Assessment: Assessment Mission
What is Assessment?
Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development. To make assessment work, educators must be purposeful about the information they collect, and after data collection, examine and use the assessment results to improve the program. Trudy Banta, Assessment Essentials, 1999
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. Huba and Freed, 2000
Assessment Pearls
Assessment is more about mindset than method.
Assessment is a metaphor for scholarship of teaching and learning.
Assessment is about learning and continuous improvement.
Assessment is never-ending.
Peter Ewell, Keynote Address, Assessment Matters: Creating Cultures of Evidence in a Research University Setting,
February 13, 2003. University of Kentucky
Assessment of Student Achievement
Assessment of student learning helps educators determine whether they are contributing to student growth and development. It enables the educators to examine whether the curriculum makes sense in its entirety and whether students, as a result of all their experiences, have the knowledge, skills, and values that they should possess as a graduate of the program.
Programmatic Assessment
Programmatic assessment involves the systematic evaluation of the extent to which the program meets its objectives and outcomes.
What is Assessed?
Courses
Programs
Students
Alumni
Employers
Why Do Assessment?
Recent changes in the requirements from the Department of Education for achieving and maintaining accreditation within higher education now mandate that an institution document that its graduates achieve specific outcomes developed by each program. Essentially this means each program must describe what its graduates are able to do (outcomes) and provide evidence that they have demonstrated this (assessment).
To fulfill this mandate the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) revised its accreditation standards to reflect these new requirements. These standards, known as Standards 2000, were adopted June 14, 1997 and became effective July 1, 2000. According to the ACPE Standards 2000, the College or School of Pharmacy is expected to demonstrate that it systematically obtains outcome information and that it applies this information to foster program improvements and to enhance student achievement.
The College of Pharmacy Curriculum Committee reviewed these ACPE Standards and also reviewed and adopted Outcomes Statements that were developed by a UK team at the AACP 2001Institute. The Curriculum Committee believes that these outcome statements will allow us to perform the needed assessments to comply with the new regulations for accreditation.
In addition, the literature reveals that one method to determine if these expectations are being met is to use assessment. Assessment can be used to measure if a programs graduate has attained the expected outcomes of the program. If it is completed properly, assessment can provide information about what and how students learn; and it can help a program collect and utilize information for continuous improvement in the educational process.