Assessment Handbook

• Introduction
  • Characteristics of Assessment
  • Necessity of Assessment
  • Benefits of Assessment
  • Glossary

• Assessment at HCC
  • Future Direction
  • Flowchart of Assessment
  • Timeline
  • Evaluation
  • Principles
  • Grades and Assessment
  • Success and Retention

• Assessment of Learning Outcomes
  • Course Assessment
    • Course Outcomes
    • Verbs for Writing Outcomes Using Bloom
    • Assessment Instruments
    • Resources on Assessment
    • Evaluation Methods
    • Resources on Methods of Evaluation
    • Level of Achievement
    • Course Outcomes Matrix
    • Example of Completed Course Matrix
  • Program Assessment
    • Program Curriculum Map
    • Completed Program Curriculum Map
  • Institution-Wide Assessment
    • Institution-Wide Outcomes Matrix
    • Completed Institution-Wide Matrix
  • Reporting
    • Online Report of Outcome Assessment
    • Completed Online Reporting Form
  • Assessment Plan Checklist

Necessity of Assessment

The necessity of assessing student learning also results in part from the move from the Industrial to the Information Age, with its explosion of knowledge. The amount of information available to people is growing exponentially, doubling every three years. Since students cannot possibly learn all the facts and since students have easy access to needed information through print and electronic text as well as non-text sources, memorization and regurgitation of facts is no longer the goal of education.

In addition, research clearly shows that students learn better when they are evaluated in the context of real-life situations. By giving students more realistic tasks to do on assessments, teachers can better determine what range of tasks students can perform and if students can apply their knowledge in new situations. Competence is no longer just a matter of using separate skills but of knowing how and when to use a variety of skills collectively to accomplish a goal.  A single right or wrong answer to every question does not exist.  Students must now actively evaluate multiple possibilities to determine which has the most validity. Therefore, while assessment was once used to sort students, ranking them according to their ability or achievement, now all students, regardless of ability, must meet certain standards in order to succeed in the world. Assessment, then, is intended to improve student learning and inform instruction in order to assure that all students successfully completing a course have met the requisite outcomes.