Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
Statement of Foundations for Learning Assessment
Definition
Assessment is the ongoing process of collecting, reviewing, and using information to improve learning outcomes. It is a transformative cycle of development, measurement, and reflection for the benefit of teacher and learner. From an institutional perspective, learning assessment is a systematic approach to data-based decision making for educational improvement. The systematic practice of assessment represents an institutional commitment to professional practice that provides great opportunities to improve instructional, programmatic, and service quality.
Purpose
When used for instructional improvement, learning assessment helps instructors
and administrators determine their effectiveness in reaching educational objectives,
while encouraging students to more actively engage in the teaching and learning
relationship. Assessment encourages instructors to clarify expectations for
learning, to develop pedagogical methods that help them document evidence of
actual learning during the learning experience, and to become more reflective
practitioners. It provides instructors with ongoing feedback on their teaching
effectiveness and affords opportunities to adjust teaching practices to improve
student outcomes. It is not an evaluation of individual students or of individual
faculty, instructors, or staff.
When used for programmatic and institutional improvement, assessment provides
feedback to the individual instructors, the department, school/college, and
administrative unit on the effectiveness of curriculum, learning processes,
and student services, etc. Assessment, then, becomes a catalyst for individual
units to improve the delivery and outcomes of their programs.
Via assessment, individual instructors and central administration can develop
and use methods that elicit the information needed to determine the quality
of the learning experience. When appropriate, such information may also be shared
with other stakeholders to demonstrate our progress toward appropriate educational
goals, thus responding to the requirements of accreditation, licensing, and
public accountability.
Methods
Learning assessment is driven by data–the collection, analysis, interpretation,
and use of both qualitative and quantitative information gathered at multiple
points in the teaching and learning process as well as from multiple layers
of the institution. The methods and measures used in learning assessment are
framed by the academy¿s diversity of disciplines and educational objectives.
Effective assessment thus involves:
- making our goals explicit and public;
- setting appropriate criteria and high standards;
- systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to ascertain how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and
- using the results to document, explain, and improve teaching and learning.
Over time, individual and institutional assessment strategies will become integrated into teaching and learning, thereby providing the consistent feedback needed to achieve instructional and programmatic improvement and to increase student outcomes.
Adopted by the Twin Cities Learning Assesment Council, May 16, 2003