Transcript Rethinking Student Learning Assessment

MSCHE Student Learning Assessment Institute
September 2009
What Does Middle States
Want?
Linda Suskie, Vice President
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
3624 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104
Web: www.msche.org E-mail: [email protected]
What Should You Document?
• Clear statements of goals
• Organized, sustained assessment process
– Principles, guidelines, support
– What assessments are already underway
– What assessments are planned, when, & how
• Assessment results documenting progress
toward accomplishing goals
• How results have been used for improvement
How Might You Document This?
• Need not be a fancy bound document!
• Need not be in a consistent format or single
repository
• An overview in the report to MSCHE
• A chart or “roadmap” in the report to MSCHE or an
appendix
• More thorough information in the on-site “resource
room,” online, and/or burned onto CD
• A few samples of student work
– Exemplary, adequate, inadequate
Tell a story.
• Key questions to address:
– What have you learned about student
learning?
– What are you doing about what you have
learned?
– When, where, and how are you doing it?
• Focus on “big news.”
– Identify meaningful vs. insignificant
differences.
Questions
an MSCHE Reviewer Might Ask
Is the Institution Engaged in
“Good” Assessment?
Used
Cost
effective
Valued
Clear &
important
goals
Reasonably
accurate &
truthful results
For Each Goal…
• How is the goal being assessed?
• What are the results of those assessments?
• How have those results been used for
improvement?
Goals
Assessments
Improvements
Do Institutional Leaders Support and
Value a Culture of Assessment?
• Is there adequate support for assessment?
– Overall guidance, coordination, resources
• Are assessment efforts recognized &
valued?
• Are efforts to improve teaching recognized &
valued?
How Much Has Been Implemented?
• Are there any missing pieces?
What Do Assessment Results Tell Us?
• Do results
demonstrate…
– Achievement of
mission and
goals?
– Sufficient
academic rigor?
Have Assessment Results Been Used?
• Have they been appropriately shared &
discussed?
• Have they led to appropriate decisions?
– Curricula and pedagogy
– Programs and services
– Resource allocation
– Institutional goals and plans
Is the Process Sustainable?
• Simple
• Practical
• Detailed
• Ownership
• Appropriate
timelines
Where is the Institution Going with
Assessment?
• Will momentum slow after this review?
• What Commission action will most help
the institution keep moving?
Five “Rules” for Assessment
1. Keep it useful.
2. Tie assessments to important goals.
3. For student learning, include some
“direct” evidence.
4. Use multiple measures.
5. Keep doing something everywhere,
every year.
Encourage Volunteers for
Middle States Evaluation Teams!
• We need:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Presidents
Provosts
• To volunteer:
Finance VPs
– Have your resume
Assessment coordinators
handy
Online learning
– Go to www.msche.org
General education
– Click on “Evaluators”
Every academic discipline
Planning
Institutional research
Everything else!