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Language Program Evaluation: Decisions, Problems and Solutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2008

James Dean Brown
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Extract

In referring to evaluation, this chapter is not describing the testing that is done in language programs. As Alderson put it, “evaluation is the process of seeking to establish the value of something for some purpose, a test is an instrument for gauging learning outcomes” (1986:5, emphasis added). The use of the word testing will refer only to the instruments. The term evaluation will be used to include all of the instruments and processes involved in gathering information to make judgements about the value of an educational program. More precisely, language program evaluation will be understood as the systematic collection and analysis of information necessary to improve a curriculum, assess its effectiveness and efficiency, and determine participants' attitudes within the context of a particular institution (Brown 1989; 1995).

Type
Language Assessment and Program Evaluation
Information
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics , Volume 15 , March 1995 , pp. 227 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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