Christmas is behind us and the buzz in the hallways lets me know that students are back on campus. I must say I really enjoyed this particular break between semesters. I got a really cool embroidery machine for Christmas this year from my husband.
It is a pretty complicated machine. I spent a couple of hours just reading through the instructions before I even threaded the machine for the first time. I have created several pieces during the break. The first ones are rather rough, mostly because of the machine “operator.” I didn’t quite know what I was doing but kept working on it. I have several pieces now that I am going to use as part of a baby quilt I am creating for the first grandbaby of a friend of ours.
My efforts got better because using any kind of equipment takes practice. The same can be said of assessment (you knew somehow I would circle back around to assessment). When you first begin applying an assessment instrument in your course or program, it may not turn out exactly like you hoped, but you keep working on it. You tweak a question, throw a question out, add a new question, refine the parameters of the assessment, etc. Eventually you begin to get good at the design of the assessment instrument, and you get better data, you use the data to make informed decisions about the curriculum, and VOILA, you have improved student learning.
The most important thing to remember is that assessment takes time, repetition, and commitment. So keep at it. I have every faith that eventually you will produce an awesome picture of student learning.
This spring we are hosting the Assessment Matters conference here on campus. Come join us on May 5th, 2017 and hear stories from your colleagues of their assessment journeys. You might encounter new ideas to inspire your own assessment journey!
