Differentiating assessment from evaluation as continuous improvement tools [for engineering education]

Unleashing the potential of continuous improvement in teaching/learning requires an appreciation of the difference in spirit between assessment and evaluation. Assessment is frequently confused and confounded with evaluation. The purpose of an evaluation is to judge the quality of a performance or work product against a standard. The fundamental nature of assessment is that a mentor values helping a mentee and is willing to expend the effort to provide quality feedback that will enhance the mentee´s future performance. While both processes involve collecting data about a performance or work product, what is done with these data in each process is substantially different and invokes a very different mindset. This paper reviews the,principles and mindset underlying quality assessment and then illustrates how feedback can be enhanced within the framework of structured assessment reports