Assessment Principles

1
Assessment Principles

• John J. Clementson
• Augustana College

2
Assessment In Practice

• Banta, T., Lund, J., Black, K., Oberlander, F.
• Putting Principles to Work on College Campuses

3
Principle One

• Assessment begins with educational values
• (A vehicle for educational improvement)
• What do we value?
• Do we have a strong mission statement?
• (Knowledge base)

4
Principle Two

• Assessment is most effective when it reflects an
  understanding of learning as multidimensional,
  integrated, and revealed in performance over time.

5
Assessment

• Assessment programs reflect imaginative creative
  aspects of learningnot only to measure the
  breadth and depth of learningbut also
  contributes to the ongoing spirit of inquiry and
  growth.

6
Learning Occurs at 3 Levels

• Core Content- facts, skills, competencies.
• Integrative Reasoning- processing knowledge
  into application.
• Attitudes and Dispositions

7

• Assessment works best when the programs it seeks
  to improve have clear, explicitly stated purposes.

8
Principle Four

• Assessment requires attention to outcomes, but
  also and equally to the experiences that lead to
  those outcomes.

9
Principle 5 Assessment Evolves

• Assessment works best when it is ongoing, not
  episodic.
• This may mean tracking a cohort of studentsit
  may mean collecting samples semester after
  semester.

10
6. A Collaborative Endeavor

• Assessment fosters wider improvement when
  representatives from across the community are
  involved.

11
7. Making Data Meaningful

• Assessment makes a difference when it begins with
  issues of use and illuminates questions that
  people really care about.

12
8. What to do with the data?

• Application of assessment data needs to be
  systematic and intentional.
• Assessment should become part of the fabric of
  any decision making process

13
9. Accountability-The train is leaving the station

• Through assessment, educators meet
  responsibilities to students and to the
  institution.
• We must inform the Augie community about our
  students and our work.

14
Principle Ten

• Assessment is most effective when undertaken in
  an environment that is receptive, supportive, and
  enabling