Assessment Resources

Office of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness

 

Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) Initiative:

On Solid Ground: VALUE Report 2017

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) reports on a nationwide effort to examine direct evidence of student learning across higher educational institutions in the United States. The VALUE initiative bases assessment  of student learning achievement on actual work that students produce and engages the expertise of trained higher education faculty to judge the quality of the student work in relation to widely accepted standards for each or the learning outcomes through faculty-developed VALUE rubrics. (View all VALUE Rubrics)

 Assessment Bibliographies, Publications, Organizations, Conferences

Developing Student Learning Outcomes

The University of Texas at Austin Teaching and Learning Center  provides guidelines and tips on creating effective student learning outcomes. Examples are provided as well as a checklist and essential outcome components. The information is helpful to those developing new learning outcomes or to those interested in strengthening their supporting evidence that current outcomes are task specific, measurable, student-oriented and align with the program mission statement.

Authentic Assessment Toolbox

John Mueller explores the process and rational for an alternative (authentic) model of assessment in his article Authentic Assessment Toolbox for Higher Ed Faculty. Mueller provides examples of students performing "real-world tasks'' that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills. Mueller also describes how to construct such authentic assessments to improve student learning within any academic program. The Authentic Assessment Toolbox website provides excellent examples of using student portfolios for assessment.

Developing Assessment Methods at Classroom, Unit and Universitywide Levels

Trudy Banta presents a comprehensive review on the definitions of outcomes assessment, characteristics of effective assessment and using assessment findings. The paper also provides practical guidelines for involving stakeholders in assessment. The rationale to include both direct and indirect measures in good assessment practices is discussed along with examples of each measurement type. Additionally, learning outcome action verbs that reflect higher order thinking skills using Bloom's Taxonomy provide the reader with information that may be adapted to any academic program or co-curricular program.