Assessment and Evaluation
 

Principles and Overview

Doing Assessment as if Learning Matters Most by Thomas Angelo, 1999. (pdf)

University of Delaware Presentations on Aspects of Assessment
Guidelines and Methods for Assessing Student Learning (ppt) - Karen Bauer, Office of Undergraduate Studies and Gabriele Bauer, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, General Education Institute, July 2002.
Outlines characteristics of effective assessment, methods (e.g., CATs, rubrics), and guiding questions to design assessment.
Journaling and Rubrics - methods to assess critical thinking (ppt) - Kathleen Pusecker, Office of Educational Assessment and Gabriele Bauer, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, Winter Faculty Institute, 2006.

Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique - IF-AT (Please read Information form) (doc)
Innovative multiple-choice assessment tool that gives students immediate affirmation and/or corrective feedback on their knowledge, ensuring that a student's last response is the correct one. It also allows instructors to give partial credit for proximate knowledge. IF-AT can be used for formative feedback and testing.
Reference: Epstein Educational Enterprises (and published research)

White, Harold, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UD, article on IFAT, Generating discussion during examinations in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 33(5), pp. 361-362, 2005. (pdf)

CTE makes IFAT forms available to UD faculty at no cost. In order to achieve maximum use, CTE requests the following:
Use IF-AT forms for group testing rather than individual testing.
Request IF-AT forms for one course per semester.
Use the IFAT until all 50 items on the form have been scored.
To request IF-AT forms: email Sheila Warren, CTE staff assistant or call 831-2027.

Assessment Materials, Peggy L. Maki, Ph.D., Presenter, General Education Institute, June 2004, University of Delaware
General Education: Assessing our Complex Expectations for Student Learning (ppt)
Provides overview of learning and assessment principles and considerations.

From Outcomes to Evidence of Learning (ppt)
Describes how to develop learning outcome statements and design assessment methods that reflect the learning outcomes.
Sample Learning Outcomes Statement, Geography (.doc)
Questions to Develop Inventory for Assessment (.doc)
Sample Curricular Assessment Plan, Business Administration (.xls)

Sample Rubrics

Information Literacy Scoring Rubric (.doc)
Quantitative Reasoning Scoring Rubric (.doc)
Primary Trait Scoring Form for Senior Thesis, Psychology (.doc)
Rubric Development, New Measure, Inc.
Equips teachers and instructional designers with standards-based curriculum/assessment tools and classroom practices.  Mostly focused on K-12; rubric design principles apply to higher education setting. (.doc)
Using Rubrics for Grading Purposes (pdf), University of Delaware Writing Center, 2004.

Rubric for Rubrics - a tool for assessing the quality and use of rubrics in education, Mullinix, B., Monmouth University, 2003.

Select Assessment Methods

Classroom Assessment Overview - collect feedback, early and frequent, on how well students are learning the course material.
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) provided by Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) provided by Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide for science, math, engineering, and technology instructors, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Designing Multiple Choice Questions
Provides guidelines, tips, and examples for constructing effective multiple choice questions that measure different levels of student learning. Questions are constructed at various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:

Publications re Accreditation and Student Learning - Middle States Commission on Higher Education (free online resource)
Advancing Student Learning  (2004) 8 pgs. ( pdf )
Highlights and a summary of the handbook, Student Learning Assessment: Options & Resources, 2003.
Special Reports by Other Organizations
Regional Accreditation and Student Learning ( pdf )...and a selected bibliography ( pdf )

Select Print Resources

National Postsecondary Education Assessment Sourcebooks (free of charge)
Volume 1 - Definitions and Assessment Measures for Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Writing (pdf)
Volume 2 - Definitions and Assessment Measures for Oral Communication, Interpersonal, Leadership, Information Literacy, and Quantitative Reasoning/Computational Skills (pdf)

Haladyna, T. (1999). (2nd ed.). Developing and validating multiple-choice test items. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Morris Library LB 3060.32.M85 H35 1999

Huba, M. & Fried, J. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses. Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Available for loan in CTE library, 212 Gore Hall.

Maki, P. (2004). Assessing for learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the institution. Sterling, VA: Stylus and AAHE. Available for loan in CTE library, 212 Gore Hall.

Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing student learning. A common sense guide. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing. Available for loan in CTE library, 212 Gore Hall.

Walvoord, B. (2004). Assessment clear and simple. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Available for loan in CTE library, 212 Gore Hall.

End-of-Term Student Evaluation

UD Online Course Evaluation
Web-based course evaluation application that is based on sound assessment practices and that can be customized by instructor/department and/or college. The confidential, anonymous online system collects student responses and reports those results to the appropriate constituents. Results are not published on the Web for public review.  Questions: Joy Lynam.

End of Course Ratings: Course Evaluation Item Pool
In addition to your required departmental course rating form, you may want to use the items we have selected from the Flashlight Current Student Inventory to assess active and collaborative learning and the use of instructional technology.  The selected sample of survey items are indexed by various aspects of instruction and are available to University of Delaware faculty to supplement existing evaluation instruments.

IDEA Form (Individual Development and Educational Assessment), IDEA Center, Manhattan, Kansas
The IDEA  student rating system is available from the CTE  to supplement your departmental and college forms.  Published by the IDEA Center, a not-for-profit corporation, the instrument is based on instructional research, addresses teacher behaviors that lead to selected instructional goals, student progress on these goals, and provides space for you to add 25 additional items to tailor your course.  The IDEA Survey Form (long form) scores are adjusted for student motivation, class size, student effort, course difficulty, and student work habits--factors that impact student ratings data.  The IDEA Center also provides research publications on student ratings.

Flashlight Current Student Inventory
The Inventory was developed for the study of teaching, learning, and technology.  Detailed background information on the development of the Flashlight Inventory includes samples of some items, an annotated bibliography, and a Web-ography. 

SIR II (Student Instructor Rating) is one of many ETS instruments that assist faculty in Higher Education Assessments.  ETS offers an array of tests and surveys used widely in outcomes assessment and institutional evaluation.  Offering a full range -- from those that measure individual skills and content mastery to those that measure overall institutional effectiveness.

Outcomes Assessment

Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment, University Planning & Analysis, NC State University.
Outcomes Assessment - Using assessment for academic program improvement, University of Wisconsin-Madison.