Assessments For Three Performance Areas In Capstone Engineering Design

Abstract

Capstone engineering design courses occupy pivotal positions in every engineering baccalaureate degree program. They are critical to preparing graduates with professional skills needed for innovative, responsible practice in a global environment, and they provide vital assessment data for ABET accreditation of degree programs. This paper describes assessment instruments developed for capstone engineering design courses, filling a crucial gap facing design educators. Seven assessment exercises are presented to address three areas of performance for capstone engineering design. Each exercise is accompanied by a scoring rubric structured around performance factors and five levels of performance. Suggestions given for utilization for formative and summative purposes make these assessments valuable for guiding student learning and assigning performance scores or