Program Assessment: Where Do We Start?

Scott ByingtonBiology Instructor, Harnett Campus

Lisa ChapmanDean, University Transfer, Allied Health, and

Developmental StudiesCentral Carolina Community College

Session Focus

• Reasons For Emphasis On Assessment

• Initiating Program Assessment– How do we determine what students need to

learn?– How do we know what they have learned?– What do we do with what we know about what

they have learned?

Assessment Exercise

• What is assessment?• What is a student learning outcome?• What is the last step in ‘closing the program

assessment loop’?• Give one example of a resource that can be used

to determine a program student learning outcome.

Report Produced by the Commission on the Future of

Higher Education• U.S. has taken its postsecondary

superiority for granted

• Other countries are educating more of their citizens to more advanced levels than the U.S. is

• Higher Education must become– More accessible

– More affordable

– More accountable

Assessment is . . .

The systematic collection and analysis of information to improve

student learning

OAPA Handbook PROGRAM-Based Review and Assessment • UMass Amherst

One of the 9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student

Learning:

• Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that people really care about– http://www.iuk.edu/~koctla/assessment/9principles.shtml

Did we begin with issues of use and illuminate questions that people really care

about?

• Regional Accrediting Agency (SACS) intended to be less prescriptive than in the past

• College leaders did not really understand where they were going

• Led folks over the river and through the woods (and we did not get to Grandma’s house…and did not earn buy in)

But Does That Make Assessment A Bad Thing?

Yes, if:Entirely Reinvent the Wheel

No, if:Assess and Build On What Is Already Occurring

(make what is already being done more systematic and more public)

Backward Design• Identify desired outcomes

– What do we want students to learn?

• Determine acceptable evidence of learning– How will we know that they have learned it?

• Plan learning experiences and instruction– How will we design the learning

environment and process to attain our outcomes?

Alison McInnes and Yvette Daniel

University of Windsor, Ontario Canada

Rather Than Reinvent The Wheel, Let’s Just Fix The Flat

• Do we already know what is important for our students to know and be able to do?

• What are we are already doing?– Is it effective?– How do we know?

Student Learning Outcome

…is what a student does with what he has learned

Excerpted from “Student Learning Outcomes: What’s Expected”Presentation by Norman Cherry March 13, 2008 at CCCC. Mr. Cherry is the Accreditation Coordinator for Georgia Department ofTechnical and Adult Education

Learning Domains

• Cognitive– Learning outcomes related to knowledge

• Psychomotor– Learning outcomes related to skills

• Affective– Learning outcomes related to attitudes,

behaviors, and values

http://online.bakersfieldcollege.edu/courseassessment/Section_1_Introduction/Introduction1.htm

Course SLO’s & Program SLO’s• Is there a difference?

– Yes . . . And . . . No

• Example of interchangeable use:– Program SLO (Information Technology):

• The student can create an Excel spreadsheet that allows for appropriate data manipulation.

– Course SLO• MAT 151• CIS 110• OST 137

Program Level Outcome Statement

• Should target key concepts or change points in program

• Should be clear with accomplishment ascertainable

• Should be singular

• Should be rotated when validated

Diablo Valley College -- Pleasant Hill, California Introductory Guide for Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes

Fall 2005

Resources for Developing SLO’s• Discipline’s professional association

• Discipline’s specialized accreditation body

• System’s Curriculum Standard

• Visualization of “ideal” graduate… and “ideal” student at various phases in program– Knowledge, skills, and dispositions student

gained as a result of curriculum program

• Instructional materials and documents

Excerpted from “Student Learning Outcomes: What’s Expected” Presentation by Norman Cherry March 13, 2008 at CCCC. Mr. Cherry is the Accreditation Coordinator for Georgia Department ofTechnical and Adult Education

Discipline Info from Professional Organizations / Accrediting

Agencies

• National Association for the Education of Young Children

• North Carolina State Board of Cosmetic Arts Examiners

Discipline Info from Curriculum Standards and Visualizing Ideal

Student/ Graduate

• Associate in Science

• Biology

Instructional Materials and Documents That Describe The

Program

• Syllabi/Course Outlines

• Assignments and Tests• Texts

• Brochures• Catalog Descriptions• Mission Statements

When And Where Does The Learning Occur During The

Program?

CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT MATRIX

Course Program Outcome 1

Program Outcome 2

Program Outcome 3

Program Outcome 4

Program Outcome 5

Program Outcome 6

The Program Outcome is: I = Introduced, P = Practiced, D = Demonstrated

Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education by (Allen 2004)

Indirect Assessments• Can provide the ‘why’

– Student/alumni satisfaction surveys focused on their perceived learning

– Student ratings of their knowledge and skills, and reflections on what they have learned

– Honors, awards, scholarships earned by students and alumni

– Assignment grades, if not accompanied by a rubric or scoring guide

Excerpted from Northern Arizona University Office of Academic Assessment: Assessment for Improving

Student Learning. A Guide for Faculty Sharing Our Best Practices 2007-2008

Direct Assessments• Provide the ‘what’

– Projects / papers – exhibitions /performances – case studies / clinical evaluations– portfolios /exams– “capstone” experiences / field

research– scores and pass rates on

licensure/certification exams

Excerpted from Northern Arizona University Office of Academic Assessment: Assessment for Improving Student Learning. A Guide for Faculty Sharing Our Best Practices 2007-2008

Simple Assessment Loop:

What is important

for your

students/graduates

to know and be

able to do?

How are you already assessing

that information?--Can’t all be after

graduation

What do you do with what you learn?

How does

what you do

impact

learning?

Modified Nichols’ Model of Assessment (CCCC used)

Outcome Success Criteria

(Standard / Benchmark)

Responsible Party

Timeline Results Use of Results

Assessment Exercise

• What is assessment?• What is a student learning outcome?• What is the last step in ‘closing the program

assessment loop’?• Give one example of a resource that can be used

to determine a program student learning outcome.

Scott Byington: tsbyin73@cccc.edu

Lisa Chapman: lchapman@cccc.edu