CONTENTS: Definitions of assessment from AAHE and other institutions, plus resources on assessment in general education.

SOURCE: The American Association of Higher Education Assessment Forum (http://www.aahe.org/assessment/assess_faq.htm) Adapted for NTLF June 1999.

How Do You Define Assessment?

What is assessment? How do you define it? The American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) Assessment Forum (http://www.aahe.org/assessment/assessnw.htm) is often asked to provide a brief answer. We have compiled a list of resources that suggest the variety of responses possible for these questions.

AAHE Assessment Forum Definitions of Assessment

In the spring of 1995, Thomas A. Angelo, then director of the AAHE Assessment Forum, suggested it was time to "reassess assessment in higher education" (AAHE Bulletin, April 1995, p. 11). He presented a draft definition of assessment and solicited responses. Colleagues were invited to comment, revise, and expand the definition. The draft definition was as follows:

"Assessment is a means for focusing our collective attention, examining our assumptions, and creating a shared culture dedicated to continuously improving the quality of higher learning. Assessment requires making expectations and standards for quality explicit and public; systematically gathering evidence on how well performance matches those expectations and standards; analyzing and interpreting the evidence; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance." (Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, April 1995, p. 11).

As promised, Angelo took seriously the feedback he received. Five themes emerged from the contributions:

1. Assessment should focus on improving student learning;
2. The focus of assessment should not be limited to the classroom, but include the wide range of processes that influence learning;
3. Assessment is a process embedded within larger systems;
4. Assessment should focus collective attention and create linkages and enhance coherence within and across the curriculum; and
5. Tension between assessment for improvement and assessment for accountability must be managed.

The revised definition reads as follows:

Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education (Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995, p. 7).

Other Definitions

"I shall consider assessment to include the gathering of information concerning the functioning of students, staff, and institutions of higher education. The information may or may not be in numerical form, but the basic motive for gathering it is to improve the functioning of the institution and its people. I used functioning to refer to the broad social purposes of a college or university: to facilitate student learning and development, to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and to contribute to the community, and the society"
(Alexander Astin, Assessment for Excellence, Oryx Press, 1993, p. 2).

"Assessment is defined as the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students. More specifically, assessment is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students' learning and development"
(T. Dary Erwin, Assessing Student Learning and Development, Jossey-Bass, 1991, see pp.14-19).

Institutional Definitions

California State University-Chico's extensive Guidelines for Assessment includes an institutional definition of assessment (http://www.csuchico.edu/community/assessment.html).

"Assessment at Eastern New Mexico University has grown to include measures of academic achievement within students' major fields, students' values and attitudes, and students' satisfaction with the institution." (From http://www.enmu.edu/~testaa/)

"Assessment is data collection and analysis for program planning and accountability. Student academic achievement is the assessed result of measurement in major departments and in general education for the College and University as a whole." (College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, Collegeville, MN; http://www.csbsju.edu/)

"Student Academic Achievement Assessment: The evaluation and improvement of student learning. Student academic achievement assessment may include evaluation of mastery of content, cognitive and affective gains (e.g., general knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, behaviors), evaluation of programs and services that contribute to student learning, student and/or employee satisfaction, employer satisfaction, etc. Formative, aimed at improving something which is already being done (learning)." (Front Range Community College; http://frcc.cc.co.us/)

"Assessment: Processes both objective and subjective, whereby achievement of objectives and strategies is evaluated." (Taylor University, Upland, Indiana; http://www.tayloru.edu/)

Internet Resources

The University of Missouri Assessment Resource Center webpage includes a link to a Glossary of Assessment Terms (http://tiger.coe.missouri.edu/~arcwww/main.html).

Assessment Critical Issues Bibliography produced by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education (http://www.gwu.edu/~eriche/Library/crib/assess.html).

Assessment of General Education

Most institutions include general education as part of the undergraduate curriculum. Assessing general education, however, is a complex task that cuts across the institution and traditional disciplines. How can we assess critical thinking? Do our students possess adequate communication skills? How can portfolios be used to assess general education? The AAHE Assessment Forum has compiled a list of resources that may help answer some of these questions.

Books and Articles

Assessing General Education Outcomes for the Individual Student: Performance Assessment-as-Learning (Parts I & II). Published by the Alverno College Institute, these volumes represent the efforts of 23 institutions in designing instruments to assess general education outcomes. To order, see the "For Educators" section of the Alverno College homepage (http://www.alverno.edu/).

The Journal of General Education. Published quarterly by the Pennsylvania University Press, JGE is the major professional forum for discussing general education. See the JGE webpage for a sample table of contents and subscription information (http://www.psu.edu/dept/psupress/titles/jnrl_titles/jge.html).

Time Will Tell: Portfolio-Assisted Assessment of General Education. A comprehensive guide to the implementation and use of student portfolios to assess general-education outcomes at individual and program levels. By Aubrey Forrest and a study group on portfolio assessment. Published in 1990 by the AAHE Assessment Forum. Available from the AAHE Publications desk (http://www.aahe.org/pubs/publist3.htm#order). (AS9003, $7.50 members/$9.00 nonmembers)

Using Assessment to Strengthen General Education. How assessment's questions and approaches can support this central component of undergraduate education. By Pat Hutchings, Ted Marchese, and Barbara Wright; published in 1991 by the AAHE Assessment Forum. Available from the AAHE Publications desk (http://www.aahe.org/pubs/publist3.htm#order). (AS9101, $8.50 members/$10 nonmembers)

Institutional Resources

Alverno College Institute Alverno College is recognized as one of the leading institutions in student outcomes assessment. Faculty at Alverno have identified eight abilities that students must demonstrate before graduation. These abilities mirror commonly identified general education outcomes. (http://www.alverno.edu/educators/educators.html)

The General Education Program at James Madison University has recently undergone major revision. Five clusters have been created with learning objectives identified for each ("upon completion of this Cluster, students should be able to..."). This page also includes links to 11 other general education programs across the country. (http://www.jmu.edu/gened)

Internet Resources

See the 1997 AAHE Assessment Forum Conference on Assessment & Quality Session Descriptions for six sessions that address the assessment of general education. (http://www.aahe.org/assessment/assessnw.htm)

Standardized tests are also available to assess general education. Search the ACT, Inc. (http://www.act.org/) and Educational Testing Services (http://www.ets.org/) websites for further information.

Associations

The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers a number of publications that directly address issues of general education. Search the publications database on the AAC&U webpage (http://www.aacu-edu.org/) to read about a dozen publications that may be of interest including Assessing General Education and Strong Foundations: Twelve Principles for Effective General Education Programs.