Evaluating Pacific Curriculum: Making Learning Relevant

There is often confusion in education about the terms assessment and evaluation, which many people use interchangeably. This is not strictly correct and for the discussion which follows, the term assessment is used exclusively in terms of the assessment of pupil performance. Evaluation, on the other hand, is defined as the collection of information to make decisions about resources, facilities, programmes or teaching facilities. This is a much broader process and assessment information obviously may contribute to the information base of evaluation. Scriven (1967) has distinguished between formative and summative evaluation.