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

Introduction

Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education. (Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995, p. 7).

As the Assessment Subcommittee struggled to develop a plan to assess student learning at Hutchinson Community College and Area Vocational School, the members of the Subcommittee determined that any assessment plan must be cost-effective in terms of both finances and time. The high cost of many nationally normed tests often makes them unacceptable. Similarly, institutionally developed exams demand more time in grading and processing than employees of the institution are able to give. They also noted that the plan must have enough flexibility so that all programs/academic areas, both transfer and technical, could adapt the plan to their needs. In addition, the plan must provide connections among courses, programs, and the institution as a whole, not merely silo assessments at each level. Finally, the plan must not take away from instruction time and not impose outside requirements on how faculty must assess their students. With these requirements in mind, the Assessment Subcommittee has developed a plan to assess student learning on three levels—the course level, the program/academic area level, and the institution-wide level. Grades, assessment of student learning outcomes, and development of student portfolios will be used to assess student learning at the course level. That data will then be aggregated to assess student learning at the program/academic area level as well as at the institution-wide level.