What Do I Assess

By Jac Assessment

Every hero eventually reaches the trailhead and asks the same question:  Where do I start?

Assessment can feel like a large and sometimes complicated expedition. We hear terms such as course assessment, program assessment, closing the loop, evidence of learning, and reassessment, and suddenly it can sound like assessment is something separate from teaching.  But it is not. At its best, assessment begins with a much more practical question: What do I need to know about my students’ learning?  That question is your first signpost.

Assessment is not about mapping every inch of the kingdom. It is about identifying the learning that matters most, gathering meaningful evidence of that learning, and using what we discover to make informed improvements, then checking to see if the changes worked. In assessment language, we call this closing the loop.  In teaching language, it is what faculty just do: notice what is working, identify what may need attention, make a thoughtful adjustment, and see whether it helped.

Start With the Destination, Not the Gear

One of the easiest ways to get lost on the assessment trail is to start with an assignment.  Should I assess the paper? The exam? The presentation? The project?  So, before you strap six assignments, three rubrics, and a spreadsheet to your assessment backpack, stop and check the destination.  Start with the learning outcome. Assignments are where students produce evidence. Outcomes tell us what learning we are looking for.

A grade tells us how a student performed on an assignment overall. Assessment asks a more focused question:  Did students demonstrate the intended learning?  A paper, project, presentation, case analysis, exam, lab, or skills demonstration may include many elements: organization, grammar, accuracy, formatting, research, analysis, timeliness, or presentation quality.

Assessment narrows the lens to the specific learning connected to the outcome. Think of the assignment as the landscape. The outcome tells you what you are looking for in it.

First Stop: Course Assessment

As we begin our new three-year assessment cycle, we are resuming course assessment. Course assessment focuses on student learning within a specific course. It allows faculty to determine whether students are achieving important course learning outcomes and to use that information to strengthen instruction, assignments, materials, feedback, and student support.

A course assessment might focus on a key concept, skill, competency, or application task. You might ask whether students can:

• explain an important concept,
• apply a process,
• analyze information,
• solve a problem,
• use evidence,
• demonstrate a technique, or
• communicate effectively within the discipline.

For example, an introductory criminal justice course might include an outcome requiring students to explain the major components of the criminal justice system.  A useful assessment could examine whether or not students can accurately describe the three main branches and explain how those components interact. You would not need to assess every feature of the assignment. This is one stop on the journey, not the whole kingdom.

Follow the outcome.

Rubrics, embedded exam questions, projects, discussions, presentations, lab activities, skills demonstrations, and written responses can all provide useful evidence.  The important question is not whether the assessment tool is elaborate. The important question is:

Does this student work give me direct evidence of the learning outcome I am trying to assess?

If yes, you are on the right trail.

Zoom Out: Program Assessment

What Are Students Learning Across the Journey?  Course assessment gives us a close-up view of learning. Program assessment asks us to zoom out and look at the larger map. Program assessment examines whether students are developing the broader knowledge, skills, and abilities expected as they move through and complete a program.  

Course assessment helps inform that picture, but program assessment looks across the journey rather than at one stop along the trail. When selecting a course outcome to assess, consider whether it naturally connects with a program outcome.  That does not mean every course must assess every program outcome.  No hero should be expected to carry the entire kingdom in one backpack.  If your assessment plan requires a pack mule, it may be time to narrow the focus. Instead, programs identify where students have meaningful opportunities to demonstrate important learning. 

During our three-year cycle, every course should be assessed, while programs need to ensure that at least three program outcomes are represented across their course assessment reports.  That makes thoughtful alignment important while keeping the work manageable. The goal is not to force connections where they do not belong. The goal is to recognize where they already exist.

A course outcome may support a program outcome. A program outcome may connect with broader institutional learning. One piece of data may be able to tell us something useful at more than one level. When those connections are natural, assessment becomes much more meaningful.

Pack Light

Keep the Assessment Manageable. Every expedition has someone who tries to pack everything.  Okay, yes, that would probably be me packing multiple alternatives. Don’t let that be your assessment plan.  Meaningful assessment does not require assessing everything at once. In fact, trying to collect too much information can make the results harder to interpret and less useful.  A focused plan is often stronger.

Start with:

• One important outcome.
• One meaningful source of evidence.
• One question you genuinely want to answer.

Then use what you learn to make one thoughtful improvement. Assessment should be realistic enough that faculty can complete the process, interpret the results, and actually use them. More data is not automatically better data.  Your assessment backpack does not earn bonus points for being heavier. 

Useful evidence is the goal.

Remember: collecting the evidence is not the end of the journey.  Sometimes the evidence confirms that students are achieving the outcome.  That is good information. It tells us what is working and what we may want to continue. Sometimes the evidence reveals a gap between what we expected and what students demonstrated. That is useful information too. It gives us a direction for the next step. Finding a gap is not discovering a dragon.  It is discovering a signpost.

Check the PAIR Compass

Once you know what you want to assess, the PAIR Compass helps keep the journey moving toward True North.  It is especially useful when you find yourself wandering toward the mists of “Let’s Collect All the Data.”

So, What DO I Assess?

When you arrive at the trailhead, you do not need to assess everything.  Start with the learning that matters.  Choose a meaningful outcome. Find student work that provides direct evidence of that outcome. Examine what the evidence tells you. Make a thoughtful response. Then come back and look again. 

Remember, you don’t need to conquer the entire assessment kingdom in one semester.  You just need to choose a worthwhile destination and begin moving toward it.

So when the question “What do I assess?” starts to feel overwhelming, check the compass: Where are my students struggling? What gap in learning do I want to better understand? That is often where the most useful assessment journeys begin. Choose the learning. Follow the evidence. Use what you find to decide what might help students move forward. Keep True North in view. Keep your assessment backpack reasonably light. The next chapter of GCC’s assessment story is just beginning.

Stand by for more on YOUR Assessment Hero’s Journey.