The purpose of this review is to examine views about learning and the learner grounded in cognitive psychology and to discuss their implications for educational evaluation. The new perspectives about learning and the learner suggested by cognitive psychology imply changes in educational evaluation.
The first part of this paper compares perspectives about learning and the learner in cognitive psychology with traditional perspectives. The second part describes its implications for educational evaluation. Finally, the new directions of educational evaluation are also discussed.
Cognitive psychology, in conclusion, provides good ideas for new assessment strategies, methods, and tools in educational evaluation: (i) educational evaluation should be deeply diagnostic; (ii) educational evaluation should utilize both assessment tasks and analysis instruments that are capable of determining students' depth of understanding; (iii) educational evaluation should be used to improve learning and understanding; and (iv) educational evaluation needs new strategies for test validity.
Since educational evaluation is a very important instrument for optimum decision-making in education as well as in society, new strategies that come from cognitive psychology should be actualized in the whole educational system.