Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice · 1995 · 21 citations · 0 references
EducationEducational AssessmentQuality ManagementPerformance AssessmentPerformance MeasurementTotal Quality ManagementPerformance-based AssessmentQuality Of EducationStudent Achievement AnalysisStudent AssessmentStudent Learning Outcomes AssessmentEducational ProgramsProgram Learning AssessmentProgram Outcomes AssessmentProgram Quality AssessmentStudent Performance AnalysisStudent Performance Assessment
Many schools are being required to consider methods to assess the effectiveness of their programs. It has been suggested that student performance on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination can serve as an assessment tool of engineering programs. A case study is presented, which documents the attempt by one institution to use the exam to assess engineering programs. When student pass rates were perceived to be unacceptably low, a total quality management (TQM) action team was formed to investigate how student performance might be improved. The team discovered that factors besides the knowledge of engineering fundamentals can significantly influence pass rates, the greatest of which appears to be a student's level of motivation to pass. Although these other factors are difficult to quantify, they must be addressed before the exam can be used effectively and fairly as an assessment tool of engineering programs.