Meeting the Challenges of Assessing Student Learning …

1 Although community colleges have made significant stridesin Assessing Student Learning outcomes, there are a numberof significant Challenges that need to be addressed in orderto realize fully the anticipated benefits of these efforts. Thischapter identifies these major Challenges and providesspecific suggestions that can be used by communitycolleges, state and accrediting agencies, and universities tofacilitate the development, implementation, and continuedsupport of Student Learning outcomes assessment initiativesthat will increase Student Learning and FORCOMMUNITYCOLLEGES, no. 126, Summer 2004 Wiley Periodicals, the Challenges of AssessingStudent Learning OutcomesJack Friedlander, Andreea M.

2 SerbanWhy are so many community colleges finding it so difficult to design,develop, implement, and sustain a comprehensive approach to Assessing stu-dent Learning outcomes? Why do community college practitioners need todevote so much time at their individual campuses trying to discover how to approach Assessing Student Learning outcomes? More specifically, why arecommunity colleges each being asked to start from scratch in figuring outhow to assess Student Learning outcomes? Why is there so little evidence thatmulti-year efforts to assess Student Learning outcomes affect Student learningand development and the achievement of desired institutional outcomes?

3 This chapter has three purposes: to identify the primary challengescommunity colleges need to address in developing, implementing, andsustaining a comprehensive approach to Assessing Student Learning out-comes; to offer suggestions for how community college practitioners canrespond to each of these Challenges ; and to advance recommendations forproviding colleges with the technical assistance they need to implementand sustain a comprehensive approach to Assessing Student Learning out-comes that will achieve the desired Learning , improvement, and account-ability outcomes of Challenges and RecommendationsBased on our review of the literature, including the chapters contained in this issue and conversations with practitioners and leaders involved inassessing Student Learning outcomes.

4 We have identified four major chal-lenges that need to be addressed if the desired goals for Assessing student102 ASSESSINGSTUDENTLEARNINGOUTCOMES Learning outcomes are to be fully achieved. A number of recommendationstargeted to specific constituencies are offered to address each of the chal-lenges is a lack of evidence that multi-year efforts toassess Student Learning outcomes affect Student Learning and development,achievement of desired institutional outcomes, instructional methods, co-curricular programs, and college policies and processes. The observationsand conclusions made by several of the authors in this volume offer insightson why full models for Assessing Student Learning outcomes that practi-tioners could adapt for their own institutions are not available.

5 In ChapterSeven, Milam, Voorhees, and Bedard-Voorhees state, Regional accreditorsdescribe their expectations for measuring Learning outcomes differently..Most standards suggested by the regional accrediting agencies generallyencompass what should be required of colleges, but there is little guidancehow to measure competencies or units of Learning they imply or even whatthose competencies are. It is ironic that regional accreditors suggest that col-leges produce favorable assessment results when the knowledge base thatmight drive such accreditation decisions, especially the measurement of stu-dent Learning , has not been fully informed by practice.

6 In Chapter One, Banta, Black, Kahn, and Jackson talk about the impor-tance of providing stakeholders with credible evidence on the benefits ofassessing Student Learning outcomes in improving and sustaining assess-ment. They observe, Unfortunately, credible evidence of Learning and effec-tiveness can be elusive.. To date, however, community colleges and theirstakeholders have not resolved what constitutes credible evidence in allareas of their mission. In his comprehensive analysis of the status of Student Learning assess-ment, Volkwein (2003) noted, Faculty are most enthusiastic about as-sessment when they fully understand what assessment is and how they andtheir students can benefit.

7 When assessment is focused on improving teach-ing and Learning , faculty recognize it as being connected to their interests (p. 9). However, Volkwein goes on to state that knowledge of the effects ofthe use of assessment in higher education on Student performance, instruc-tional methods, and academic policy remains Chapter Four, Bers examines program-level assessment in commu-nity colleges (other than those in English composition, mathematics, orfrom programs other than those in health careers or with certification orlicense exams). She was not able to find many examples of program-levelassessment that are actually being done rather than planned, or assessmentsthat have generated results then used for improving or sustaining programquality.

8 She concluded that program-level assessment at community col-leges is still in its much has been written about the importance of linking theassessment of outcomes to improvement of Student Learning and develop-ment, there has been limited documentation of how the assessment resultshave been used to guide instructional methods. Other than examples ofclassroom assessment techniques used to assess specific aspects of studentlearning, such as those described in Chapter Three, there is an absence ofliterature linking various pedagogical techniques to the promotion of thedesired Student Learning outcomes. The assessment processes used by col-leges are often silent on the training required in the area of pedagogy,instructional methods, and co-curricular programs that promote studentattainment of desired Learning outcomes.

9 Similarly, little or no attention hasbeen given to changes in institutional policies and procedures to supportthe assessment effort (for example, faculty evaluation policies and incen-tives, adequate support services, linking faculty professional developmentefforts to support Student Learning outcomes assessment, program defini-tion, and clarification of Student expectations and standards).Recommendations Directed to Community College Chapters One, Three, and Eight provide excellent examples of the pro-cesses for engaging the campus community in the Student Learning assess-ment effort. However, colleges need to go beyond processes to identify howbest to measure, analyze, interpret, and report the results of this effort.

10 Foreach Student Learning outcome to be achieved, whether at the course, pro-gram, or institutional level, there has to be a clear definition of the skill(competency) to be acquired; assessment tool(s) or technique(s) used tomeasure the attainment of the skill; and measurement, documentation, andreporting of the actual extent to which the skill has been overall framework for reporting the achievement of desired studentlearning outcomes is needed at the course, program, and institutional lev-els. The framework should allow institutions to compare changes over time,both at the aggregate and granular levels (for example, entry levels of skillsfor various groups of students).