Guidelines for Assessment of Student Learning spring 2009-spring 2010 (doc)
Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education (Thomas A. Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995, p.7).
The goals of assessment at SJSU are to:
- Support the improvement and recognition of teaching and student learning at SJSU through timely and useful assessment efforts.
- Provide, in conjunction with the Center for Faculty Development, development opportunities for faculty, staff and students in topics and skills related to assessment.
- Further program planning and accreditation objectives by encouraging continuous collection and analysis of information about educational effectiveness within programs and departments and across the university.
- Disseminate, in conjunction with the Office of Academic Planning and Budgets, statistical data about assessment efforts on campus.
- Ensure, in conjunction with the Academic Senate of SJSU, that all assessment efforts are in line with Academic Senate policy and follow good practice for assessing student learning.
- Create a system of resources and reference materials to assist assessment activities on campus.
- Coordinate with the Office of Communication and Public Affairs the dissemination of information about SJSU’s successes in meeting the needs of its various publics.
A good overview of assessment is available at: Barbara Wright - Assessment Methods a Close-up Look (doc)
AAC&U worked on rubrics for some of the harder areas to assess including: Inquiry and analysis, Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Written communication, Oral communication, Reading, Quantitative literacy, Information literacy, Teamwork, Problem solving, Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global, Intercultural knowledge and competence, Ethical reasoning (pdf), Foundations and skills for lifelong learning, Integrative Learning
Visit the SJSU WASC site to see the results of our 2006 Educational Effectiveness review.
print
email