Common Assessment Terms
Assessment of Student Learning: Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about an educational program for the purpose of improving our programs and student learning. Formative assessment is done for the purpose of improving programs. Summative assessment is for the purpose of determining if objectives have been met. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Assessment Steps:
Develop learning outcomes - sometimes called learning goals or objectives.
Check for alignment between the curriculum and the outcomes. (Do we teach it?)
Determine direct (as well as indirect if desired) measures for the outcome(s) to be assessed.
Collect student work products – exams, assignments, projects, papers, portfolios, evaluations of oral presentations etc.
Assess student work and determine if students are meeting the program's expectations.
Where appropriate, consider changes to improve student learning.
Examine the assessment process itself and change as necessary.
Benchmark: The level of attainment expected of students.
Closing the Loop: Action taken as a result of assessment activities intended to improve the educational program and student learning.
Curricular Alignment: Courses and other opportunities within the curriculum are aligned with learning outcomes to ensure that students have sufficient, and appropriate, opportunities to achieve the learning outcomes.
Curriculum Map: Clearly stating where outcomes are addressed within the educational program. Typically placing outcomes on the vertical axis and courses on the horizontal access and indicating where the outcomes are addressed or where they are introduced, practiced/reinforced, and mastered.
Direct Assessment: Assessments that involve the examination of student work product or performance, intended to demonstrate a specific learning outcome or outcomes; such as, local or external examinations, test items, assignments, written papers, lab reports, oral presentations, projects, performances, or portfolios.
Embedded Assessment: A method of gathering student work products that is an existing part of a course. While individual assignments can be used to evaluate and grade individuals, aggregated information can be used to provide information about a learning outcome for the program. The use of student work that is being evaluated for a course is also useful in increasing the likelihood that students are motivated to perform well – unlike voluntary/ungraded assessments.
Indirect Assessment: Secondary evidence or perceptions about student learning. This form of assessment can complement what faculty learn from direct measures with information about satisfaction, perceptions of achievement, and perceptions of value. Indirect assessments often include exit surveys and focus groups, alumni surveys, employer surveys, and interviews.
Learning Goals: Broad descriptions of what will occur in a course or program.
This course is an introduction to research problems, designs, and procedures.
Students will be introduced to various models and approaches of problem solving.
Learning Objectives: Specific skills and knowledge that students can exhibit that reflect the broader outcomes and goals.
Frame a research question
Conduct a literature review
Develop a testable hypothesis
Design a feasible research protocol…
Learning Outcomes: Outcomes: Brief measurable statements that describe essential learning (knowledge, skills, and abilities) that students can demonstrate at specific points within their program or by the completion of the degree.
At the end of this course students can design and execute a research study.
Portfolios: Collections of pieces of student work generally compiled over time and generally scored using rubrics. Students can be instructed to include specific work products within their portfolios or can include elements that they feel best demonstrate how they meet learning outcomes (often with a reflection component).
Program Level Assessment: An ongoing process to monitor and improve student learning using the assessment steps. Program level assessment uses the degree program, department, and sometimes courses as the level of analysis instead of the individual student, however, individual student work is aggregated to provide information at the program level.
Rubric: A scoring tool that describes the specific expectations for a task, activity, or product; identifies the relevant criteria; and provides a short description of what is expected at different levels of achievement. Can be holistic by providing a single score for student work based on an overall impression of student work or analytic in which scores are provided for multiple criteria of performance.
Value Added: The increase in learning that occurs during a course, program, or undergraduate education. Gains can be examined with a focus on the individual or a cohort of students. This approach requires a baseline measurement for comparison.