Common Language of Assessment of Student Learning
• Action Plans: descriptions of what will be done to address the findings identified through the assessment of outcomes and objectives
• Analysis: the interpretation of assessment results (findings) to draw conclusions regarding outcomes and objectives
• Assessment: the systematic collection, review, and use of information from educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving teaching, student learning and planning.
• Assessment Plan: A plan to assess student learning that should include which Student Learning Outcome(s) will be assessed during a specific cycle, which Measure(s)/instruments will be utilized for the assessment, which semester(s) and the point in the semester when assessment will occur. The plan should also include implementation of Action Plans developed based on assessment from previous cycle(s) and how the results of such Action Plans will be assessed.
• Authentic Assessment: a form of assessment in which students perform real-world tasks/situations that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills.
Ex. Music recital, art exhibition, letters to the editor, classroom lesson plan, taking and processing radiographs• Criterion-Referenced Assessment: an assessment where an individual’s performance is compared to a specific learning objective or performance standard and not to the performance of other students.
• Culture of Assessment: an environment in which continuous improvement through assessment is expected and valued
• Curriculum Mapping: a matrix showing where goals and outcomes are covered in each program course
• Direct Assessment: direct evaluation of student work in direct response to a set of guidelines or assignments.
Ex. exams, paper, projects, musical performance, art exhibitions, etc.• Embedded Assessment: a means of gathering information about student learning that is built into and a natural part of the teaching/learning process
• Findings: results (data) from the measures used to assess student learning outcomes or program objectives
• Formative Assessment: the gathering of information about student learning, during the progression of a course or program and usually repeatedly, to improve the learning of those students.
Ex. Reading the first lab reports of a class to assess whether some or all students in the group need a lesson on how to make them succinct and informative.• Goals: broad general statements about desired achievements
Ex. 1. Students can use technology.
2. Students have effective communication skills.• Indirect Assessment: assessments that supplement and enrich what faculty learn from direct assessment studies, such as alumni surveys, employer surveys, satisfaction surveys and interviews.
• Mean (Average): One of several ways of representing a group with a single, typical score. It is figured by adding up all the individual scores in a group and dividing them by the number of people in the group.
• Measure: an instrument or method used to collect data to produce quantifiable information regarding outcomes or objectives
Ex. test, survey, rubric• Norm-Referenced Assessment: an assessment that judges a performance in relation to the performance of other members of a well-defined group. The purpose of a norm-referenced assessment is usually to rank students and not to measure achievement towards some criterion of performance.
• Objective Test: A test for which the scoring procedure is completely specified, enabling agreement among different scorers. A correct-answer test.
Ex. Multiple-Choice Tests, True/False Tests• Portfolio: a collection of students’ work collected over time. Portfolios may include a variety of demonstrations of learning and have been gathered in the form of a collection of materials, videos, CD-ROMs, reflective journals, artwork, etc.
• Program Coordinator: The person responsible for coordinating a specific program or discipline, including curriculum development and review (SACS Principles of Accreditation 3.4.13). This person is also responsible for coordinating assessment efforts within the program.
• Program Objectives: specific statements about a program’s desired achievement or need
Ex. 1. Graduates of the program will be employed in the field within 6 months of graduation.
2. Majors will successfully transfer to a 4-year university to complete a baccalaureate degree.
3. A new music building will be constructed by Fall 2011.• Reliability: the extent to which an assessment produces consistent results over time and with different samples of students
• Rubric: a scoring scale that contains specific sets of criteria that clearly define what a range of acceptable and unacceptable performance looks like
• Self-Assessment: a process in which a person engages in a systematic review and reflection on his/her performance, usually for the purpose of improving future performance
• Standardized Test: An objective test that is given and scored in a uniform manner. Scores are often norm-referenced.
• Standards: agreed-upon values used to measure the quality of student performance, instructional methods, curriculum, etc.
• Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs): clear, concise, and measurable statements that specify what a student is expected to know or be able to do at the end of a course or program
Ex. 1. Students will be able to demonstrate competency with cloze skills in American Sign Language
(course level SLO).
2. Students will be able to interpret from American Sign Language to English and English to
American Sign Language (program level SLO).
3. Students will be able to articulate an informed personal reaction to works of literature
(program level SLO).• Subjective Test: a test in which the impression or opinion of the scorer determines the score or evaluation of performance. A test in which the answers cannot be known or prescribed in advance.
Ex. Essay, case study, classroom observation, oral presentation• Summative Assessment: the assessment of student achievement at the end point of their education or at the end of a course. The focus of summative assessment is on the documentation of student achievement by the end of a course or program. It does reveal the pathway of development to achieve that endpoint.
• Target Performance: the desired or expected results from the measurement of a student learning outcome or program objective
Ex. 1. 100% of students will pass the Police Academy Exam with a score of 90 or above.
2. 80% of students will score 80 or better on a skills test.• Triangulation: the collection of data via multiple methods in order to determine if the results show a consistent outcome
• Validity: the extent to which an assessment measures what it is intended to measure