AAHE 2004

Connecting Public Audiences to Connecting Public Audiences to the College Experience: A Model the College Experience: A Model

of General Education Assessment of General Education Assessment

Susan L. DavisJames Madison University

A. Katherine MorrowIndiana University-Purdue

University Indianapolis

AAHE 2004

Objectives

• Discuss the challenges and rewards of implementing general education assessment programs

• Learn different methods of general education assessment and examine components of methods that are applicable to your campus

• Begin developing a strategy to implement general education assessment on your campus

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Importance of General Education Assessment

• Provides evidence of accountability to stakeholders

• Demonstrates student learning in core areas valued by the institution

• General Education composes a substantial amount of a students’ college education

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Obstacles to implementing such an assessment

• Creating campus culture of assessment• Articulating general education goals• Balancing manageable work-groups with

soliciting faculty involvement• Distinguishing where and when students obtain

such skills• Choosing the appropriate method

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A Look at General Education Assessment Methods

• Portfolios• Course embedded assessments• Surveys• Commercial tests• Locally-developed tests• Hybrid

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Portfolios

• A type of performance assessment in which students’ work is systematically collected and carefully reviewed for evidence of learning and development– Banta

• Examples of student work

• ‘Real-world’ assessment

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Portfolios

• Samples– Collected from all, only a sample are analyzed– Collected from just a sample

• Types– Performance [music, art]– Class projects– Writing samples

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Portfolios

• Advantages– Richness of material– Students’ original work

• Disadvantages– Intense work

• Creating• Analyzing• Storing

– Often have to rely on a sample assessment– Reliability and validity can be harder to establish

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Use of portfolios in general education assessment

• Alverno College

• Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

• Truman State University – Liberal Arts and Sciences Portfolio

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Course-embedded Assessments

• In course-embedded assessment faculty members demonstrate through course assignments, papers, and exams that students are meeting the general education goals.

• Faculty must have some sort of assignment in which students can demonstrate their abilities in relation to the general education goal.

AAHE 2004

Course-embedded Assessments

• Advantages– Flexibility for faculty– No additional time required from students– Faster and more focused feedback– Evaluation at the student level, course level, and

program level

• Disadvantages– Time consuming/ labor intensive for faculty– Must be aggregated– Instruments may need to be developed– May not show overall learning of a student (ability to

integrate knowledge)

AAHE 2004

Use of course-embedded assessments in general education

•California State University – Bakersfield

http://www.csub.edu/assessmentcenter/reports/reports/ge/ScienceGEReport_6_00.htm

•University of Northern Colorado

http://www.unco.edu/general_education/cea.htm

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Surveys

• A survey is a method of collecting information from people about their characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, or perceptions. - Banta

• Often used to assess– Opinion– Demographics

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Surveys

• Samples– Students who have completed general education

requirement– Graduating students– Alumni– Employers

• Topics– Perceptions of learning from an individual course– Development of general education skills– Perceptions of general education program– Value of classes

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Surveys

• Advantages– Easy to administer– Low-stakes ~ no concern for test security– Easy to conduct in many formats – Cover a numerous amount of topics

• Disadvantages– Motivation for honesty?– No direct measure of learning– Volunteer sample

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Use of surveys in general education assessment

• Western Carolina University– Skill self-assessment

• Weber state University– Completion of gen-ed survey

• Cleveland State University– Senior survey

• IUPUI – NSSE

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Commercial instruments•Commercially available instruments are should have strong psychometric properties •General education goals must be articulated and the instrument must measure those goals •Instruments can be used to measure overall learning or broad skills as well as a single area such as mathematical reasoning or critical thinking

•Some popular commercially available instruments:–College BASE–CAAP–ACT Comp–Academic Profile

AAHE 2004

Commercial instruments• Advantages

– Readily available and easy to use – Provides information about psychometric evidence– Can compare institutions

• Disadvantages– Instruments may not measure the institutions goals– Cost– Campus psychometric evidence must be established– Skepticism among faculty

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Use of commercial instruments in general education assessment

•East Tennessee State University – Academic Profile

•Missouri – College BASE

•Ferris State University – Academic Profile

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Locally developed instruments

• Difficulty in finding an instrument to suit your needs

• Create your own!

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Locally developed instruments

• Pros– Perfectly match your objectives– Control over scoring & reporting– After developments -> minimal costs

• Cons– Time consuming– Resources:

• Test development know-how• Content experts

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Use of locally-developed instruments in general education

assessment

• James Madison University

• Appalachian State University

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Hybrid methods

• Many colleges use a combination of methods to measure gen ed goals

• Ferris State University – CSEQ & Academic Profile, surveys & Locally developed instruments

• University Wisconsin-Madison – course embedded for quantitative skills & NSSE

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Choosing a model that works: Things to consider

• What is the scope of your general education program?

• What resources do you have available to start up a general education assessment program?

• What are you going to do with your results?

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Developing your own tool

• Many institutions want to develop their own instruments.

• Instruments may be developed for overall learning, a focused subject area

• This is a challenging, but rewarding process and the journey begins here!

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Creating an assessment strategy

• Describe the current general education program on your campus.

• Does the general education program have stated goals and objectives? If so, what are they?

• Describe the campus culture toward assessment. Is assessment a Who are your allies in assessment planning and execution?

• Pros, Cons, and Use of assessment methods• What obstacles may prevent an assessment plan from

working?• How might those obstacles be overcome?• Who can I contact for more information?

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Conclusion

• Questions

• Comments

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References

Bers, T. (2000). Assessing the achievement of general education objectives: A college-wide approach. The Journal of General Education, 49 (3),

American Council of Trustees and Alumni (2004). The hollow core. Failure of the general education curriculum.

AAHE 2004

Susan Davis Center for Assessment and Research StudiesJames Madison Universitydavissl@jmu.edu

Katie MorrowPlanning & Institutional ImprovementIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolisannmorro@iupui.edu

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