I just got back on campus after spending time at the Association for Institutional Researcher (AIR) Forum in Denver. I had the opportunity to hear lots of great sessions from my colleagues and learn more about their institutions. That said, you would be inclined to think I would blog this week about some great sessions, but you would be wrong.
When we checked in at the forum, we were given a preprinted name badge and a group of stickers to adhere to a blank space under our name. The point of the stickers was for us to “personalize” our name badges to better reflect the diversity of experience present at the conference. I chose ones like “I <3 statistics” and “Learning Outcomes” and the ever popular “Accreditation.” Some of my colleagues chose even more interesting stickers like “Data Diva.” I came really close to selecting that one but didn’t think I had quite earned the title of “Diva.” Not yet, anyway!
Looking at all the unique name badges and what they conveyed caused me to think hard about the variety of experiences that bring people to assessment, and the array of sessions reminded me of the variety of approaches there are to assessment. For some folks, it is all about crunching numbers; for others it is about accountability tied to external sources. But for some, and I include myself in this group, it is really about student learning, and, more importantly, about improving student learning.
I understand the need to crunch the numbers and, as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, I fully grasp the issues of accountability. But at the end of the day, the most important, indeed, the primary reason for assessment is quite simply this: improving student learning. That is the focus, that is the mission, and I’m going to keep talking about assessment in those terms because my goal is to hear more of my colleagues talking about assessment as a means of improving student learning.
Someday, I want there to be a name badge sticker at the AIR Forum that says, “I <3 assessment.”
Sheri H. Barrett, Ed.D