Structural Assessment of Cost of Quality

1 Richard L. Upchurch, CIS Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA 02747, [email protected] 2 Ann E. Kelley Sobel, Computer Science and Systems Analysis Department, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, [email protected] Abstract—Evolving accreditation standards require that software engineering programs, and perhaps even individual courses, demonstrate that students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively in professional practice. To this end, we must be able to assess our students to determine if we have achieved these goals. More problematic, in the assessment realm, is the difference between "knowledge in the head" and "knowledge in practice”. We need assessment methods to help us account for not only what is known, but how it is known. Structural Assessment may represent a valuable resource in this endeavor. This method assesses a student's knowledge of the relationships among concepts, methodologies, and problems within a particular domain, and may well illuminate the issues that require our attention. Through the use of concept maps, a particular method for representing and conveying structural knowledge, the assessment can be based upon the differences between learner's and expert's structural knowledge. In this paper, we detail our plan to develop and use structural assessment of cost of quality in undergraduate software engineering.