Advancing Engineering Education with a Comprehensive and Continuous Course Assessment Framework

Course assessment plays a crucial role in engineering education, offering valuable insights into student progress and course effectiveness.Traditional course assessment methods, which primarily rely on end-of-semester evaluations, provide feedback only after the course has concluded, hindering opportunities for timely adjustments to improve student learning in the current semester.In response, this paper proposes a comprehensive course assessment framework that begins from the semester's start, aiming to achieve the desired outcomes by its end.This framework relies on summative assessments, such as unit tests, midterms, and finals, to evaluate student understanding at key points in the course.This approach allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of student achievement against course objectives and facilitates the identification of areas for course improvement.The proposed course assessment framework offers several advantages over traditional methods.Firstly, it provides ongoing feedback to students, enabling them to address shortcomings early in the learning process.Secondly, it prioritizes deeper understanding and application of concepts, fostering a more meaningful learning experience.Lastly, it provides a more holistic view of student learning by incorporating summative assessments.While the proposed framework can be implemented across a wide range of engineering courses, tailoring it to the specific needs of the course and the students is crucial.