Lessons Learned in Assessment
Assessment of international learning outcomes is a complex
undertaking. The following are general "lessons learned" from the
ACE/FIPSE project on assessing international learning outcomes. In the
box on the right, specific sets of lessons learned are grouped by
assessment stage, starting with "Preparing for Assessment" and ending
with "Using the Results."
LESSON: Define your assessment purpose
It is important to reach some consensus about the purpose of assessment
early in the process. There are debates about whether assessment work
should be for the improvement of student learning or accountability.
Implementation and design decisions can vary considerably depending upon
the purpose.
LESSON: Coordinate the assessment tools and
process
The assessment process will flow more smoothly if a holistic assessment
package is developed that includes explicit instructions for students,
and how faculty can guide students with the submission of their data. If
multiple assessment tools are used, like the SPIF and ePortfolio, they
should be coordinated at the beginning.
LESSON: Adapt, don't adopt
Each institution is likely to develop different international learning
outcomes. Because it is important that the assessment instruments align
with the outcomes, pre-existing rubrics (like those created for the
ACE/FISPE project) should be adapted rather than adopted by institutions
interested in using them.
LESSON: Less is more. Be selective. Stage
Inquiries
Be very selective in identifying international learning outcomes and
limit the number assessed in a given assessment cycle. When adapting
complex assessment tools, like the SPIF and the ePortfolio, ask the most
important things you want to learn about students experiences (for the
SPIF) and identify the most salient rubric criteria (for the
ePortfolio).
LESSON: Be specific about the connections between the
outcomes and the instruments
It is important to explicitly map out links between desired
international learning outcomes and the assessment instrument—how
outcomes are specifically being measured by the instrument(s) you are
using. It can be challenging to get buy-in from key stakeholders who may
already be dubious about assessment or who may believe that
international learning outcomes are not measurable.
LESSON: Build in incentives or requirements for students to
undergo assessment
The assessment process should be embedded in a course or required
for program completion; otherwise students will not be motivated to
participate. In addition, the assessment process should be a meaningful
learning experience for students; they should be provided with authentic
feedback on their performance.
LESSON: Review IRB procedures
Some institutions may require IRB approval for this kind of
work. For those who have rigorous, comprehensive IRB committees, it's
important to determine if these IRB restrictions are relevant for your
assessment process and if they are, formulate your assessment plan with
these restrictions in mind from the start.
LESSON: Assess the assessment team
While the assessment team should be formed with care and the specific
roles of its members mapped out, it should not be conceived of as a
static group. Furthermore, as the assessment process unfolds, the team
should be reflective about its strengths and weaknesses, and address
them as needed in order to ensure that the work proceeds as smoothly as
possible.
LESSON: Collaborate
It is important to nurture open cooperation between the administration,
the assessment team, other faculty members, and external consultants
(when needed). It is also important to recognize the expertise and
resources that each team member brings to the table, build upon this
existing knowledge base when advancing new assessment ideas, and allow
time for those involved to work through the issues these new ideas
present.
LESSON: Build, foster and sustain a learning
community
Institutions need to continually nurture the assessment culture, broaden
participation, and create leaders in order to successfully undertake a
complex student assessment project.
Please direct questions about this page to:
international@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on: 09/03/2008
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