Some Methodological Considerations of Curriculum Evaluation Research

THE demonstration and descrip tion of effectiveness are principal concerns of every curriculum evaluation. The evalu ation designs constructed and used b> I'^e experimental curriculum developers to ac complish these purposes assume mony ^r,d varied modes. Examples of this variability are observable in the published literature describing experimental science curriculum projects such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science Commis sion on Science Education (1, 2), ESI (3), BSCS (4), PSSC (5, 6), and CBA (7, 8). One approach is to allow the author of the instructional materials to view the units being taught and to evaluate their success or failure on the basis of his observations. This tactic is usually applied to small seg ments of a complete instructional program. The author must be able to make the per sonal contacts necessary. The procedure as sumes a level of objectivity on behalf of the author which may be difficult to maintain with respect to the materials he has written. Some curriculum developers recognize the need for product evaluation, but do not choose to conduct the assessment. Two prac tices are commonly pursued by these groups. One procedure is to acknowledge the respon sibility to evaluate, but delegate it to another