Every educational institution and population presents unique characteristics and requirements that make even the most comprehensive prior research incomplete in terms of the actual advisability of implementing changes in that educational environment (Lloyd, 2005).
Summative Evaluation
Summative evaluation must begin from the moment of initial implementation (IRI, 2008). It should cover both the immediate apparent response of and effect on learners as well as the apparent efficacy and appropriateness of the operational approach implemented by teachers initially. The former allows teachers to gauge, in real time, the degree to which the new changes seem to be received by students and the degree to which they seem to benefit their teaching objectives and learning outcomes. Sometimes, that process allows educators to identify practical difficulties and complications in their chosen methods of delivery that might not have been anticipated prospectively. Other times, that process allows educators to identify problems, deficiencies, and complications from the perspective of learners that suggest possible solutions and changes capable of resolving those problems and increasing the value of the new initiatives to learners (IRI, 2008; Lloyd, 2005).
Formative
As important as summative evaluation of the new educational processes is, it cannot replace the value of effective formative evaluation (IRI, 2008). First, summative evaluation is...
By contrast, formative evaluation processes do provide empirical data that is strictly objective; second, formative evaluation methods can provide methods of evaluating the new processes from the perspective of long-term benefits, including but not limited to long-term benefits, such as lesson matter retention (Lloyd, 2005).
References
Informal Reading Inventory (IRI): Assessment Procedures Manual Secondary (2008). St.
Paul Public Schools. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from:
http://specialed.spps.org/sites/fc868fe7-9c90-4bf3-acf0-17baf5d1a572/uploads/Informal_Reading_Inventory_Procedures_Manual_Secondary.pdf
Lascarides, V. And Hinitz, B. (2000). History of Early Childhood Education. New York:
Falmer Press.
Lloyd, S. "Evidence-based educational methods." Educational Psychology in Practice,
Vol. 21, No. 3; (2005): 252-253.
Robbins, S.P. And Judge, T.A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Vollmer, J. "Community Permission: The Prerequisite for Change: Realities of Community Involvement)." School Administrator. American Association of School Administrators. 2001. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77382240.html
