Assessment and Assessment and Curriculum ChangeCurriculum Change

March 9, 2010Lake Point Conference Center

Defining AssessmentDefining AssessmentAssessment is the process of

determining what your students should learn, how well they learn it, and what needs to be done if they do not meet your expectations.

Assessment is NOT:Assessment is NOT:A clerical taskUsing the correct terminologySomething that is peripheral to

the normal activity of your department or resource allocation

Where does assessment Where does assessment make a difference?make a difference?With individual faculty when we

change the way we teach our courses (new content, new methods, new books, new assignments, etc.)

With departments when program curricula are changed or new programs are created

(Sometimes things stay the same)

Determining what your Determining what your students should learn students should learn involves:involves:Faculty ParticipationAnalyzing the current state of

your discipline or professionIdentifying key learning goalsAccreditation guidelinesAdvisory CouncilsSurvey of employment markets(Potential new ADHE program

reviews)

Determining what students Determining what students should learn can result in:should learn can result in:Evidence of gaps in your curriculumNeed for new program advancementHiring new faculty or adding faculty

positionsNew sources of data for both

curricular change and program assessment◦Disciplinary or professional publications◦Potential employment information◦Comparisons with similar institutions

Determining how well your Determining how well your students learn includes:students learn includes:Course-specific measures of student

learningStandardized exams or major field

testsInternshipsExit interviews with graduating seniors

or alumni surveysData gleaned from programmatic

assessment should always be included in curricular change proposals

Determining how well your Determining how well your students learn includes:students learn includes:Student data from outside your

departmentStudent Services

◦NSSI◦SSI◦Bridge to Excellence (CSI)◦TECH 1001

General Education dataSharing information across campus

Determining what needs to Determining what needs to be done includes:be done includes:

Course AdditionsCurricular ChangesNew Program CreationCourse or Program Deletion

Determining what needs to Determining what needs to be done does not include:be done does not include:Cosmetic changes Catalogue description changesMinor course title changesEliminating redundancyMeeting new ADHE guidelinesCorrecting or modifying course

coding

Curriculum ChangeCurriculum Change“Describe the evidence derived

from your program assessment that justifies this change. Assessment evidence may come from direct and indirect measures of student learning as well as analysis of the current state of the discipline.”

Curriculum ChangeCurriculum ChangeAlways be mindful of the results

of your assessment effortsNot every identified weakness

should result in a curricular change

But, every curricular change should be grounded in programmatic assessment

Curriculum ChangeCurriculum ChangeDisciplinary or professional publicationsPotential employment informationComparisons with similar institutionsCourse-specific measures of student

learningStandardized exams or major field testsInternshipsExit interviews with graduating seniors or

alumni surveysStudent data from outside your

department

Curricular Change and Curricular Change and AssessmentAssessmentPurpose of curricular change is to

create a process where faculty can adequately and speedily assure that students are learning what our evidence indicates they should learn.