| Term |
Description |
| Assessment |
| In general terms, assessment is the determination of a value, or measurement, based on a |
| "standard." We often refer to this standard as a "target." Standard-based measurement, or |
| assessment, is useful in education for both the placement of students in initial coursework and |
| ascertaining the extent of students' acquisition of skills/knowledge. Assessment entails the |
| establishment of a specific value through formal measurement. |
|
| Outcomes Assessment: The Determination of a value based on an intended outcome, or |
| result, of an activity. Information, or data, that is used to determine how to adjust what it is |
| that we do in order to achieve the intended results. Outcomes assessment is often |
| described as the tool faculty and staff use
to fine tune their craft of teaching, serving |
| students, etc. |
|
| Evaluation |
| In general terms, evaluation is the setting, or appraisal, of a value. Evaluation has to do with |
| the rendering of a value judgment. Measurement merely positions something along a |
| continuum, whereas evaluation posits a judgment based on a given position. |
|
| Classroom Evaluation: Course examinations that measure students' process in acquiring |
| skills/knowledge within the context of a given class. Classroom evaluation is often |
| described as the tool students use to judge their own progress in a course. (It is also |
| a tool faculty use to assign students' grades.) |
|
| Assessment Tool |
| An instrument that has been designed to collect objective data about students' attitudes and |
| skill acquisition. An appropriate outcomes assessment test measures students' ability to |
| integrate a set of individual skills into a meaningful, collective demonstration. Some |
| examples of assessment tools include standardized tests, end-of-program skills tests, student |
| inquiries, common final exams, and comprehensive embedded test items. |
|
| Scoring Rubric |
| An assessment tool used to evaluate (or quantify) data that is qualitative in nature. Rubrics |
| are usually set on a 4-point scale and each number represents a specified level of quality of a |
| given aspect of the work being assessed. |
|
| Intended Student Outcomes |
| The resulting skills or knowledge that faculty intend students to acquire as a result of a course |
| of study. This is articulated as a general statement: |
| "Biology students will become familiar with the empirical scientific method of problem |
| solving." |
|
| Administrative Objectives |
| The intended results that demonstrate the effectiveness of an administrative, or support, entity |
| on campus. This is articulated as a general statement: |
| "Students will make use of MU's Career Services by attaining and reading materials about |
| career opportunities." |
|
| Measurable Criteria |
| An intended student outcome, or administrative objective, restated in a quantifiable, or |
| measurable, statement. |
| "60% of biology students will complete an experiment/project using scientific methods in fall |
| 2003." |
| "75% of responding MU students will indicate on a survey in fall 2003 that they have read |
| materials about career opportunities on campus." |
|
| Assessment Results |
| The data/information acquired from the implementation of the assessment tool. |
| "46.4% (130/280) of all biology students were exposed to the scientific method in fall 2003." |
| "71.8% of all responding MU students on a survey in fall 2003 indicated that they had read |
| materials about career opportunities on campus." |
|
| Action Plans |
| The statement that indicates the specific changes that a given area plans to implement in the |
| next cycle based on assessment results. |
| "The biology faculty will introduce one special project in the introductory class that will |
| expose the students to the scientific method." |
| "Career Services is implementing a software program called "1st Place." This software will |
| allow better tracking of job openings." |
|
| Assessment Cycle |
| The assessment cycle in higher education is generally annual and fits within the academic |
| year. Outcomes, targets and assessment tools are established early in the fall semester, data is |
| collected by the end of spring semester, results are analyzed during the summer and early fall. |
|
| General Education Assessment |
| Assessment that measures the campus-wide, general education competencies agreed upon by |
| the faculty. General education assessment is more holistic in nature than program outcomes |
| assessment because competencies are measured across disciplines, rather than just within a |
| single discipline. Some common general education competencies include critical thinking, |
| quantitative skills, writing skills, and awareness/acceptance of diversity. |
|
