Assessing Student Learning Outcomes

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Assessing Student Learning Outcomes

• Southwest Texas Junior CollegeAugust 2006
• Mary Frances Gibbonsmgibbons_at_dcccd.edu

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Options for Assessment

• Institutional Level Inter-disciplinary
  approaches
• Program Level Feasible
• Classroom Level Voluntary basis

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Two Important Definitions

• Intended Student-Learning OutcomeThis term
  describes what the departmental faculty intend
  for a student to think, know, or do when theyve
  completed a given educational program or
  gatekeeper course.

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Two Important Definitions, contd.

• Criteria for Program/Course Success The
  benchmark the department sets and against which
  the programs performance is judged. These
  criteria are most often measured in terms of
  percentages, percentiles, averages, or other
  quantitative measures.Note Not all students
  need to be assessed. Only a representative/collect
  ive group (30 when feasible) needs to be
  assessed.

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5 Steps of Assessment

• Create Expanded Statements of Institutional
  Purpose (Mission Statement and Goals)
• Identify Student Learning Outcomes
• Determine and implement means of assessment
• Analyze results
• Implement changes that reflect results
• Unwritten Step 6Document your results in
  past-tense verbs!

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1. Create Expanded Statements of Institutional
Purpose

• Review the SWTJC Mission Statement and
  Institutional Goals
• Discuss how your program fits with this
  information
• Create a mission statement and goals for your
  academic area (Identify who you are, what you
  do, for whom, and for what value)

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2. Identify Student-Learning Outcomes

• Using your Expanded Statements of Institutional
  Purpose, create a long list of student-learning
  outcomes
• Each faculty member will probably want to submit
  learning outcomes to the list
• Eliminate duplications from the long list
• Identify 3-5 student-learning outcomes to be
  assessed first

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3. Determine and Implement Means of Assessment

• Review your list of 3-5 student-learning outcomes
  annually
• Identify at least two means of assessment for
  each student-learning outcome to be measured

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Assessment Questions

• 1. Whom will you assess?2. When will you
  assess this group?3. What is your specific
  method of assessment?4. Who will judge the
  results?5. What will they use to evaluate the
  results? 6. How well should your group of
  students score?

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4. Analyze Results

• Review the results of your primary and secondary
  assessments
• Analyze your assessment results to determine what
  might need changing in your approach to achieving
  your goals

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5. Implement Changes to Reflect Results

• Goalto improve, not to prove!
• Implement changes that address your assessment
  findings
• A student-learning outcome may stay on the short
  list for another year or it may be replaced
• Process requires annual evaluation

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Final Thought About Process (Step 6)

• Remember to document your use of results to
  implement changes.
• Your Use of Results may become part of your Unit
  Action Plan
• If you fail to document these changes based on
  results, then the process never happened!

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Various Means of Assessment

• -standardized tests-locally created
  tests-embedded test items -faculty-created
  rubrics-focus groups
• -student/alum self-evaluations

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Suggestions

• Imbed assessment in classroom activities whenever
  possible
• Keep the identities of the faculty and students
  anonymous
• Begin creating grading rubrics to evaluate your
  activities

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Assessing StudentsGrading Rubrics

• Grading consistency
• Expectations clarified
• Improved student performance
• Valuable tool for assessing programs

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Goal for Assessment

• Goal to improvenot prove!
• Its about helping students succeed!