Trends In Assessment

Informed, in part, by sessions at the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, the oldest and largest U.S. event focused on assessing and improving higher education, this second edition of Trends in Assessment is intended to encapsulate lessons learned from the recent past, reflect the current state, and inspire future directions for higher education assessment. Throughout the volume, organizers of the Assessment Institute contribute chapters framed around some of the major topics, tracks, and themes from the annual program. Each chapter provides important background and context with attention to the significance of the topic, describes current and enduring trends, and offers ideas about emerging trends and their implications for higher education. Chapters conclude with a summary of the main trends and questions for consideration and discussion. The volume is also influenced by the work of key Assessment Institute national-level partners, along with the substantial bodies of literature on student learning and development, assessment and improvement, and higher education administration. This book provides readers with information, strategies, and resources on assessment concepts and approaches across a broad and diverse mix of disciplines, institutional and organizational types, and levels of experience in higher education assessment. Designed to be incorporated into workshops, professional development programs, and courses, faculty and staff members, educational developers, student affairs practitioners, and graduate students of higher education administration will find the ideas and information presented in Trends in Assessment a useful resource on assessment and improvement in contemporary higher education.

Explore multiple practical and theoretical dimensions of needs assessment. This volume focuses exclusively on this essential topic for guiding decisions—examining subjects such as: the importance of defining needs, implementing assessments in public and private-sector organizations, aligning needs with assets and capacity assessments, how assessments factor into meaningful change at the organizational and society levels how to apply needs assessments in culturally diverse contexts conducting international needs assessments, and the impact of technologies on needs assessment methods. This issue will help professionals within public and private organizations conduct useful assessments, ones leading to results that can be applied in decisions. This is the 144th issue in the New Directions for Evaluation series from Jossey-Bass. It is an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.

Trends in Assessment provides readers with a survey of the state-of-the-art of the enduring assessment concepts and approaches developed over the past twenty-five years, and includes chapters by acknowledged experts who describe how emerging assessment trends and ideas apply to their programs and pedagogies, covering: Community Engagement ePortfolios Faculty Development Global Learning Graduate and Professional Education High-Impact Practices Learning Improvement and Innovation Assessment Trends from NILOA STEM Student Affairs Programs and Services The concluding chapters point to a future of assessment and identify several meta-trends in assessment. The book was conceived by organizers and contributors of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, the nation’s oldest and largest higher education assessment event, and includes contributions by the following partners of the Institute: Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE); Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL); Association for General and Liberal Studies (AGLS); Association for Institutional Research (AIR); Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U); Center for Postsecondary Research (CPR)/National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE); and Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS). Trends in Assessment serves as a vital resource for faculty, student affairs professionals, administrators, anyone involved in accreditation, and scholars in the field.

"Informed by sessions at the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, the oldest and largest U.S. event focused on assessing and improving higher education, this second edition of Trends in Assessment is intended to encapsulate lessons learned from the recent past, reflect the current state, and inspire future directions for higher education assessment. Throughout the volume, organizers of the Assessment Institute contribute chapters framed around some of the major topics, tracks, and themes from the annual program. Each chapter provides important background and context with attention to the significance of the topic, describes current and enduring trends, and offers ideas about emerging trends and their implications for higher education. Chapters conclude with a summary of main trends and questions for consideration and discussion. The volume is also influenced by the work of key Assessment Institute national-level partners, along with the substantial bodies of literature on student learning and development, assessment and improvement, and higher education administration. This book provides readers with information, strategies, and resources on assessment concepts and approaches across a broad and diverse mix of disciplines, institutional and organizational types, and levels of experience in higher education assessment. Designed to be incorporated into workshops, professional development programs, and courses, faculty and staff members, educational developers, student affairs practitioners, and graduate students of higher education administration will find the ideas and information presented in Trends in Assessment a useful resource on assessment and improvement in contemporary higher education"--

Despite prodigious developments in the field of language assessment in the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, research and practice in these areas have been underrepresented in mainstream literature. This volume takes a fresh look at language assessment in these regions, and provides a unique overview of contemporary language assessment research. In compiling this book, the editors have tapped into the knowledge of language and educational assessment experts whose diversity of perspectives and experience has enriched the focus and scope of language and educational assessment in general, and the present volume in particular. The six ‘trends’ addressed in the 26 chapters that comprise this title consider such contemporary topics as data mining, in-class assessment, and washback. The contributors explore new approaches and techniques in language assessment including advances resulting from multidisciplinary collaboration with researchers in computer science, genetics, and neuroscience. The current trends and promising new directions identified in this volume and the research reported here suggest that researchers across the Middle East and the Pacific Rim are playing—and will continue to play—an important role in advancing the quality, utility, and fairness of language testing and assessment practices.

Assessment has provided educational institutions with information about student learning outcomes and the quality of education for many decades. But has it informed practice and been fully incorporated into the learning cycle? Conrad and Openo argue that the potential inherent in many of the new learning environments being explored by educators and students has not been fully realized. In this investigation of a variety of assessment methods and learning approaches, the authors aim to discover the tools that engage learners and authentically evaluate education. They insist that moving to new learning environments, specifically those online and at a distance, afford opportunities for educators to adopt only the best practices of traditional face-to-face assessment while exploring evaluation tools made available by a digital learning environment in the hopes of arriving at methods that capture the widest set of learner skills and attributes.

The first edition of Assessing Student Learning has become the standard reference for college faculty and administrators who are charged with the task of assessing student learning within their institutions. The second edition of this landmark book offers the same practical guidance and is designed to meet ever-increasing demands for improvement and accountability. This edition includes expanded coverage of vital assessment topics such as promoting an assessment culture, characteristics of good assessment, audiences for assessment, organizing and coordinating assessment, assessing attitudes and values, setting benchmarks and standards, and using results to inform and improve teaching, learning, planning, and decision making.

Both educators and their students are involved in the process of assessment – all parties are expected to meet and exceed expectations in the face of competing conditions. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it though peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Though widely researched, few have measured these innovations’ effectiveness in terms of satisfaction, perceived learning, or performance improvements. Innovative Practices for Higher Education Assessment and Measurement bridges the gap between political discourse, theoretical approach, and teaching practices in terms of assessment in higher education. Bringing new insights and presenting novel strategies, this publication brings forth a new perception of the importance of assessment and offers a set of successful, innovative practices. This book is ideal for educators, administrators, policy makers, and students of education.