The curriculum-instruction-assessment triad

Abstract

International experiences demonstrate that different research traditions lead to different strategies to explain and to develop educational progress. There is a European tradition which focusses for the curriculum and instruction domains on a subject-didactical endeavor, but does not develop comparably an assessment culture. On the other hand we find a mainly US-american dominated tradition (also strongly supported by psychology) which foster the assessment domain under a neglect of content and teaching/learning conditions. By pointing out the mutual dependency of curriculum, instruction and assessment - as it is expressed by the triad metaphor - the necessity is underlined to develop consequently, simultaneously and co-ordinatedly the dimensions of curriculum, instruction and assessment with their interdependency. Necessity and advantages of this approach are worked out.