Journal Review #3: Post/Outcome Evaluation Model

Kovalik, C. L., & Dalton, D. W. (1999). The process/outcome evaluation model: A conceptual framework for assessment. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 27, 183-194.

The adoption of alternative pedagogical philosophies in the classroom had led to an increased use of technology to expand and enhance authentic, contextual learning environments. Correspondingly these new approaches had also led to a growing dissatisfaction with existing evaluation methodologies to evaluate knowledge. Based on the premise that evaluation strategies should reflect the full range of the experiences of learning, the authors proposed the Process/Outcome Evaluation Model (POEM) to guide in the development of more holistic evaluations of both the learning process and the resultant outcomes of that process.

The POEM framework comprised an evaluation matrix that contained four categories of measurements: hard-outcome, hard-process, soft-outcome, and soft-process. These four components employed multiple evaluation techniques and strategies resulting in a composite assessment of the totality of a learning experience by examining both the learning process and the learning outcome. The POEM expanded and integrated existing evaluation models by providing tools that could help decode, interpret, and assess not only what was learned, but also how the learning occurred.

The authors suggested that the POEM should be viewed as a continuum, reliability and predictive validity increase as evaluation strategies moved from “soft” to “hard” categories. The POEM stressed equilibrium between objective/quantifiable and subjective/qualitative evaluation approaches. The value of the model was its depiction of a holistic framework for evaluation.