« e TOPICS
PREVIEW
What are eTopics? To help our members find just the information they are seeking, WCET is creating a set of topic-centered members-only resource pages called eTopic Pages. Our first eTopic Page, previewed below, is Outcomes-based Assessment, with Katrina Meyer and Sharon Roy serving as our Member Experts.
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Outcomes-Based Assessment
Definition:
The words "outcomes-based assessment" are quickly becoming words to live by in academia. They represent the standard by which our programs and courses will be measured, and by which "success" will be determined. Most, if not all, undergraduate institutions have begun to require curricula that are shaped by identifiable learning outcomes, and assessment that measures students' ability to meet these outcomes. Outcomes-based assessment asks us to first identify what it is we expect students to be able to do and how we expect them to be able to think once they have completed a course or program. It then asks us to provide evidence that they are able to do so.
Issues:
For many of us accustomed to assessing "success" based on numbers (for example, of enrollments, or of "satisfied" students and faculty), outcomes-based assessment represents a radical shift in how we approach the teaching and learning experience, and an even larger shift in how we measure and think about "success." It's important to support faculty, chairs, and deans in their efforts to support the kinds of innovative teaching and learning practices that outcomes-based assessment requires. Trying new things doesn't always result in positive experiences the first time out. How can we most effectively build on what at first may seem to be negative results to promote positive change?
Online Community Discussions:
There are currently no discussions related to this topic
Book Reviews:
Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment 
National Research Council (2001)
Reviewed by: Katrina Meyer, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, University of North Dakota
Resources:
The following resources have been selected to help collaboratively construct an understanding of how to design outcomes-based learning experiences that both shape and inform assessment practices and needs. Please submit additional resources to Katrina Meyer.
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Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment
http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/assmt/resource.htm#course_assmt
North Carolina State University provides this comprehensive set of links to resources on a wide variety of issues related to assessment practices, research, and tools. -
Ten Tips for Evaluators
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~LilleyS/tips.html
This site provides some guidance on what can be done with the data generated through outcomes assessment research. -
Learning Goals
http://cstl.syr.edu/MSACHE_Resources/S2.htm
A list of sites dealing with the development of learning goals for Academic programs and courses. Some of these sites contain excellent examples. -
Assessment and Outcomes: Focus on Student Learning
http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/outcomes/focus.asp
The Center for Instructional Innovation (Western Washington University) provides this short but accurate overview of learning outcomes. -
American Evaluation Association: Position Statement on High Stakes Testing In PreK-12 Education
http://www.eval.org/hst3.htm
The American Evaluation Association published this policy statement on high-stakes testing, arguing the point (among others) that the "current high stakes testing policies and practices fail to provide the mechanisms of review, meta-evaluation, and validation demanded by our professional standards." -
Student Learning Outcomes: Recommended Reading for Faculty
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~assess/slo.htm
This site contains a faculty-oriented list of recommended reading materials regarding student learning outcomes. -
9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning
http://www.aahe.org/assessment/principl.htm -
Developing an Assessment Plan to Learn About Student Learning
http://www.aahe.org/Assessment/assessmentplan.htm -
Regional Accreditation: NWCCU
http://www.nwccu.org/
This site contains a list of links to the accreditation criteria and processes used by the North West Commission on Colleges and Universities. -
Regional Accreditation: NCA/HLC
http://ncahigherlearningcommission.org/restructuring/
This site contains a list of links to the accreditation criteria and processes used by the North Central Higher Learning Commission. -
AAHE Assessment Conference
http://www.aahe.org/assessment/2004/
This is the home page for the AAHE conference on assessment.
