DESIGNING VIABLE ASSESSMENT PLANS

Considering Important Questions in Assessment

Why are you doing assessment?

You have to.   Accreditation in higher education requires evidence. Departments now routinely face requirements for verifying that the institution can live up to its mission statement. An external mandate for assessment will not produce the best conditions for assessment practices, but required assessment planning has become an operational reality in higher education.

You want to.   Faculty recognize that sound assessment practices will provide appropriate feedback about the quality of the education they offer. The results can influence changes in curriculum practices and lead to improvement in student learning.

Who is the target of assessment?

Students.   We can assess the attitudes and performance of students at various stages throughout the curriculum and after graduation as alumni.

Faculty.  Faculty quality can be assessed through peer review, student evaluations, administrator critique, or external review.

Program Quality.  Although students provide the data source, the target for improvement will often be the program itself.

When and where do you assess?

Classroom Grading.  Course performance judged by the instructor of record for a course does provide a measure of student learning. However, uncorroborated judgment within a class does not typically meet the more strenuous requirements advocated by accrediting agencies.

Embedded Assessment.   Departments demonstrate efficient planning when they embed assessment practices in existing coursework. The department agrees in which courses this data collection should occur and collectively design the strategy and use the data to provide feedback about student progress within the program.

Milestone.   Some programs may designate certain gate-keeping courses as opportunities to capture specific skills levels. An example of embedded assessment is the acceptable production of an APA-style experimental paper as a benchmark of learning experimental psychology. Capstone courses may routinely provide an assessment opportunity that reflects development up to that point.

Pre-post Comparisons.  Departments may measure knowledge and abilities on the front end of a program to establish baseline for their students. They may re-administer the same instrument at the conclusion of the program to determine "value added" by the student's educational experiences.

"Assessment Days."  Many departments designate a common time to assess student progress. In some cases, classes may be canceled to facilitate completion of the work; however, care needs to be taken to insure student motivation in rendering solid performance.

After graduation.  Interest in alumni satisfaction and performance skills prompts many departments to assess students after they have graduated. Length of time can range from six months after graduation (e.g., typical length of time to look at employment success) to five years (e.g. typical length of time to look at graduate school completion rates/adjustment). Employers or graduate advisors may be asked to evaluate the former student's strengths and weaknesses.

What do you assess?

Achievement in the Major.  Assessment activity can establish how well students have learned the content, skills, and attitudes of the major. Quality is easiest to assess when the department has formulated explicit learning outcomes that characterize the major.

General Education Achievement.  Some institutions assess the overall development within the liberal arts.

Performance Patterns.  Programs may want answers to specific issues about student performance. For example, how do transfer students compare to students who have been in the program from the outset of their studies? How do female students compare to male students in their relative performances?

Impact of Faculty or Program.  Program faculty may want to determine what kind of impact the program or the faculty have had on students beyond their academic achievement. Satisfaction surveys, focus groups, and other strategies may help the faculty to address these questions.

Quality of Instructional Practice.   Faculty may want to evaluate whether a new instructional technique produces improved learning over other approaches. They may evaluate questions of this type through systematic comparison of student performances across semesters.

Who assesses?

Faculty.  Historically, faculty have been charged with evaluating the quality of their students' work. They remain the primary source of expert feedback on student performance in assessment activities.

Expert External Judges.  Assessors can provide feedback on student performance as long as they can be trained properly on performance criteria. Experts can be recruited from among other faculty or professionals in the community.

Peers.  Student colleagues can provide feedback on performance if properly trained on clear criteria.

Employers.  We can find out the quality of performance of our graduates by asking for a review of their work from current employers. Although the student is the focus, the attitudes being assessed are the employers.

Family.   Some strategies can involve assessing parental satisfaction with changes in their children as a result of education. Although the student is the focus of the assessment, the attitudes being assessed are the parents.

Students.  Students can evaluate their own performances through self-assessment strategies. Advocates of self-assessment suggest such practices can encourage student development and independence.

What is the quality of your assessment measures?

Validity and reliability of the measure.  The selected strategy needs to produce both a valid and reliable measure of learning. Students should be optimally motivated to engage in the assessment.

Appropriateness for the targeted learning goal as well as the mission and goal of the program.   The measure should be logically connected to the objectives of the assessment.

How will you use the assessment results?

Direct feedback to students/faculty.  In most cases, the individuals who are being assessed can benefit from feedback on their performances. An assessment experience can highlight both strengths and areas of potential weakness, which can have an impact on individual plans for improvement.

Systematic feedback for program improvement.  The results of assessment can be used by program faculty to determine strengths and weaknesses. Strengths can be used to enhance recruitment and procure resources. Weaknesses can be remediated once they have been recognized.

Benchmarking for program comparison.  In some institutions, programs may have to provide evidence of effectiveness for continued support. Clear indications of effectiveness may secure additional support funds.

How will you manage assessment obligations with other academic tasks?

Adjust loads to reflect assessment requirements.  Faculty members are unlikely to be successful or enthusiastic with assessment responsibilities treated as an "add on." Faculty loads must be adjusted to make time and space for the activities related to assessment. Provide release time for substantial assessment contributions.

Embed assessment activities, wherever possible.  Taking advantage of existing structures can reduce the impression that assessment is eating up discretionary time.

Reward successful assessment activity.  Assessment participation should receive public recognition and financial reward to enhance the incentive for faculty to participate.