The Art of Evaluation is essential reading for educators and prospective educators who are concerned about the critical role of evaluation in the learning process and want to know how to improve their own assessment approaches and enable learners to assume active, meaningful roles in evaluating their own learning. An instructor can know all there is to know about evaluation and still have a difficult time evaluating students well. This book offers practical ways to plan evaluation and develop tools to record and report learner growth. The underlying theme is that good evaluation involves the learner throughout the whole learning experience and is not simply a judgment by an instructor at the end of a course. The book systematically reviews many aspects of learner evaluation from different perspectives and provides practical suggestions about how to conduct evaluation in different contexts to benefit all concerned. This book is intended as an introduction to learner evaluation in various contexts of adult education. We have attempted to address issues and provide examples that would fit the interests of students of adult education, new college and university teachers, trainers in business and government and consultants whose work involves learner evaluation. Every educator works within a unique context of learners, purposes, structures, and cultures.

Every reader, therefore, needs to be critical and selective when choosing among the materials offered in this book. Some of it will suit you, some may not fit your philosophy or your situation, and some will need adaptation to be useful in your work.