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Career and Technical Education Assessment

Brent Wallace, Ph.D.Vice President of Instruction North Central Texas College

{“Assessment is an ongoing process designed to monitor and improve student learning.”

Mary L. Allen

Purpose of CTE Assessment

Career and Technical Education programs are designed to prepare students for the high-demand, high-skill careers of today’s changing workplace.  It is predicted that nearly half of the job openings filled by workers with post-secondary education will go to people with an associate’s degree or an occupational certificate. Some of these jobs pay more than many of the jobs held by those with bachelor’s degrees.

1. To improve – the assessment process should provide feedback to determine how the program can be improved.

2. To inform – the assessment process should inform school board, administration, staff, and community of the contributions and impact of the program.

3. To prove – the assessment process should encapsulate and demonstrate to others what the program is accomplishing.

4. To support – the assessment process should provide support for CTE decision-making activities.

What do our students already know?

Determining what students already know allows you to:

Target specific knowledge gaps (Angelo & Cross, 1993).

Become aware of the diversity of backgrounds in your classroom.

Create a bridge between students’ previous knowledge and new material.

Check for misconceptions that may hinder student learning of new material (Ambrose, et. al. 2010).

What do we intend our students to learn from the program?

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Goals are more general statements of intensions, like “Students will understand the fundamental concepts of fluid dynamics.” and may be what are included on the course syllabus.

Objectives are statements of what will be achieved and begin to be more specific in relationship to goals: “At the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate old hypotheses in light of new data.”

The term learning outcome is used to indicate the knowledge, skills or values that result from instruction and the experiences the students undergo as a result of taking the course.  They serve to guide assessment measures chosen by the instructor: “Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in a variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern dance, jazz and tap.”

“As a result of taking my course, what do I want my students to be able to do, say, think or feel that they were unable to before their experience in the course?”

What methods and activities will we use with our students to help them learn what we intend from the program?

Reminder

Course Level Program Level

How will we know what our students have learned from the program?

At the course level, start by looking at what is included in your syllabus. It is helpful here to review course assignments and assessments by asking:

What are the students supposed to get out of each assessment? What is its intrinsic value in terms of: Knowledge acquired?

Skill development?Values clarification?Performance attainment?

How are homework and problem sets related to prelims and exams? How are the exams related to each other? What other forms of assessment (besides tests) can be used as

indicators of student learning? If writing assignments are used, are there enough of them for

students to develop the requisite skills embedded in them? How is feedback on student work provided to help students improve? Are the assessments structured in a way to help students assess their

own work and progress? Does the assignment provide evidence of an outcome that was

communicated? Is the evidence direct or indirect?

What have we learned from this process that can improve the program?

Has the process produced the kind of data necessary for critical decisions to be made?

Has the instructor developed a process that is useful and beneficial to all involved—the instructor as well as students?

Can and will the process be practically replicated as time and circumstance require?

Ambrose, S. A. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Angelo, T. & Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Ausubel, D., Novak, J, and Hanesian, H. (1968). Educational psychology, A cognitive view (2nd ed). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Books.

Dochy, F., Segers, M., & Buehl, M. (1999). The relation between assessment practices and outcomes of studies: The case of research on prior knowledge. Review of Educational Research, 69, (2), 145-186.

Fisher, K.M. (2004). The importance of prior knowledge in college science instruction. in Sunal, D.W., Wright, E.L., & Bland., J. Reform in Undergraduate Science Teaching for the 21st Century. Information Age Publishing.

Kirk, D. (2005). Taking back the classroom: Tips for the college professor on how to be a more effective teacher. Seattle, Washington: Tiberius Publications.

Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tobias, S. (1994). Interest, prior knowledge, and learning. Review of Educational Research, 64, (1), 37-54.

Walvoord, B. E. (2010). Assessment clear and simple:  A practical guide for institutions, departments, and general education (2nd ed.).  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.

References