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The article addresses the problem of evaluating graduate programs in Mexico. Since the 1970s, such evaluations have been consolidated for accreditation by outside agencies, and feedback on the programs' formative specifics has been prevented. The current study presents the results of a formative evaluation of the master's program in education at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California; the evaluation was based on the consumer-oriented model proposed by Michael Scriven. The results permitted providing feedback on the program according to the perspectives of direct and indirect consumers. In this manner, the study contributes to satisfying the need to reflect on the formative role of the evaluation of graduate programs in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the objectives of government program evaluation is to provide robust evidence in order to improve the performance of public interventions, and thus enable progress in the solution of social problems. However, in spite of the large number of external program evaluations in Mexico, few empirical studies have analyzed their influence on improving public policy instruments. This article presents the results of research on the effective use of evaluations in basic education programs from 2002 to 2012. The main findings show that the type of evaluation and the processes of communicating the results can be determining factors in the use of evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows the results of analyzing a set of tasks assigned and examinations given by an unrepresentative sample of second-, fifth- and sixth-grade teachers in the state of Nuevo León. The project started with a review of research on teachers' evaluation practices, followed by the preparation of an analytical framework with fundamental aspects of formative evaluation, such as the curriculum referents considered, instructions, feedback, levels of cognitive demand, and the form of evaluation. The study led to substantive as well as methodological conclusions. The classroom practices reflected in the evidence were found to lack a formative focus. It should be pointed out that the research was limited by the absence of additional information about the compiled tasks and examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of large-scale tests to evaluate learning has spread at the international level and in many national educational systems. Educational authorities and broad sectors of the population expect positive results in terms of the educational quality of these exercises, but their inadequate use also leads to negative effects that cause widespread rejection among teachers. One reaction has been increased interest in the potential of evaluations teachers carry out in the classroom, especially with the purpose of contributing elements for the improvement of learning; such evaluation is known as formative. This article presents the development of ideas on this sort of evaluation during recent decades, found in specialized literature in English and French. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]