This book examines important advances and offers a realistic image of the state of the art in student learning outcomes assessment in higher education—a field close to the core of nearly every higher education institution. Producing sound information on what students know and can do is critical to higher education practitioners and future social prosperity. Spanning international, national and institutional developments, the book presents methodological and empirical insights, highlights research challenges, and showcases the enormous progress made in recent years. The book will be of interest to researchers in education assessment and neighbouring fields, and stakeholders like institutional leaders, teachers and graduate employers looking for better insight on returns, governments searching for information to assist with funding and regulation, and members of the public wanting more clarity about outcomes and public investment. This book was originally published as a special issue of Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of current, innovative approaches to assessing generic and domain-specific learning outcomes in higher education at both national and international levels. It discusses the most significant initiatives over the past decade to develop objective, valid, and reliable assessment tools and presents state-of-the-art procedures to adapt and validate them for use in other countries. The authors highlight key conceptual and methodological challenges connected with intra-national and cross-national assessment of learning outcomes in higher education; introduce novel approaches to improving assessment, evaluation, testing, and measurement practices; and offer exemplary implementation frameworks. Further, they examine the results of and lessons learned from various recent, world-renowned research programs and feasibility studies, and present results from their own studies to provide new insights into how to draw valid conclusions about learning outcomes achieved in various contexts.

This book provides an essential source for higher education teachers and student affair professionals in China and around the globe, who seek to deepen their understanding of Chinese undergraduate students they work with so as to promote their learning and development. Drawn from interview data with 64 college students in five colleges along with survey data with more than 23,000 students from 21 institutions in mainland China, this book examines student learning and college experiences from the students’ own perspectives. Researchers with a focus on Chinese higher education have reported on large-scale student surveys that have sprouted in recent years. While these surveys facilitate national and international comparison, uphold academic rigor and shift institutional attention towards student learning, this book will investigate the same important topic but with a different approach that seeks to understand college student life as told by themselves. Beyond Subject Matters: What I Have Learned in College? Student Learning and Development in Curricular Programs Student Learning and Development in Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities Student Learning and Development at Work, at Play and in Relationships c

This international anthology aims at researchers and practitioners interested in the dynamic developments of research on higher education teaching and learning in Europe and beyond. It includes ten chapters covering a wide array of topics and methodologies used by researchers in the Special Interest Group ‘Higher Education’ (SIG4) of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). The volume consists of three main sections: the first section includes three chapters addressing different practice- and research-based challenges related to students’ transitions into higher education and their teaching internship. The following four chapters investigate the assessment and development of students’ study paths and skills in a variety of disciplines. The final three chapters present research on student emotions and cultural perspectives, including mixed and multi-method empirical approaches. A key text for those keeping up with the current advances in the field.

Assessing Student Learning is a standard reference for college faculty and administrators, and the third edition of this highly regarded book continues to offer comprehensive, practical, plainspoken guidance. The third edition adds a stronger emphasis on making assessment useful; greater attention to building a culture in which assessment is used to inform important decisions; an enhanced focus on the many settings of assessment, especially general education and co-curricula; a new emphasis on synthesizing evidence of student learning into an overall picture of an integrated learning experience; new chapters on curriculum design and assessing the hard-to-assess; more thorough information on organizing assessment processes; new frameworks for rubric design and setting standards and targets; and many new resources. Faculty, administrators, new and experienced assessment practitioners, and students in graduate courses on higher education assessment will all find this a valuable addition to their bookshelves.

This book discusses recent trends in outcomes assessment, examines how state governments are reshaping the national discussion with higher education, and explains how libraries must respond to these changes. Higher Education Outcomes Assessment for the Twenty-first Century focuses on recent developments in outcomes assessment, especially from the perspectives of the federal government and state governments, as well as foundations concerned about the state of higher education. The authors identify the significant changes that these stakeholders call for—information that academic librarians and anyone following outcomes assessment need to be aware of—and interpret the discussions to identify implications for libraries. Building upon the foundation of knowledge presented in the previous two Libraries Unlimited Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education titles, this book provides readers with up-to-date coverage of topics such as the emerging metrics used to define student and institutional success; the increased importance of accountability and the need to compare and assess the performance of programs and institutions rather than individual courses; and the shift in prioritizing student outcomes over student learning outcomes. The authors also spotlight the critical need for libraries to fit their role within the national discussion and suggest ways in which library managers and directors can play a role in redirecting the discussion to their benefit.

A valuable source of clear, simple guidance on how to assess general education student learning outcomes Based on an exhaustive review of the scholarship, as well as the input of numerous academics at learning institutions around the country, this volume in the acclaimed New Directions for Institutional Research series provides faculty members and assessment teams with the tools they need to assess general education student learning outcomes While Part 1 provides a broad overview of the subject, Part 2 delves into the six key general education learning outcomes, namely, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, intercultural competence, teamwork, civic knowledge and engagement, and integrative and applied learning.

This volume offers administrators and practitioners a summary guide to assessment in higher education, from the reasons for undertaking assessment to the delivery of findings. It opens with the questions that precede an effective study and drive research design: To what extent is the study aimed at educational improvement, and to what extent is it aimed at external accountability? Are the results expected to demonstrate goal attainment, improvement, comparison to others, meeting standards, cost-effective investment? What is the population from whom assessment data are being collected: Are we measuring the knowledge and skills of individuals and making decisions about their remediation, certification, or development? Or are we sampling from particular groups of students and comparing them to each other, or perhaps to themselves over time? The core of the volume is devoted to the objects of assessment: basic skills, general education knowledge, attainment in the major, personal growth, attitudes and satisfaction, and alumni outcomes, keeping in mind both cognitive and noncognitive measures. One chapter describes common obstacles to effective assessment; others describe conceptual models, research methods, and data collection strategies and instruments. The concluding chapter underscores the importance of communicating research results effectively. This is a special volume of the Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly report series New Directions for Institutional Research. Always timely and comprehensive, New Directions for Institutional Research provides planners and administrators in all types of academic institutions with guidelines in such areas as resource coordination, information analysis, program evaluation, and institutional management.

This is a practical resource for community and two year college professionals engaged at all levels of learning outcomes assessment, in both academic and co-curricular environments. It is designed as a guide both to inform the creation of new assessment efforts and to enhance and strengthen assessment programs already established, or in development. Each chapter addresses a key component of the assessment process, beginning with the creation of a learning-centered culture and the development and articulation of shared outcomes goals and priorities. Subsequent chapters lead the reader through the development of a plan, the selection of assessment methods, and the analysis of results. The book concludes by discussing the communication of results and their use in decision making; integrating the conclusions in program review as well as to inform budgeting; and, finally, evaluating the process for continuous improvement, as well as engaging in reflection.The book is illustrated by examples developed by faculty and student affairs/services professionals at community and two year colleges from across the country. Furthermore, to ensure its relevance and applicability for its targeted readership, each chapter has at least one author who is a community college or two-year college professional.Contributors are drawn from the following colleges:Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeDavid PhillipsBuffalo State CollegeJoy BattisonKimberly KlineBooker PiperButler County Community CollegeSunday Faseyitan California State University, FullertonJohn HoffmanGenesee Community CollegeThomas PriesterVirginia TaylorHeald CollegeMegan LawrenceStephanie Romano (now with Education Affiliates)Hobart and William Smith CollegesStacey PierceMiami Dade CollegeJohn FrederickBarbara RodriguezNorthern Illinois UniversityVictoria LivingstonParadise Valley Community CollegePaul DaleSan Diego Mesa CollegeJill BakerJulianna BarnesSan Diego State UniversityMarilee BrescianiSan Juan CollegeDavid EppichStark State CollegeBarbara MillikenUniversity of AkronSandra CoynerMegan Moore Gardner

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education provides higher education administrators, student affairs personnel, institutional researchers who generate and analyze data, and faculty with an integrated handbook of theory, method, and application. This valuable resource brings together applied terminology, analytical perspectives, and methodological advances from the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation to facilitate informed decision-making in higher education. Special Features: Contributing Authors are world-renowned scholars across the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation, including: Robert E. Stake, Trudy W. Banta, Michael J. Kolen, Noreen M. Webb, Kurt Geisinger, Robert J. Mislevy, Ronald K. Hambleton, Rebecca Zwick, John Creswell, and Margaret D. LeCompte. Depth of Coverage includes classroom assessment and student outcomes; assessment techniques for accountability and accreditation; test theory, item response theory, validity and reliability; qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods evaluation; context and ethics of assessment. Questions and Exercises follow each Section to reinforce the valuable concepts and insights presented in the preceding chapters. Bridging the gap between practice in higher education with advances in measurement, assessment, and evaluation, this book enables educational decision-makers to engage in more sound professional judgment. This handbook provides higher education administrators with both high-level and detailed views into contemporary theories and practices, supplemented with guidance on how to apply them for the benefit of students and institutions.