Chapter 1. The process of developing assessment

Planning can be defined as “a process of taking decisions for future actions in order to achieve pre-determined objectives by optimum utilization of available resources in a limited time frame”. Thus a pre-condition for planning is the existence of certain objectives which need to be achieved and constraints in this respect are time and resources. Here resources include all the three types of resources namely physical (or material), financial and human resources. It is said that we plan because we have limited resources and we have to achieve our objectives within the constraint of these limited resources.

The first step in developing a plan for education is to diagnose the educational situation. A diagnosis of the education system is an important and initial step towards developing plan. Diagnosis forms an important step in understanding the system itself. Diagnosis in planning is a process of making a realistic assessment regarding what and how much has already been achieved till now.

Diagnosis in the context of educational planning is an effort to make a fair assessment of achievements and constraints. It is very likely that what is achieved may be less than what was expected as per the targets set in the earlier plan. There may be various reasons for this under achievement. The diagnosis exercise attempts to identify these constraints so that they are removed while implementing the next plan. It may also be found that sometimes the under achievement of the targets may be due to various constraints imposed on the educational system from within or outside. It may often be difficult to analyse what happens to education system without reference to what happens at the household level or at the immediate environment in which the schools are functioning. For example, for knowing the reasons of non-enrolment of children one may have to analyze not only school related factors but also education related factors that operate in the social and economic realm of the society.

The purpose of educational specifications is to define the programmatic, functional, spatial, and environmental requirements of the educational facility, whether new or remodeled, in written and graphic form for review, clarification, and agreement as to scope of work and design requirements by the architect, engineer, and other professionals working on the building design.

Educational specifications must begin with a thorough, in-depth explanation of curriculum goals and instructional activities that occur within the learning environment.

A detailed description of the educational program enables complete and accurate descriptions of functional and spatial needs and – in the end – successful design.