Month: September 2019

“What is the purpose of assessment?”  I think every assessment director, coordinator, and faculty member has been asked this question at some point.  It is a great question.  I think the answer lies in your “philosophy” of assessment.  I believe there are two distinct ways of looking at assessment – there are those who look to use assessment to “prove” learning and those who use assessment to “improve” learning.  What’s the difference? Proving Student Learning Focuses on an external audience Faculty often have little influence or control in the assessment processes Results can be difficult to tie to the actual teaching that occurs in the classroom Purpose of the assessment is to satisfy accountability requirements from the state, accrediting bodies, external stakeholders, etc. Improving Student Learning Focuses on the program and the discipline Faculty drive the assessment processes and the interpretation of the results Results are based on what happens in the classroom and program Purpose is to improve student’s learning in Continue reading Proving or Improving – that is the question→