Assessment
Vocabulary
The following is a short list of essential assessment terms one should be familiar with. For a more comprehensive list, please consult the JJC Assessment Handbook or the Western Michigan University Evaluation Center
Assessment:
The ongoing process of understanding, improving, and documenting student
learning
(from the Moraine Valley Community College Reference Guide to Principles and
Practices of Assessment)
Evaluation:
the systematic,
holistic process of judging the merit of a program or system. Assessment is
just one tool used to evaluate the effectiveness, merit, or worth of a
program
Direct Assessment:
requires students to display their knowledge and skills as they respond to
the instrument itself. Examples include objective tests, presentations, and
classroom assignments (from Assessment
Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher
Education) See also: Indirect Assessment
Formative Assessment:
conducted during the life of a program with the purpose of providing
feedback to modify, shape, and improve the program
(from Assessment Essentials: Planning,
Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education) See also:
Summative Assessment
Indirect
Assessment:
asks students to reflect on their learning rather than demonstrate it.
Examples include interviews and surveys
(from Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving
Assessment in Higher Education) See also: Direct Assessment
Objective:
clear, measurable, and observable goals for a program. Objectives are
articulated twice: 1) at the beginning of an assessment and 2) when
assessment results are available, to make new objectives
Outcome:
results or products of
teaching and learning. Must be measurable quantitatively or qualitatively
Program: any activity or collection of activities of a college that
consumes resources (dollars, people, space, equipment, time)
(from Prioritizing Academic Programs and
Services: Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance)
Qualitative:
Based on the constructivist approach to learning with the goal of providing
a narration or description about what is occurring when students learn.
Generally associated with objectivity and direct assessment methods
Quantitative: Based on the positivist approach to learning with the
goal of providing a snapshot of students perform at a certain point in time
and in relation to other students. Generally associated with subjectivity
and indirect assessment methods
Summative Assessment:
conducted after a program has been in operation for awhile, or at its
conclusion, with judgments about the program's merit or worth evaluated by
comparing prior stated objectives with actual outcomes
(from Assessment Essentials: Planning,
Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education) See also:
Formative Assessment
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