Program Evaluation and Assessment of Learning

Simulation-based education requires significant time and resources. As such, educators are often required to provide evidence that the program accomplishes the desired goals, and that the performance measures obtained in this format are valid and reliable. In this light, the current chapter provided an overview of two related concepts. Program evaluation is conducted to determine whether a program led to the desired outcomes (outcomes-based evaluation) and to determine how a program was implanted (process-based evaluation). In a related goal, assessment of learning is conducted to determine a learner’s level of knowledge or ability, and requires attention to ensuring the reliability and validity of the measures used.