defined criteria. This type of assessment is relative to the
student body undertaking the assessment. It is effectively a way of comparing students. The IQ test is
the best known example of norm-referenced assessment. Many entrance tests (to prestigious schools or
universities) are norm-referenced, permitting a fixed proportion of students to pass (“passing” in this
context means being accepted into the school or university rather than an explicit level of ability). This
means that standards may vary from year to year, depending on the quality of the cohort; criterionreferenced assessment does not vary from year to year (unless the criteria change). (Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessments#Formative_and_summative).
Norm-referencing is that students are awarded their grades on the basis of their ranking within a
particular cohort. Norm-referencing involves fitting a ranked list of students’ ‘raw scores’ to a predetermined distribution for awarding grades. Usually, grades are spread to fit a ‘bell curve’ (a ‘normal
distribution’ in statistical terminology), either by qualitative, informal rough-reckoning or by statistical
techniques of varying complexity. For large student cohorts (such as in senior secondary education),
statistical moderation processes are used to adjust or standardise student scores to fit a normal
distribution. This adjustment is necessary when comparability of scores across different subjects is
required (such as when subject scores are added to create an aggregate ENTER score for making
university selection decisions). (Source: James, R., McInnis, C. and Devlin, M. (2002) Assessing
Learning in Australian Universities. This section was prepared by Richard James.)
Performance evaluation is a term from the field of language testing and psychometrics. This
variety of language testing is the most common kind of language assessment. It is used in high stakes
tests such as the SAT, ACT, MCAT, TOEFL and other language proficiency tests. In the terminology
of the field, it stands in contrast to competency evaluation.
Ideally, performance evaluation considers aspects of reliability (psychometric), validity and
authenticity.
Lyle Bachman at UCLA is one of the leading experts in performance evaluation research and language
testing in general.
While performance evaluation has been successful in evaluating reading comprehension performance,
difficulties arise in evaluating speaking, listening and writing skills which are weightier aspects of the
goal of language learning, communicative competence. As a result, a balance of performance
evaluation and competency evaluation is often called for by language teachers. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_evaluation_%28education%29).
Competence-based assessment is a form of assessment that is derived from the specification of
a set of outcomes; that so clearly states both the outcomes – general and specific – that assessors,
students and interested third parties can all make reasonably objective judgments with respect to
student achievement or nonachievement of these outcomes; and that certifies student progress on the
basis of demonstrated achievement of these outcomes. Assessments are not tied to time served in
formal educational settings. (Source: Wolf, A. 1995)
Competency evaluation is a means for teachers to determine the ability of their students in other
ways besides the standardized test.
Usually this includes portfolio assessment. In language testing, it may also include student interviews
and checklists (e.g., on a scale from 1 to 5 the student or teacher rates his or her ability to do such tasks
as introducing one's family).
While various governments in Europe and Canada often employ competency evaluation to evaluate
bilingual abilities of public employees, it has only recently begun to receive attention from the United
States where large testing corporations have dominated language evaluation with financially lucrative
performance tests such as the TOEFL, MCAT and SAT tests.
Fred Genesee at McGill University is one of the leading researchers in competency evaluation.
In regards to psychology and the law, a competency evaluation is an assessment of whether a defendant
is of sound mind to stand trial. The Dusky Standard is the current U.S. Standard of competence, which
states that a person must be able to work with their defending council, and have rational as well as
factual understanding of the trial and the charges brought against them. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competency_evaluation ).
Competency based assessment is a form of assessment that is derived from the specification of a
set of outcomes; that so clearly states both the outcomes – general and specific – that assessors,
students and interested third parties can all make reasonably objective judgments with respect to
student achievement or nonachievement of these outcomes; and that certifies student progress on the
basis of demonstrated achievement of these outcomes. Assessments are not tied to time served in
formal educational settings. (Source: Wolf, 1995).
Outcome-based education (OBE) is an education reform model largely aimed primary and
secondary education ("K-12" in the United States and Australia) which is intended to objectively
measure student performance. Measurement may be used to determine whether or not the education
system is performing adequately, and in some cases whether or not students will be certified as
educated by the system.
OBE (now widely understood as standards-based education) is definition of education that shifts from
the traditional focus on what students should be taught (content) and how much time they should be
taught it for, to a focus on setting universal standards of what students are expected to demonstrate they
"know and are able to do". The traditional model that some students would be tracked for success while
most others would be tracked elsewhere is rejected in favor of continuous improvement, and success
"for all" students, a "shift in paradigm" as radical as the comparison between free-market governments,
and those that promise economic success for all and an end to privileged classes.
All definitions and names for standards based reforms share an emphasis on setting clear (though more
difficult in practice than theory) higher standards, and observable, measurable outcomes. Crucial is the
belief that all students can learn, which means students of all abilities, all social racial and ethnic
groups, and genders, sometimes disabilities as well. (quote from McNeir 1993 - which can be found at
[14]). "Standards" as they are now called are the key to curriculum frameworks of nearly every state
and school district in the United States. Even opponents of reform or standards-based mathematics
advocate standards, though they reflect the goals of traditional education rather than the newest
reforms.
By contrast, the goal of traditional education was to transmit the knowledge and skills of the old
generation to the new, and provide students with an environment to learn. [2]. Outcomes, equal, high or
otherwise, were neither required, nor promised. It was not required that every student leave prepared
for college, or that every student receive an education that prepares them for a job. Most traditional
education in the 20th century prepared different students for different tracks, typically vocational,
academic, or arts. Most traditional comprehensive school education different kinds of students, and
typically students from high income groups achieved at higher levels that those from communities with
less economic advantages or education, which brought charges of discrimination and limiting
opportunities for minorities and women. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcomebased_Education).
Standards based test is one based on the outcome-based education or performance-based
education philosophy. Assessment is a key part of the standards reform movement. The first part is to
set new, higher standards to be expected of every student. Then the curriculum must be aligned to the
new standards. Finally, the student must be assessed if they meet these standards of what every student
"must know and be able to do". A high school diploma which is given on passing a high school
graduation examination or Certificate of Initial Mastery is awarded only when these standards are
achieved. At the end of the process of reform, education officials believe that all students will succeed
at a higher level. All will meet local, state and federal standards which have been set at world-class
standards level for the 21st century, though no such standards document has ever existed. All will
graduate reading and computing at or above grade level with academic skills necessary for success in
college, though grade level is traditionally defined as the level of the middle 50th percentile. All gaps
between all economic, racial, and gender subgroups must and will be closed, though research has yet to
produce even one program that has achieved this optimistic goal.
A criterion is set up for standards of what every student or child is expected to know, and a score is set
compared to these benchmarks rather than a ranking compared to a norm. It is fully expected that every
child will become proficient in all areas of academic skills by the end of a period, typically 10 years but
sometimes longer, after the passing of education reform bill by a state legislature. The federal
government, under No Child Left Behind can further require that all schools must demonstrate
improvement among all students, even if they are already all over proficient. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standards-based_assessment).
Types of Assessment
Informal and formal. Assessment can be either formal or informal. Formal assessment usually a
written document, such as a test, quiz, or paper. Formal assessment is given a numerical score or grade
based on student performance. Whereas, informal assessment does not contribute to a student's final
grade. It usually occurs in a more casual manner, including observation, inventories, checklists, rating
scales, rubrics, performance and portfolio assessments, participation, peer and self evaluation, and
discussion. (Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessments#Formative_and_summative).
Summative assessment refers to the assessment of the learning and summarises the development
of learners at a particular time. After a period of work, e.g. a unit for two weeks, the learner would sit a
test and then the teacher would mark the test and assign a score. This test would summarise learning up
to that point. The test may also be used for diagnostic assessment to identify any weaknesses and then
build on that using formative assessment. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summative_assessment).
Formative assessment is a self-reflective process that intends to promote student attainment.
Cowie and Bell define it as the bidirectional process between teacher and student to enhance, recognise
and respond to the learning. Black and Wiliam consider an assessment ‘formative’ when the feedback
from learning activities is actually used to adapt the teaching to meet the learner's needs. Nicol and
Macfarlane-Dick have re-interpreting research on formative assessment and feedback and shown how
these processes can help students take control of their own learning. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formative_Assessment).
Alternative assessment or portfolio assessment is in direct contrast to what is known as
performance evaluation, traditional assessment, standardized assessment or summative assessment.
Alternative assessment is also known under various other terms, including:
 authentic assessment
 integrative assessment
 holistic assessment
 assessment for learning
 formative assessment
In the model, students, teachers, and sometimes parents select pieces from a student's combined work
over the (usually four) years of school to demonstrate that learning and improvement has taken place
over those years. Some of the characteristics of a portfolio assessment is that it emphasizes and
evidences the learning process as an active demonstration of knowledge. It is used for evaluating
learning processes and learning outcomes. Alternative assessments are used to encourage student
involvement in their assessment, their interaction with other students, teachers, parents and the larger
community.
Formats vary: demonstrations and journals can be used as alternative assessments, portfolio
presentations are considered the most wholly representative of a student's learning. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_assessment).
Authentic assessment is an umbrella concept that refers to the measurement of "intellectual
accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful," as compared to multiple choice
standardized tests.
Authentic assessment can be devised by the teacher, or in collaboration with the student. When
applying authentic assessment to student learning and achievement, a teacher applies criteria related to
“construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and the value of achievement beyond the school.”
Authentic assessment reflects educational policy research that recommends a “high priority on
strategies that research has already shown to increase student learning.”
Authentic assessment tends to focus on complex or contextualised tasks, enabling students to
demonstrate their competency in a more 'authentic' setting. Examples of authentic assessments include:
 performance of the skills, or demonstrating use of a particular knowledge
 simulations and role plays
 studio portfolios, strategically selecting items
 exhibitions and displays
The concept of authentic assessment is congruent with the State of Washington Basic Education Goals
which are also referred to as Student Learning Goals. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_assessment).
Self-assessment in an educational setting involves students making judgements about their own
work. Assessment decisions can be made by students on their own essays, reports, projects,
presentations, performances, dissertations, and even exam scripts. Self-assessment can be extremely
valuable in helping students to critique their own work, and form judgements about its strengths and
weaknesses. For obvious reasons, self-assessment is more usually used as part of a formative
assessment process, rather than a summative one, where it requires certification by others. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-assessment).
Student-centred learning or student-centered learning is an approach to education
focusing on the needs of the students, rather than those of others involved in the educational process,
such as teachers and administrators. This approach has many implications for the design of curriculum,
course content, and interactivity of courses.
For instance, a student-centered course may address the needs of a particular student audience to learn
how to solve some job-related problems using some aspects of mathematics. In contrast, a course
focused on learning mathematics might choose areas of mathematics to cover and methods of teaching
which would be considered irrelevant by the student.
Student-centred learning is in stark contrast to teacher-centred learning. Student-centred learning is
focused on the student's needs, abilities, interests, learning styles with the teacher as a facilitator of
learning. This classroom teaching method acknowledges student voice as central to the learning
experience for every learner. Teacher-centred learning has the teacher at its' centre in an active role and
students in a passive,receptive role. Student-centred learning requires students to be active, responsible
participants in their own learning.
One of the most critical differences between student-centred learning and teacher-centred learning is in
assessment. In student-centred learning, students participate in the evaluation of their learning. This
means that students are involved in deciding how to demonstrate their learning. Developing assessment
that support learning and motivation is essential to the success of student-centred approaches. One of
the main reasons teachers resist student-centred learning is the view of assessment as problematic in
practice. Since teacher-assigned grades are so tightly woven into the fabric of schools; expected by
students,parents and administrators alike, allowing students to participate in assessment is somewhat
contentious. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centred_learning)
A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed
in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations
are consistent" [1] and are "administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner" [2].
In practice, standardized tests can be composed of multiple-choice and true-false questions. Such items
can be tested inexpensively and quickly by scoring special answer sheets by computer or via computeradaptive testing. Some tests also have short-answer or essay writing components that are assigned a
score by independent evaluators. These can be graded by evaluators who use rubrics (rules or
guidelines) and anchor papers (examples of papers for each possible score) to determine the grade to be
given to a response. A number of assessments, however, are not scored by people. For example, the
Graduate Record Exam is a computer-adaptive assessment that requires no scoring by people (except
for the writing portion). (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardized_test).
In education, grading on a bell curve (or simply known as curving) is a method of assigning
grades designed to yield a desired distribution of grades among the students in a class. Strictly
speaking, grading "on a bell curve" refers to the assigning of grades according to the frequency
distribution known as the Normal distribution (also called the Gaussian distribution), whose graphical
representation is referred to as the Normal curve or the bell curve. Because bell curve grading assigns
grades to students based on their relative performance in comparison to classmates' performance, the
term "bell curve grading" came, by extension, to be more loosely applied to any method of assigning
grades that makes use of comparison between students' performances, though this type of grading does
not necessarily actually make use of any frequency distribution such as the bell-shaped Normal
distribution.
In true use of bell curve grading, students' scores are scaled according to the frequency distribution
represented by the Normal curve. The instructor can decide what grade occupies the center of the
distribution. This is the grade an average score will earn, and will be the most common. Traditionally,
in the ABCDF system this is the 'C' grade. The instructor can also decide what portion of the frequency
distribution each grade occupies and whether or not high and low grades are symmetrically assigned
area under the curve (i.e. if the top 15% of students earn an 'A,' do the bottom 15% fail or might only
the bottom 5% fail?). In a system of pure curve grading, the number of students who will receive each
grade is already determined at the beginning of a course.
Other forms of "curved" grading vary, but one of the most common is to add to all students' absolute
scores the difference between the top student's score and the maximum possible score. For example, if
the top score on an exam is 55 out of 60, all students' absolute scores (meaning they have not been
adjusted relative to other students' scores in any way) will be increased by 5 before being compared to
a pre-determined set of grading benchmarks (for example the common A>90%>B>80% etc. system).
This method prevents unusually hard assignments (usually exams) from unfairly reducing students'
grades but relies on the assumption that the top student's performance is a good measure of an
assignment's difficulty.
In the U.S., strict bell-curve grading is rare at the primary and secondary school levels (elementary to
high school) but is common at the university level.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_curve_grading).
Assessment Related Terms
A rubric is a scoring tool for subjective assessments. It is a set of criteria and standards linked to
learning objectives that is used to assess a student's performance on a paper, project, essay, or other
assignment. Rubrics allow for standardised evaluation according to specified criteria, making grading
simpler and more transparent.
The rubric is an attempt at authenticity in assessment. It allows teachers and students alike to assess
criteria which are complex and subjective and also provide ground for self-evaluation, reflection and
peer review. It is aimed at accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding and indicating the way
to proceed with subsequent learning/teaching. This integration of performance and feedback is called
"ongoing assessment."
The following common features of rubrics can be distinguished, according to Bernie Dodge and Nancy
Pickett:
 focus on measuring a stated objective (performance, behavior, or quality)
 use a range to rate performance
 contain specific performance characteristics arranged in levels indicating the degree to which
a standard has been met.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubrics_for_assessment).
A valid assessment is one which measures what it is intended to measure. For example, it would not
be valid to assess driving skills through a written test alone. A more valid way of assessing driving
skills would be through a combination of tests that help determine what a driver knows, such as
through a written test of driving knowledge, and what a driver is able to do, such as through a
performance assessment of actual driving. Teachers frequently complain that some examinations do not
properly assess the syllabus upon which the examination is based; they are, effectively, questioning the
validity of the exam. (Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessments#Formative_and_summative).
Reliability relates to the consistency of an assessment. A reliable assessment is one which consistently
achieves the same results with the same (or similar) cohort of students. Various factors affect reliability
– including ambiguous questions, too many options within a question paper, vague marking
instructions and poorly trained markers. (Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessments#Formative_and_summative).
In statistics, reliability is the consistency of a set of measurements or measuring instrument. Reliability
does not imply validity. That is, a reliable measure is measuring something consistently, but not
necessarily what it is supposed to be measuring. For example, while there are many reliable tests of
specific abilities, not all of them would be valid for predicting, say, job performance.
In experimental sciences, reliability is the extent to which the measurements of a test remain consistent
over repeated tests of the same subject under identical conditions. An experiment is reliable if it yields
consistent results of the same measure. It is unreliable if repeated measurements give different results.
(Source, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_%28statistics%29 ).
Curriculum Related Terms
Syllabus is a document with an outline and summary of topics to be covered in a course. It is often
either set out by an exam board, or prepared by the professor who teaches the course, and is usually
given to each student during the first class session. A syllabus usually contains specific information
about the course, such as information on how, where and when to contact the lecturer and teaching
assistants; an outline of what will be covered in the course; a schedule of test dates and the due dates
for assignments; the grading policy for the course; specific classroom rules; etc.
Within many courses concluding in an exam, syllabi are used to ensure consistency between schools
and that all teachers know what must be taught and what is not required. Exams can only test based on
information included in the syllabus.
The common plural form syllabi is sometimes considered a hypercorrection, as we do not know that
syllabus is a second-declension Latin noun, simply because there are not enough classical uses of the
term to definitively discern its declension. If, as the vast majority of Latin nouns ending in "-us",
"syllabus" belongs to the second-declension, the plural would be syllabi; if fourth, the plural would
again be syllabus. For this reason, syllabi, syllabus, and syllabuses are all commonly accepted.
However, the word syllabus originally comes from a mis-transliteration by Cicero, who mis-copied the
word σιττύβας (accusative plural of σιττύβα, meaning label or title page) as syllabos, making any
Latin-ized plural form technically incorrect.
Syllabus as updated 6/10/2007
The syllabus serves many purposes for the students and the teacher such as 1) ensuring a fair and
upfront contract between the instuctor and students such that there is mimimal confusion on policies
relating to the course, 2) setting clear expectations of a) material to be learned, b) behavior in the
classroom, and c) effort of student's behalf to be put into the course, 3) providing a roadmap of course
organization/direction 4) relaying the instructor's teaching philosophy to the students, and 5) providing
a marketing angle of the course such that students may choose early in the course whether the subject
material is attractive.
Many items can be included in a syllabus to maximize course organization and student understanding
of expected material such as 1) grading policy (grading scale optional but helpful), 2) locations and
times (classroom location/time, instructor office hours and location, teaching assistant office hours and
location), 3) other contact information for instructor and teaching assistant such as phone or email, 4)
materials required and/or recommended such as textbooks, assigned reading books, calculators (or
other equipment), lab vouchers, etc 5) outside resources for subject material assistance (extra-curricular
books, tutor locations, resource centers, etc), 6) important dates in course such as exams and paper duedates 7) tips for succeeding in mastering course content such as study habits and expected time
allotment, 8) suggested problems if applicable 9) necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites to current
course, 10) safety rules if appropriate, and most importantly 11) objectives of course.
The syllabus must be clear and organized in its presentation of course objectives and the grading breakdown should leave no confusion or doubt in the student's mind as to how she or he is scoring in the
class. A helpful syllabus should encourage rather than intimidate students from the course and should
provide a broad overpanning of subject significance as well as illustrate connectiveness of material
relevance through the lecture schedule. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllabus).
Curriculum In the first published textbook on “Curriculum” in 1918, John Franklin Bobbitt noted
that the idea of curriculum has its roots in the Latin word for a race-course, and explained curriculum
as the course of deeds and experiences in which children become the adults that they should be, for
success in adult society. He explained, further, that curriculum must be understood as encompassing
not only those experiences that take place within schools, but the entire scope of formative experience
both within and outside of schools. Further, this includes experiences that are not planned or directed,
as well as experiences that are intentionally directed (in or out of school) for the purposeful formation
of adult members of society. (See image at right.)
Bobbitt saw curriculum as an arena for social engineering. His formulation suffers from at least two
serious problems: 1) He assumed that "scientific" experts would be qualified and justified in designing
curricula based on expert knowledge of what qualities are desirable in adult members of society, and
what experiences would produce those qualities; and (2) in his definition of curriculum as the
experiences that someone ought to have in order to become the kind of adult that they ought to become,
he was defining curriculum as an ideal, rather than as the reality of whatever course of experience in
actuality forms people as they do actually take form.
Contemporary views of curriculum would reject these features of Bobbitt's material, but they retain the
basic notion of curriculum as the course of experience in which human being takes form. The
formation of human being through curriculum is studied not only at the level of the individual person,
but also at the level of groups, cultures, and societies (as, for example, in the formation of a profession
or an academic discipline through the course of its historical experience). The formation of a group is
seen as taking place reciprocally with the formation of its individual participants.
Although it appeared formally in Bobbitt's definition, the notion of curriculum as the course of
formative experience is also pervasive in the work of John Dewey (who seriously disagreed with
Bobbitt on important issues), in Dewey's work on education spanning decades before and after
Bobbitt's work. Although this understanding of "curriculum" may be different from some common uses
of the word, it continues to be shared as a common understanding among curriculum professionals and
researchers who take conflicting positions on a variety of other issues. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum).
Core curriculum is a curriculum, or course of study, which is deemed central and usually made
mandatory for all students of a school or school system. Core curricula are often instituted, at the
primary and secondary levels, by school boards, Departments of Education, or other administrative
agencies charged with overseeing education. At the undergraduate level, individual college and
university administrations and faculties sometimes mandate core curricula, especially in the liberal arts.
But because of increasing specialization and depth in the student's major field of study, a typical core
curriculum in higher education mandates a far smaller proportion of a student's course work than a high
school or elementary school core curriculum prescribes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_curriculum).
The concept hidden curriculum expresses the idea that schools do more than simply transmit
knowledge, as laid down in the official curricula. Behind it lies criticism of the social implications,
political underpinnings, and cultural outcomes of modern educative activities. While early
examinations were concerned with identifying the anti-democratic nature of schooling, later studies
have taken various tones, including those concerned with socialism, capitalism, and anarchism in
education.
John Dewey explored the hidden curriculum of education in his early 20th century works, particularly
his classic, Democracy and Education. Dewey saw patterns evolving and trends developing in public
schools which lent themselves to his pro-democratic perspectives. His work was quickly rebutted by
educational theorist George Counts, whose 1929 book, Dare the School Build a New Social Order
challenged the presumptive nature of Dewey's works. Where Dewey (and other child development
theorists including Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Maria Montessori) hypothesized a singular path
through which all young people travelled in order to become adults, Counts recognized the reactive,
adaptive, and multifaceted nature of learning. This nature caused many educators to slant their
perspectives, practices, and assessments of student performance in particular directions which affected
their students drastically. Counts' examinations were expanded on by Charles Beard, and later, Myles
Horton as he created what became the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee.
The phrase "hidden curriculum" was reportedly coined by the sociologist Phillip Jackson (Life In
Classrooms, 1968). He argued that we need to understand "education" as a socialization process.
Shortly after Jackson's coinage, MIT's Benson Snyder published The Hidden Curriculum, which
addresses the question of why students—even or especially the most gifted—turn away from
education. Snyder advocates the thesis that much of campus conflict and students' personal anxiety is
caused by a mass of unstated academic and social norms, which thwart the students' ability to develop
independently or think creatively.
The hidden curriculum has been further explored by a number of educators. Starting with Pedagogy of
the Oppressed, published in 1972, through the late 1990s, Brazilian educator Paulo Freire explored
various effects of presumptive teaching on students, schools, and society as a whole. Freire's
explorations were in sync with those of John Holt and Ivan Illich, each of whom were quickly
identified as radical educators.
More recent definitions were given by Meighan ("A Sociology of Educating", 1981):
The hidden curriculum is taught by the school, not by any teacher...something is coming
across to the pupils which may never be spoken in the English lesson or prayed about in
assembly. They are picking-up an approach to living and an attitude to learning.
and Michael Haralambos ("Sociology: Themes and Perspectives", 1991):
The hidden curriculum consists of those things pupils learn through the experience of
attending school rather than the stated educational objectives of such institutions.
Recently a variety of scholar/author/researchers, including Neil Postman, Henry Giroux, bell hooks,
and Jonathan Kozol have examined the effects of hidden curriculum. One increasingly popular
proponent, John Taylor Gatto, radically criticizes compulsory education in his book Dumbing Us
Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992).
As more is popularly learned about the sociological effects of educational institutional and curricular
design and how it can design and perpetuate particular forms of power, knowledge, and ignorance, it is
important to historically analyze the origins and choices of basic models and assumptions upon which
they are formed, seeking out motivations of the founders. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_curriculum).
Curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes that
defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the student should know
and be able to do. ]
A Curriculum Framework is part of a outcome-based education or standards based education reform
design. The framework is the first step, defining clear, high standards which will be achieved by all
students. The curriculum is then aligned to the standards, and students are assessed against the
standards. As compared with traditional education which is concerned only about delivering content, a
standards based education reform system promises that all will succeed if all are held to high
expectations. When the standards are reached, there will be no achievement gap where some groups are
allowed to score lower than others, or the disabled are offered different opportunities than others. All
will meet world class standards and be qualified for good colleges and trained for good jobs which pay
good wages. In a traditional education system, the curriculum was defined by those who created
textbooks rather than government bodies which assembled groups of stakeholders to create standards
based on consensus of what students should know and be able to do.
In some states, curriculum frameworks have been adopted based on traditional academic standards
rather than outcome-based constructivist standards, but many frameworks were originally or still based
on student-centered learning and constructivism such as standards-based mathematics, whole language
and Inquiry-based Science which have been controversial in some states and communities. High school
graduation examinations tie awarding of diplomas to demonstration of meeting the standards set out in
the frameworks. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum_framework).
Pedagogy (IPA: [ˈpɛdəˌgoʊdʒi]) , the art or science of being a teacher, generally refers to strategies
of instruction, or a style of instruction[1]. The word comes from the Ancient Greek παιδαγωγέω
(paidagōgeō; from παῖς (child) and ἄγω (lead)): literally, "to lead the child”. In Ancient Greece,
παιδαγωγός was (usually) a slave who supervised the education of his master’s son (girls were not
publicly educated). This involved taking him to school (διδασκαλεῖον) or a gym (γυμνάσιον), looking
after him and carrying his equipment (e.g. musical instruments). [2]
The Latin-derived word for pedagogy, education[3], is nowadays used in the English-speaking world to
refer to the whole context of instruction, learning, and the actual operations involved with that,
although both words have roughly the same original meaning. In the English-speaking world the term
pedagogy refers to the science or theory of educating.[4]
Pedagogy is also sometimes referred to as the correct use of teaching strategies (see instructional
theory). For example, Paulo Freire referred to his method of teaching adults as "critical pedagogy". In
correlation with those teaching strategies the instructor's own philosophical beliefs of teaching are
harbored and governed by the pupil's background knowledge and experiences, personal situations and
environment as well as learning goals set by the student as well as the teacher. One example would be
the Socratic schools of thought.[5]
An academic degree, Ped.D., Doctor of Pedagogy, is awarded honorarily by some American
universities to distinguished educators (in the US and UK earned degrees within the education field are
classified as an Ed.D., Doctor of Education or a Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy). The term is also used to
denote an emphasis in education as a specialty in a field (for instance, a Doctor of Music degree "in
piano pedagogy"). (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy).