Curriculum-based exit exam for assessment of student learning

Curriculum-based exit exams play a crucial role in program assessment and measuring student achievement of program learning outcomes (PLOs). This study aims to examine the validity of using an internal exit exam as a direct assessment tool to evaluate student learning and attainment of PLOs. The validation entails evaluating and correlating students’ performance in the exit exam to that in corresponding coursework and their perception regarding attainment of the PLOs. Results highlighted inferior student performance in the exit exam compared to corresponding coursework, with a moderate degree of correlation at the program level. The survey response analysis indicated that students tended to overestimate their attainment level of PLOs and their preparation for the exit exam was not sufficient. Findings of this study would assist in the continuous improvement of prospective engineering programs and provide a framework for a proper analysis capable of examining the validity of curriculum-based assessment tools.