COMPUTER BASED-ASSESSMENT MEETING THE PROGRAM EVALUATION STANDARDS. ROMANIAN EXPERIENCE WITH BLACKBOARD TM . Manuela EPURE Center for European Studies and Mobility, Spiru Haret University, Fabricii Street, Bucharest, Romania mepure.mk@spiruharet.ro Adela Mihaela TARANU, Nadia Mirela FLOREA Teacher Training Department, Spiru Haret University, Ion Ghica Street, Bucharest, Romania mtaranu.dppd@spiruharet.ro, nflorea.dppd@spiruharet.ro Abstract: Using the Blackboard TM e-learning platform as a learning and assessment tool for five years already, brought us to the point of reevaluating and rethinking the evaluation process, shifting from traditional methods to the new and modern ones. A SWOT analysis was undertaken in order to reveal the main coordinates of the evaluation process in terms of advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and threats, while targeting as a final outcome a new approach and a new strategy, not only for the teaching staff, but mainly for the student’s benefit. This paper aims to identify t he functions of the Blackboard computer-based (CB) assessment, from the perspective of The Program Evaluation Standards (Stufflebeam, 1999), using as benchmarks the variables included in the Meta-evaluation Checklist. This checklist was developed by the Joint Committee Program Evaluation Standards for performing final, summative meta-evaluations; it incorporates a wide range of standards (30 items) as follows: Utility (7) Feasibility (3), Propriety (8), Accuracy (12). In this context, we attempt to demonstrate why the "Ethical Reflection" (Huotari, 2010), as a dimension of the evaluation, has become really important nowadays. Accordingly, the four steps/actions described by Huotari – Resources/Being, Interaction/Regeneration, Process /Doing, Outcomes (Effects)/Having – may be examined from the perspective of rethinking and revaluating assessment actions, at a superior level through direct and indirect connective actions. Moreover, the paper also intends to capture the long- term effects on the student’s personal development as a result of the evaluative actions supported by Blackboard. Understanding such effects is indispensable in terms of designing an adequate program for monitoring and training the evaluators, in the benefit of a more tailored CB assessment. Keywords: CBA, SWOT analysis, meta-evaluation, ethical reflection. I. INTRODUCTION In adapting to a knowledge-based society, education in the XXI century has increasingly adopted several teaching techniques based on the use of multimedia: interactive whiteboard, video capture technology mimio, Ael platform, Blackboard, etc. Influenced by their use, preparation and execution of educational activities is designed to capitalize on technological advancements and to harmonize the relevant information from various sources of digital content. In this context, assessment of learning outcomes with the use of a computer is absolutely necessary. Many studies have shown that the CB assessment is effective for enhancing the memorization process, but the impact of this instrument on higher cognitive skills is less clear. Students are not always aware of the effects the software has on their thought processes [1]. After all, the need for evaluation is not about identifying resources, it is about demonstrating how a particular courseware may or may be beneficial to a certain users’ population. In this modern world, the development of ICT technologies creates the framework of introducing computer-aid instruction to support or even to replace traditional instruction. In this