Below are a few online resources and research articles relevant to assessment.
Have a great assessment resource you want to share? E-mail the director to have it posted here.
Helpful Web Sites
Glossary of Assessment Terms
American Association of Universities and Colleges
AAC&U works with campuses to "set clear goals, plan instruction and curricula to achieve the goals, assess student accomplishment, and revise and improve the whole learning/teaching cycle". Their Web site offers information on assessment initiatives, as well as specific resources specially tailored to those interested in liberal arts.
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
Part of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) the IPEDS system system is built around a series of interrelated surveys, and collects institution-level data in such areas as enrollments, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances. The Peer analysis tool is especially useful, although there is a significant time lag in data
Writing Student Learning Outcomes
A helpful guide from the National Center for Geographic Information & Analysis at UC Santa Barbara. Created for their core curriculum instructors, so some information and examples are specific to them, but a concise and thorough guide. Easy to follow and understand.
Online Assessment Resources
A comprehensive guide updated and maintained by North CarolinaState University.
Recent Articles
Angelo, Thomas A. "Doing Assessment as if Learning Matters Most." AAHE Bulletin, May 1999.
Borden, Victor M.H. and Jody L. Zak Owens. Measuring Quality: Choosing Among Surveys and Other Assessments of College Quality. Tallahassee, FL: Association for Institutional Research / Washington, DC: American Council on Education, 2001.
Maki, Peggy. "Developing an Assessment Plan to Learn about Student Learning," Journal of Academic Librarianship, January 2002.
Pascarella, Ernest T., Ty M. Cruce, Gregory C. Wolniak, and Charles Blaich. "Do Liberal Arts Colleges Really Foster Good Practices in Undergraduate Education? Journal of College Student Development 45, no. 1 (2004): 67-84.
Shulman, Lee. "Principles for the Uses of Assessment in Policy and Practice." President's report to the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, CA, 2006
Steiner, Lucy M. Bryan C. Hassel, and Steven J. Tepper. "Measuring Higher Education: A Compendium of Assessment Instruments for Colleges and Universities." Report prepared for the Teagle Foundation, November 2004
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. The NPEC Sourcebook on Assessment, Vol. 1: Definitions and Assessment Methods for Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Writing. NCES 2000--172, prepared by T. Dary Erwin for the Council of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Student Outcomes Pilot Working Group: Cognitive and Intellectual Development. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2000. The publication reviews standardized national tests, discusses key questions that need to be asked when designing an assessment process, and discusses the importance of key definitions, especially as they apply to critical thinking and writing. Available in hard copy in the Office of Assessment.
Wiggins, Grant. "The Truth May Make You Free, but the Test May Keep You Imprisoned: Toward Assessment Worthy of the Liberal Arts." In Assessment and Program Evaluation: An Ashe Reader, edited by Joan S. Stark and Alice Thomas, 545-556. Needham Heights, MA: Simon Schuster Custom Publishing.