Resources

Learning Outcomes & Assessment: Introduction

Jankowski, N. A., Timmer, J. D., Kinzie, J., & Kuh, G. D. (2018, January). Assessment that matters: Trending toward practices that document authentic student learning. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Monica Stitt-Bergh, Catherine M. Wehlburg, Terrel Rhodes & Natasha Jankowski (2019) Assessment for Student Learning and the Public Good, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 51:2, 43-46, DOI: 10.1080/00091383.2019.1569972

National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment overview of Excellence in Assessment Designation and associated 2019 Evaluation Rubric.

 


On the State and Future of Learning Outcome Assessment

Amidon, J., & Ortloff, D. (2017, September). “How an outcomes-based curriculum enables authentic assessment.” Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Bennett, Michael and Brady, Jacqueline. “A Radical Critique of the Learning Outcomes Assessment Movement,” Radical Teacher, No. 100 (Fall 2014), pp. 145-152.

Blaich, C. & Wise, K. (2018). The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: New Challenges to Using Evidence to Improve Student Learning. Research & Practice in Assessment, v 13, Winter 2018.

Eubanks, D. (2019, July). Reclaiming Assessment’s Promise: New Guidance from the Department of Education Could Help. Inside Higher Ed.

Ewell, P. T. (2009, November). Assessment, accountability, and improvement: Revisiting the tension. (Occasional Paper No. 1). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment(NILOA).

Gannon, Kevin. “Stuck in the Assessment Swamp?,” ChronicleVitae, 1 May 2017.

Hernandez, Rosario. “Does continuous assessment in higher education support student learning?,” Higher Education, Vol. 64, No. 4 (October 2012), pp. 489-502. JSTOR.

Lederman, D. (2019, April). Harsh Take on Assessment… From Assessment Pros. Inside Higher Ed.

Lederman, Doug. “Do Colleges Measure What They Value?,” Inside Higher Education, 1 May 2019.

Jillian Kinzie, Kathleen Landy, Mary Deane Sorcinelli & Pat Hutchings (2019). Better Together: How Faculty Development and Assessment Can Join Forces to Improve Student Learning, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 51:5, 46-54, DOI: 10.1080/00091383.2019.1652076

Montenegro, E., & Jankowski, N. A. (2017, January). “Equity and assessment: Moving towards culturally responsive assessment.” (Occasional Paper No. 29). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Rickards, W. H., & Stitt-Bergh, M. (2016). “Higher education evaluation, assessment, and faculty engagement” In W. H. Rickards & M. Stitt-Bergh (Eds.), Evaluating student learning in higher education: Beyond the public rhetoric. New Directions for Evaluation, 151, 11–20, Education Source.

Roberts, R. (2019, September). “Making culturally-responsive sense of assessment data: Inquiry about equity (Equity Response).” Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Schoepp, Kevin. “The State of Course Learning Outcomes at Leading Universities,” Studies in Higher Education, 44:4, 2019, pp. 615-627. ERIC.

Williams, E. (2018, February). “First things first: Privilege, power, and pedagogy the antecedent of assessment (Equity Response).” Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).


Assessment as a Transformative Force in Education

Allen, Carrie. “Alverno College: Lessons from an Assessment Pioneer,” National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Case Studies: Alverno College, 2016 July.

Blaich, C. & Wise, K. (2019). Webinar: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: New Challenges to Using Evidence to Improve Student Learning. Evolving from Assessment to Learning Improvement Professional Webinar Series. March 27, 2019.

Cain, T. R. (2014, November). Assessment and academic freedom: In concert, not conflict (Occasional Paper No. 22). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Daugherty, Richard; Black, Paul; Eccleston, Kathryn; James, Mary; & Newton, Paul. “Alternative perspectives on learning outcomes: challenges for assessment,” The Curriculum Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4, December 2008, pp. 243-254. Education Source.

Hand, Lea; Sanderson, Peter; & O’Neil, Mike. “Fostering deep and active learning through assessment,” Accounting Education, 5(1), 1996, pp. 103-119. Education Source.

Hutchings, Pat. “Washington State University: Building Institutional Capacity for Ongoing Improvement,” National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Case Studies: Washington State University, 2019 February.

Jankowski, Natasha. “Juniata College: Faculty Led Assessment,”National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Case Studies: Juniata College, 2011 July.

Jankowski, Natasha A. “St. Olaf: Utilization-Focused Assessment,”  National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Case Studies: St. Olaf College, 2012 April.

Kezar, A., & Maxey, D. (2014, July). Student outcomes assessment among the new non-tenure-track faculty majority (Occasional Paper No. 21). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Kinzie, Jillian D. “Carnegie Mellon University: Fostering Assessment for Improvement and Teaching Excellence,” National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), Case Studies: Carnegie Mellon University, 2012 June.

Miller, Mark D., Ed.D. “Analyzing Student Learning Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education,” Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Commons, 2016, pp. 1-19.

Smith, E. E. and Gordon, S. (2019). How are Faculty Rewarded and Recognized for Assessment Work Outside the Classroom? Research & Practice in Assessment, v 14, Summer 2019.

Stitt-Bergh, M. (2016). Assessment capacity building at a research university. In W. H. Rickards, & M. Stitt-Bergh (Eds.), Evaluating student learning in higher education: Beyond the public rhetoric. New Directions for Evaluation, 151, 69–83.


Learning Outcomes Assessment and Peer Institutions


Learning Outcome Assessment: Journals, Blogs, and Associations

National Institute for Learning Outcomes and Assessment (NILOA) – Assessment Journals List

NILOA’s list of key Assessment Journals. List includes:

  • American Journal of Education (AJE) – papers on methods, theory, practice, and findings of evaluation.
  • Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education – international peer-reviewed journal – papers and reports on all aspects of assessment and evaluation within higher ed.
  • Assessment Update – covers latest developments in higher ed. Assessment.
  • Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability – international journal that focuses on theories, values, and practices of assessment, evaluation, and accountability.
  • Journal of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness (JAIE) – official publication of the New England Education Assessment Network. Publishes work on assessment of student learning at the course, program, institutional, and multi-institutional levels.
  • Journal of Case Studies in Accreditation and Assessment (JCSAA) – publishes original unpublished case studies related to accreditation and assessment issues in higher ed.
  • Journal of Higher Education – leading scholarly journal on the institution of higher education.
  • Research in Higher Education – publishes on empirical studies.

https://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Assessment-Journals-List_August-2019.pdf

NILOA – Additional Resources

List of Listservs, Blogs, Newsletters, and Networks of Interest related to Assessment. List includes:

  1. Listservs
  • ASSESS – promotes dialogue among assessment professionals, info on developments in the field, conferences, jobs, CFPs, etc.
  • POD: Professional and Organization Development Network – information on resources, publications, grants, awards, research opportunities, and community.
  1. Networks of Interest
    • C-BEN: Competency-Based Education Network – network of colleges, organizations, and individuals dedicated to competency-based education.
    • Quality Matters – global organization on learning quality assurance in online learning and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. Includes rubrics for examining quality of online education.
  • For those with online programs or certificates, it is a good idea to review this site and see if there are useful starting points
  1. Blog
  • Linda Suskie: A Common Sense Approach to Assessment in Higher Education – an international leader in higher education assessment and accreditation, includes some of Linda’s thoughts and responses to assessment happenings.
  1. Newsletters
  • Teaching – weekly newsletter on topics related to teaching and learning in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.
  • AAC + U Liberal Education News Watch – highlights stories on liberal education and inclusive excellence from that week’s news stories

https://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Additional-Resources.pdf

National Institute for Learning Outcomes and Assessment (NILOA) – About, Mission, etc.

Makes learning outcomes visible and useful to the public. A research and resource-development organization “dedicated to documenting, advocating, and facilitating the systematic use of learning outcomes assessment to improve student learning.” Has a National Advisory Panel, publishes reports, publishes occasional papers, publishes case studies, has an Assignment Library.

https://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/

Assessment By Design – A Blog for Assessment in Higher Ed.

Published by Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Kansas. Provides list of JCCC’s institutional learning outcomes, list of resources such as Value Rubrics by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and AAC&U’s Assessment Resources. Blog with posts on topics such as co-curricular assessment, proving vs. improving, creating the right assessment, and reporting your assessment.

https://blogs.jccc.edu/outcomesassessment/

Assessment Commons

Assessment Commons is “an open learning space that curates content for faculty and assessment professionals through housed resources and tools for student learning outcomes, teaching and learning, program review, and accreditation.” Includes articles and resources such as blog posts, information from different universities, links to websites, lists, etc.

http://assessmentcommons.org/

Assessment Futures

The University of Technology Sydney’s website for “experienced teachers in higher education who have completed some study in the area” (not a beginner’s guide). Includes PDFs on propositions for assessment reform, lists and descriptions of key assessment elements and practices, tips on designing and redesigning assessments, a checklist for institutions, and more.

https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/learning-and-teaching/assessment-futures/overview

Assessment Commons – Assessment Journals

Assessment Commons provides a list of some key assessment journals. List includes:

  • Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Ed. – on assessment issues/methods. Quarterly journal.
  • Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation – online journal.
  • Quality Approaches in Higher Education – some articles deal with assessing student learning outcomes.
  • International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP) – articles about using e-portfolios in assessment.

http://assessmentcommons.org/view-all-resources/

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