CHAPTER 12 Curriculum Evaluation

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356Evaluation has a long history. As Guba and Lincoln (1981) pointed out, a Chinese emperor in 2200 required that his public officials demonstrate their proficiency in formal competency tests. In the United States, the concern for evaluating schools can be traced at least as far back as the recommendations of the Committee of Ten, which at the end of the 19th century set perhaps the first example of evaluative standards for the nation s secondary schools (National Education Association, 1969). In recent years, how-ever, the interest in Curriculum Evaluation in particular has seemed to increase markedly. The public s insistence on educational accountability, the experts demands for educa-tional reform, and the educators concomitant need for evidence of results have all con-tributed to the current interest in theories and methods of Curriculum Evaluation .

clients. Further, the measurement can be oriented to meet the needs of any school district— from large to small—and it can focus on a specific evaluation of a district’s curriculum area, such as reading, language arts, math, or any content area designated. The models (Tyler’s

  Evaluation, Measurement, Curriculum, Curriculum evaluation