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

Grades and Assessment

Because course grades do not provide the same information that assessment of learning outcomes does, alone they do not provide good information about what students know. However, because they are readily available and do give a sense of how many students are successful, they will be collected and reported each term. Both faculty and administration should use grade information to make general decisions about instruction. For specific decisions about students learning, using course grades does not make sense since grades provide little information about students’ mastery of outcomes, particularly since grades are often based on participation, attendance, bonus points, or other criteria that do not directly measure mastery of outcomes. In addition, grading standards often vary among instructors of the course and do not reflect the same degree of student mastery of course outcomes. Another problem with using course grades in place of course assessment is that grade inflation may present misleading information about student mastery of course outcomes.