Organizing for General Education Assessment Linda Suskie, Vice President Middle States Commission on...

Organizing for General Education Assessment

Linda Suskie, Vice PresidentMiddle States Commission on Higher Education

3624 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104Web: www.msche.org E-mail: LSuskie@msche.org

MSCHE Student Learning Assessment Institute

September 2009

Big Questions

• Topics to be covered today– Middle States expectations– Organizing for Gen Ed assessment

• Topics beyond the scope of this institute– Articulating student learning goals– Assessment toolbox

More Big Questions

• Using what was learned to move to the next level– How can I apply this to my freshman

seminar course?– How do you develop rubrics for

outcomes like leadership?

More Big Questions

• Topics we addressed yesterday

– Course-program-institution assessment

– Getting colleagues on board with assessment

Value Innovation

• Value, respect, & reward efforts to improve teaching.

• Regard assessment results as evidence of teaching effectiveness.

• Encourage assessment as a form of scholarship.

Why Should Faculty & Staff Engage in Assessment?

• Incentives & Rewards

– Mini-grants

– Assessment recognition event

– Refreshments

– Certificate of recognition

– Thank you note

– Innovation grants

Use Assessment Results to Inform Important Decisions on Important Goals.

• Give funding priority to resource requests supported by assessment evidence.

• Move programs engaged in serious assessment efforts to the top of the funding list.

Time?

• Stop doing something else.

• Keep things simple.

Stop Doing Something Else.

• Reconsider– Committees– Program review– New programs &

courses– Other new

initiatives– Specialized

accreditation

• What do they contribute? What are the benefits?

• What do they consume in time and dollars?

• Consider scholarship of teaching as a form of research.

Keep Things Simple.

• Start with what you have.

• “Start small.”• Start with important

goals.• Use quick & easy

assessment tools• Look at samples.

• Stagger assessments.

• Be realistic about quality.

• Only do what’s useful.

• Don’t create unnecessary rules.

How Does the Administration Support Assessment?

• Promote and facilitate assessment.• Help faculty find time.• Build on past & current assessment

successes.• Professional development opportunities• Technical support

Student-Level Assessment

Course-Level Assessment

Program-Level Assessment

Assesses individual students on course-level goals

Assesses students as a whole on course-level goals

Assesses students as a whole on program-level goals

Tests & assignments, summarized into a grade

Tests & assignments, with item scores aggregated across students

•Tests & assignments in capstone & other key courses

•Field experience supervisor evaluations

•Portfolios

•Published tests

•Surveys, interviews, etc.

Aggregated across students

Why is it so hard to assess General Education?

• Unclear definitions of Gen Ed & its components• Lack of ownership

– Lack of concern & engagement• Lack of coordination• Some Gen Ed curricula are ineffective

– Outdated– Politically driven

• Little interest in improving Gen Ed• Time consuming to assess & improve

Do Faculty Lead Assessment?

• Is there a faculty-led assessment steering committee?

• What is it empowered to do?• Does it have the right people?• Is it effective?

Are the Right People Coordinating & Guiding Assessment?

• Sensitivity and open-mindedness to diverse perspectives and values

• Flexibility• A passion for teaching and learning• Sufficient perceived assessment expertise

Invite Open Participation.

• Invite faculty teaching Gen Ed courses to participate in discussions.

Be Flexible.

• Diverse – approaches to

assessment– ways of documenting

& reporting on assessment

– deadlines

The Teaching-Learning-Assessment Cycle

Learning Goals

Using Results

Learning Opportunities

Assessment

Analyzing Your Current General Education Curriculum.

• Grid of Gen Ed goals x courses– Look for underrepresented and “overkilled” Gen Ed

goals.

• Transcript analysis– What courses do students usually take to fulfill Gen

Ed requirements?– Are students achieving a Gen Ed goal through

courses in their majors?

• Syllabus analysis– Do students have enough classwork & assignments

to achieve this goal?

Aligning Goals & Curricula

• Do you want to develop a new General Education curriculum?

• Or keep and tinker with the one you have?

Consider Modifying Syllabi.

• State relevant General Education goals.• Grid of General Education goals x assignments• Reapprove all General Education courses

regularly (every five years?).– Check that classwork and assignments

address relevant General Education Goals.

Build on Existing Learning Experiences and Assessments.

• Focus on only the most popular Gen Ed courses?• Ask faculty how students achieve your goals.

– Homework/classwork (e.g., lab reports)– End-of-course papers, projects, performances,

presentations– Final exams in Gen Ed courses – “Capstone” experiences– Field experience evaluations

• Surveys• Create grid of Gen Ed goals x existing

assessments?

Create New/Improved Tools As Needed.

• Course-specific assessment

– All sections of each course have common assessment approaches.

AND/OR

• Multi-course assessment

– All courses with common goals have common assessment approaches.

AND/OR

• Institution-wide assessment

– Published tests & surveys

– Portfolios

– Capstone experiences

Useful and Not Too Much Work

• Set of questions on final exams

– Identical on all exams in multiple courses

– Identical on all exams in one course

• Rubric (rating scales/grading criteria)

– For papers, projects, performances, presentations, portfolio

• Reflective writing

– For the “ineffables” (attitudes, values)

Useful But More Time & Work

• Portfolios

• Locally developed tests

• Locally developed surveys

• Interviews & focus groups

Expensive But Sometimes Useful

• Published tests

• Published surveys