Using intelligent computer technology to measure the intellectual development of engineering students

Students completing an undergraduate engineering degree are expected to develop intellectually in addition to acquiring specific engineering knowledge and skills. However, effectively measuring intellectual development involves a time-consuming and expensive interview conducted and evaluated by trained human experts. In order to develop a quick and inexpensive alternative method for making these measurements, the authors are writing a software package based on neural network and expert system technology to emulate the interview and evaluation process. If successful, the software will allow engineering programs to rapidly and reliably measure the intellectual development of their students as a formative and summative assessment tool. This paper describes their progress on the project and remaining research questions under investigation.