Emerging Research Findings:

Higher Education

What are the assessment mechanisms that improve student learning? How do institutions respond to external and internal pressures for assessing student learning?

The National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI), through funding from PLLI, is examining the effectiveness of assessment mechanisms as they relate to improving student learning from three distinct vantage points - from outside the institution through state policy and accreditation practices, from within the institution as it seeks to respond to change, and from the perspective of faculty and students, whose lives are affected by the shifting composition and preparedness of the nation's student population.

Researchers at NCPI have just completed a national survey that shows how higher education approaches undergraduate student assessment. The survey examines the nature and extent of efforts by colleges and universities to make student assessment a common and widely used part of academic management. Findings indicate that colleges and universities are moving gradually to adopt various student assessment approaches and to adopt the institutional mechanisms to support those approaches.

The study revealed that some form of student assessment, other than student grades, is highly prevalent at most institutions--

• Most often, institutions collect data on student academic progress (82 percent), basic college readiness skills (86 percent), and student academic intentions or expectations (78 percent) for all or most students. These types of measures primarily reflect a focus on entry measures and easily quantifiable measures of progress.
• An additional four types of student assessment measures were prevalent for many or all students by over 50 percent of the institutions. Those measures included student satisfaction with the institution (72 percent), student experiences and involvement (54 percent), general educational competencies (52 percent), and competence in the major field (51 percent). These categories reflect the increased attention paid to understanding and responding to students over the past decade and to curricular or program based assessment activities.
• The three types of student assessment data least often collected, or collected for only some students, were higher order skills (36 percent), personal growth and affective development (35 percent) and vocational or professional skills (38 percent).

  The survey shows that much of the impetus to adopt assessment strategies comes from state agencies and institutional accrediting bodies. Of course, state-level initiatives have the greatest impact on public institutions. But regional accreditation reporting requirements do not differ for public and private institutions.

  Once having adopted assessments, institutions appear to be moving slowly in achieving positive impacts by using the data to improve student and institutional performance. But there may be a lack of inducements to do so. Both states and regional accreditation associations require evidence of having a student assessment plan, but neither frequently require evidence of the results; however, regional accreditors more often ask for evidence of the intended and actual uses of student assessment information. Researchers believe that the approach of the regional accreditors may be more conducive to building institutional support for student assessment, and making use of assessment data, than the more mandatory approaches employed by states.

  Institutions are most likely to use assessment data to modify assessment plans or processes and least likely to report wide scale use of student assessment data and faculty promotion and reward decisions. For the most part, they have not attempted to monitor the internal or external impacts of their assessment efforts.

  The introduction of policies and practices designed to support the use of student assessment is mixed. Most institutions rely on efforts in the areas of academic planning and student involvement.

  The results of this research suggest that student assessment is becoming a common practice in the academic management of postsecondary education. However, student assessment is not yet institutionalized or deeply embedded in institutional support patterns, policies, and practices.

  Source: NCPI-L-11 "Revolution or Evolution? Gauging the Impact of Institutional Student-Assessment Strategies." (Sept/Oct 1999).

  
  

This page last modified March 17, 2000 (k d j)