In this newsletter many of the articles are concerned with the use of assessment data and the extent to which it should be shared. At our November 15th Assessment Planning Committee meeting, Sally Frazee will share results from Temple's New Student Questionnaire and Temple University's Student Questionnaire for the committee to consider.
Best Practice at TempleSchools and Colleges are taking different approaches to posting student learning goals on their websites to good effect: click here to see some examples. Assessment Is No Joke | From the Bell Tower By Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Library Journal, 11/12/2009From the Office of Measurement and Research: Temple University uses a series of nationally and locally constructed surveys and questionnaires to measure students' experiences, perceptions, and engagement with the university. New students to the university complete the New Student Questionnaire. Each year, continuing students complete a campus climate and experiences survey. In alternating years, students complete either the NSSE or the Temple Student Questionnaire.
| The following article in the Chronicle explores the ways colleges collect assessment and yet hesitate to use it. The NSSE and the VSA are mentioned.It's Not How Much Student Data You Have, but How You Use ItBy Sara Lipka November 4, 2010 You may want to take a look at the following NSSE publication, that was referenced in the article above, in which you will find descriptions of the use of NSSE data at colleges and universities. Using NSSE to Assess and Improve Undergraduate Education: Lessons from the Field 2009The following article by Linda Suskie is a reflection on assessment and its potential worth. "So before we start another assessment cycle, we need to sit back and reflect, starting with my favorite assessment question, “Why?” Why are we assessing this particular goal and not others? Why do we think this particular goal is so important? Why did we choose this particular assessment strategy? How has it been helpful? And has its value been in proportion to the time and money we’ve spent on it?" Why Are We Assessing?
The following article describes an initiative of the New Leadership Alliance that focuses on publishing assessment results and using assessment results. It is being supported by 71 college and university presidents. 'Collective Action' on Assessing Learning
Sample of a university and its president's public commitment posted on the New Leadership Alliance website: Indiana State University
PRESIDENTIAL COMMITMENTS
Excerpt from an article in Inside Higher Ed that captures some of the debate around NSSE and its use. "For example, he said that one college was getting lower scores than would be desirable for NSSE’s measures of academic challenge, and that those lower scores also resulted in smaller gains in critical thinking skills. Wabash followed up with in-depth interviews with faculty members, many of whom said that they were holding back on homework out of the fear that their students were working too long hours in jobs to handle the homework. Using answers to other NSSE questions, Blaich said he was able to show the faculty members that they were overestimating the hours students at this college were working, and so could add assignments. They did so, and appear to be getting the desired gains, he said." See the link to the article below: Turning Surveys Into Reforms
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| Three Basic Questions for Evaluating Teaching | Instruments of Evaluation |
| Are the learning objectives of the course being met? Are students being inspired and motivated to think analytically and creatively and to develop habits of mind appropriate to the discipline |
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| Are the course material, concepts, and activities rigorous, current, relevant for students' needs, and consonant with the announced course description? |
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| Do students perceive themselves to be well taught? |
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Resources
- “Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning” by American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) (3 page
) - “A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning” by L. Dee Fink (36 page )
- “Beyond Confusion: An Assessment Glossary” by Andrea Leskes (3 page )
- “Designing Student Assessment to Strengthen Institutional Performance in Doctoral and Research Institutions” by Marvin Peterson et al (118 page )
- “Why Aren't Grades Enough?” -- a collection of thoughts (4 page )
- “Measuring Quality: Choosing Among Surveys and Other Assessments of College Quality” by Victor M.H. Borden and Jody L. Zak Owens (44 page )
- “Assessment Notes” by Eric Soulsby (143 page )
Articles and Reports
- “From Teaching to Learning – A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education” by Robert Barr and John Tagg (14 page ) ( NetID login required for this article )
- “Doing Assessment As If Learning Matters Most” by Thomas Angelo (4 page )
- “Are colleges failing? Higher Ed Needs New Lesson Plans” by Derek Bok (2 page )
- “Looking Where the Light is Better: A Review of the Literature on Assessing Higher Education Quality” by Marc Chun (10 page )
- “What Does College Teach?” by Richard Hersh (5 page )
- “How Can Assessment Work for Us?” by Sherry Lee Linkon (5 page )
- “Auditing Higher Education to Improve Quality” by William Massy (4 page )
- “Academic Audit Questions for Faculty Discussion” by William Massy, et al (2 page )
- “The Case for Authentic Assessment” by Grant Wiggins (4 page )
- “Toward Assessment Worthy of the Liberal Arts” by Grant Wiggins (10 page )
- “Measuring Higher Education: A Compendium of Assessment Instruments for Colleges and Universities” by Public Impact (Lucy M. Steiner, Bryan C. Hassel, and Steven J. Tepper) prepared for the Teagle Foundation November 2004 (21 page )
- “Accountability for Better Results: A National Imperative for Higher Education” by National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education 10 March 2005 (42 page )
- “Improving Student Learning in Higher Education Through Better Accountability and Assessment” by NASULGC April 2006 (25 page )
- “Elements of Accountability for Public Universities and Colleges” by NASULGC 6 July 2006 Draft (13 page )
- “A Culture of Evidence: Postsecondary Assessment and Learning Outcomes” by ETS June 2006 (40 page)
- “Spellings Commission_A Test of Leadership - Charting the Future of US Higher Education” by Commission on the Future of Higher Education September 2006 (76 page )
- “NASULGC and AASCU's Voluntary System of Accountability” by David Shulenburger May 2007 (9 page )
- “U-CAN: The NAICU Consumer Information Template” by NAICU 25 June 2007 (4 page )
Assessment References
Allen, Mary J., Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education, Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2004
Allen, Mary J., Assessing General Education Programs, Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2006
Anderson, Lorin W. and Krathwohl, David R. (Eds.) with Airasian, Peter W., Cruikshank, Kathleen A., Mayer, Richard E., Pintrich, Paul R., Raths, James, and Wittrock, Merlin C., A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 2001.
Bain, Ken, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard University Press, 2004
Banta, Trudy W., Lund, Jon P., Black, Karen E. and Oblander, Frances W., Assessment in Practice: putting principles to work on college campuses by Jossey-Bass, 1996
Banta, Trudy W. and Associates (editors), Building a Scholarship of Assessment, Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, 2002
Bloom, Benjamin S. (Ed.), Englehart, Max D., Furst, Edward J., Hill, Walker H., and Krathwohl, David R.,Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain, David McKay Company, Inc. New York, 1954, 1956.
Bransford, John D., Brown, Ann L., and Cocking, Rodney R. (editors), How People Learn; National Research Council Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning; National Academy Press, 1999
Bresciani, Marilee J., Zelna, Carrie L. and Anderson, James A., Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Handbook for Practitioners, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), 2004
Brown, George, Bull, Joanna, and Pendlebury, Malcolm, Assessing Student Learning in Higher Education, Routledge, New York, 1997
Diamond, Robert M., Designing and Assessing Courses & Curricula, Jossey-Bass Inc., 1998
Eder, Douglas J., “General Education Assessment Within the Disciplines”, The Journal of General Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 135-157, 2004.
Erwin, T. Dary, Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes, Jossey-Bass Inc., 1991
Fulks, Janet, “Assessing Student Learning in Community Colleges”, Bakersfield College, 2004 obtained at http://online.bakersfieldcollege.edu/courseassessment/Default.htm
Harrow, Anita J., A taxonomy of the psychomotor domain: a guide for developing behavioral objectives, David McKay Company, Inc., 1972
Hernon, Peter and Dugan, Robert E. (Editors), Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education: Views and Perspectives, Libraries Unlimited, A Member of the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2004
Heywood, John, Assessment in Higher Education, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd, London, 2000
Huba, Mary E. and Freed, Jann E., Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning, Allyn & Bacon, 2000
Kirkpatrick, Donald L., Evaluating Training Programs: the four levels, 2nd edition, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1998
Krathwohl, David R., Bloom, Benjamin S., and Masia, Bertram B., Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook II: Affective Domain, Longman Inc., 1964
Mager, Robert F., Preparing Instructional Objectives, Fearon Publishers 1962
Mager, Robert F., Preparing Instructional Objectives: A critical tool in the development of effective instruction 3rd edition, The Center for Effective Performance, Inc. 1997
Maki, Peggy L., Assessing for Learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the institution, Stylus Publishing, LLC, American Association for Higher Education, 2004
Nichols, James O. and Nichols, Karen W., A Road Map for Improvement of Student Learning and Support Services Through Assessment, Agathon Press, 2005
Pagano, Neil, “Defining Outcomes for Programs and Courses”, June 2005 Higher Learning Commission Workshop Making a Difference in Student Learning: Assessment as a Core Strategy, available at http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/download/Pagano_DefiningOutcomes.pdf
Palomba, Catherine A. and Banta, Trudy W., Assessment Essentials: planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education, Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999
Pellegrino, James W. , Chudowsky, Naomi and Glaser, Robert (editors); Knowing What Students Know: The science and design of educational assessment, Committee on the Foundations of Assessment, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council, National Academy Press, 2001
Prus, Joseph and Johnson, Reid, “A Critical Review of Student Assessment Options”, in "Assessment & Testing Myths and Realities" edited by Trudy H. Bers and Mary L. Mittler, New Directions for Community Colleges, Number 88, Winter 1994, pp. 69-83.
Stevens, Dannelle D. and Levi, Antonia J., Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback, and Promote Student Learning, Stylus Publishing, 2005
Suskie, Linda, Assessing Student Learning: A common sense guide, Anker Publishing Company, 2004
Tagg, John, The Learning Paradigm College, Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2003
Terenzini, Patrick T., “Assessment with open eyes: Pitfalls in studying student outcomes.” Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6, pp. 644-664, November/December 1989.
Walvoord, Barbara E. and Anderson, Virginia J., Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment, Jossey-Bass, 1998
Walvoord, Barbara E., Assessment Clear and Simple, John Wiley & Sons, 2004