Outcomes+Assessment

Share resources, thoughts, or ideas around Outcomes Assessment here.

How do we define "outcomes assessment"? I feel the term can refer to student learning outcomes, but it can also be as broad as the effectiveness outcomes at the program or institutional level (where mostly we use the term "evaluation."). Any thoughts? Here is one resource differentiating measurement, assessment, and evaluation (http://www.adprima.com/measurement.htm). And another one has many useful links related to assessment and evaluation: http://www.middleweb.com/Assmntlinks.html --jm Kristen, Susan and Dr. Mao,

I leave tomorrow for this Middle States Commission on Higher Education retreat event in New York on assessment and outcomes (information below). Right now my responsibility as an Assessment Task Force member, and the main subject matter of this retreat, is to create a culture of assessment and get faculty to "buy-in" to the process. Faculty at my institution are slowly accepting that this has to be done because it is a Middle States requirement. My goal on this task force is to use things I have learned in the Ed.D. program and Wilkes (and this course) to show them that it is not just a requirement, but that it will help them create better courses and be better professors. Do you have any suggestions about things you do at your instiutions that foster a culture of assessment?

Hi Stephen, Just this year we adopted a program called Reader's Edge. It is one of those typical "canned" programs and certainly has its strengths as well as shortcomings. One of its strengths is its focus on frequent assessement and data analysis. If anything, it has gotten the teachers into the routine of keeping detailed assessment records as well as forcing them to look at the data almost weekly to readjust lesson delivery. Then every "cycle", the student data is review by all reading teachers, the students are regrouped based on growth and need and teachers adjust teaching levels to address new group needs. It's not a perfect system, but it does get one used to data analysis. kk

=__General Information__=
 * ===How can you create a thriving culture of assessment?===
 * ===How can you get faculty, administrators, and staff “on board” with assessment?===
 * ===How can you foster a climate in which assessment is an ongoing part of campus life?===

their campuses. It will give participants an opportunity to brainstorm strategies to:

 * ===Convey the need for and value of ongoing assessment to faculty and staff===
 * ===Identify sources of resistance to assessment on their campuses===
 * ===Identify strategies to promote a campus culture that respects campus history and values, that respects and empowers faculty, and that values innovation and risk-taking===
 * ===Provide tangible recognition of faculty and staff who engage in assessment===
 * ===Identify a feasible infrastructure—including appropriate staff and committees—to support assessment===
 * ===Fold assessment resource needs into campus budget allocation process===

Manhattan Campus New York, NY 10038 ||
 * **4/27/2009** || **[|Special Topic Workshops & Conferences]** ||
 * When: || 4/27/2009, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ||
 * Description: || **Fostering a Campus Culture of Assessment** ||
 * Location: || Pace University
 * Location: || Pace University