Outcomes assessment and program evaluation: partners in intervention planning for the educational environment

Accountability of educational institutions is a current trend in academia. Outcomes assessment provides a method of evaluating educational programs to ensure they are meeting their objectives. This paper presents an overview of outcomes assessment and describes its relationship to and integration with program evaluation. It also describes the implementation of an outcomes assessment program at Kean College of New Jersey, Union, New Jersey. A model for assessment within occupational therapy programs, which parallels a model for intervention planning, is introduced and discussed.