Assessment

Why Assess Student Learning?

We all know… at STU's , we are deeply committed to excellence in teaching.

We are often less clear about how to reflect on students’ learning beyond traditional testing measures. Furthermore, we are less clear on engaging in cross-disciplinary dialogue about measuring the quality of student learning.

We all know… that higher education is being held ever more accountable by:

• the Federal Government, which determines the level of financial aid to make available to unversity and university students;
• Accreditation Agencies, which determine licensure for unversitys and universities;
• Students and their Families, who regularly use online searches such as "STU's University Guide, University Facts, University Secrets, SuperMatch,"  etc. to determine the value of a unversity or university to them.

We are often less clear about how assessment of student learning is linked to accountability. How they are similar but not the same thing.

How to get beyond these challenges?

If we truly believe in the importance of student learning, we need to know what students are doing well in order to make improvements. We have recently established evidence-based procedures at STU's  that are thoughtful, valid, and based on best practices.

What Are Characteristics of Good Assessment?

Keep it simple; make it useful. Not measuring everything every year; based on a workable assessment cycle.

Assessment Cycle

• Generating good data (Year 1)
• Analyzing the data (Year 2)
• Implementing change based on evidence (Year 3)

What is the difference between TESTING and ASSESSING?

While they may both serve as DIRECT MEASURES of student learning, they do not necessarily have the same function…

• “Testing” most often measures lessons learned in a particular course, over a specific timeframe (i.e. chapter tests; midterm exams).
• “Testing” usually evaluates an array of skills (define, explain, solve, analyze, design, etc.) at a time as they reflect the particular course content and the level of the course (100-level, 200-level, etc.) within the program.
• “Testing” typically focuses on achievement of an individual student in a particular course.

Whereas…

• “Assessing” generally considers a particular skill or skill set.
• “Assessing” considers students’ development of a particular skill/skill set over time (i.e., throughout their undergraduate studies).
• “Assessing” seeks to identify areas needing improvement, with its basic notion of continuous program improvement, rather than aiming to “get an A.”
• “Assessing” focuses not only on learning through coursework, but in co-curricular settings, in General Education, etc. to reflect on the quality of the student’s undergraduate experience.

What has changed for Academic Departments and Programs?

• Establishing: Establishing SLOs for departments and programs
• Creating: Creating a curricular map of SLOs for major, minor and core courses
• Gathering: Gathering direct evidence of student learning, informed by (but not limited to) the VALUE Rubrics, as well as current disciplinary standards, major field tests, etc.
• Including: Including external reviews as part of program review.
• Formulating: Formulating an assessable 5-year plan post Program Review to chart departmental and programmatic development.