Formative Assessment of Student Learning:

Student Learning Outcome Assessment Techniques*

 

The following student learning outcome assessment resource materials have been compiled from a variety of sources and have been presented in Flex workshops at SCC and regional assessment conferences. If  you have any questions regarding the utilization of the following resources, please contact Jeanne Edman, CRC faculty research coordinator, 691-7585.

 

 

I.                  Student Learning Outcome Assessment

 

·        Definition and Benefits

 

·        Course-level Learning Objectives: Development and Clarification

 

·        Alignment of Learning Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes

 

II.               "Quantification" of Student Learning Outcomes

 

·        Using Grades for Focused Assessment of Student Learning

 

·        Rubrics and Primary Trait Analysis: Development & Use

 

III.           Closing the Loop

 

·        Application of Learning Outcome Data at the Course and Program Level

 

 

 

 

 

 *  Many thanks to Dr. Alan Keys at Sacramento City College for his work in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

Student Learning Outcome Assessment

Baseline and dynamic classroom assessment techniques provide a wealth of formative information about our students and aspects of a course that appear to be working well and those that are not meeting the instructor’s or student’s objectives.  An extension of these techniques is the development of student learning outcome measures that assess the degree to which students are meeting the specific objectives of a course or program. 

 

What is a student learning outcome? 

            The consensus from educators involved with student learning assessment at both two-year and four-year institutions is that faculty have a primary role in the direction and development of student learning outcomes assessment for their courses and programs. The following general framework for defining student learning outcomes has emerged and is generally agreed upon as being meaningful, flexible and effective.

 

Student learning outcomes can be categorized in terms of what students should know, think, believe, or be able to do when they have completed a course, program, degree, etc.

 

All faculty assess student learning in a variety of ways in order to address the questions “Are they getting it?” and “How well are they getting it”.  Many of the common techniques for learning assessment including exams, quizzes, writing assignments, laboratory reports, and performance-based assignments can, and often do provide specific information on how well students are meeting specific course objectives.  In order to do this, it is important that the outcomes measured from these assessments are aligned with clearly stated course objectives. For more good practices, see Learning Outcomes Tools link.

 

Benefits of focused student learning outcome assessment

The over-riding benefit of developing well-focused student learning outcome assessments is to inform both the instructor and student on how well learning objectives are being met.  The following are some specific benefits that can result from engaging in this process:

Ø      Facilitates collaboration with colleagues in terms of developing new techniques for assessing learning

 

Ø      Clarifies course learning objectives for both student and instructor

 

Ø      Enhances alignment of outcome measures with learning objectives and course activities

 

Ø      Provides increased specificity on students' mastery of discrete content, cognitive processes and/or skills

 

Ø      Informs changes in course or program design

Course-level Learning Objectives: Development & Clarification

Naturally, instructors have measures of student learning embedded in their courses, but may not fully recognize how they are linked to specific course objectives. Oftentimes, the most difficult step in this alignment process is the clarification of the course objectives. 

Clearly articulated course goals or objectives are needed in order to ask the question, "What should students know, think, or be able to do upon completion of the course?" Course objectives as presented in course syllabi appear in a variety of styles and form.  Some syllabi contain very specific course objectives that can be directly aligned with specific outcome measures, while others provide students with general goals or themes of the course that are not as easily tied to specific measures.  Often, the latter format may be effective in providing incoming students with a comprehensive knowledge of the goals and expectations for the course. However, in order to align course activities and specific outcome measures with these objectives, additional clarification is needed.  The resulting specific objectives may or may not be appropriate to include in the course syllabus.  This is a course/instructor-specific decision. In many cases, the specific objectives are presented in the context of a particular assignment, evaluation or project.     

The development of course objectives that are ultimately measurable by specific outcomes can be aided by the use of Bloom's taxonomy (see Learning Outcomes Assessment Tools link).  The utilization of this categorization of cognitive abilities and associated verbiage allows one to generate course objective statements that are well suited to specific assessments. 

 

Alignment of Learning Objectives & Student Learning Outcomes

The next step following the creation of clear, specific course objectives is to categorize the activities, assignments, projects and other course requirements that are aimed at facilitating these course objectives.  Again, instructors usually design their courses to achieve the stated learning objectives; however, the systematic categorization of objective-specific activities can enable a clear articulation between objectives and outcomes. (See Learning Outcomes Assessment Tools link.)

The last step in the alignment process is the identification of existing assessment mechanisms or the development of new assessment techniques that measure student’s learning of the course objectives.   The following is an incomplete list of assessment opportunities that are suitable for learning outcome assessment:

 

Ø      Specific performance on course exams and quizzes

Ø      Writing assignments

Ø      Lab reports, project write-ups

Ø      Portfolios or specific samples of student work

Ø      Case studies

Ø      Observations of student performance

Ø      Capstone projects

Ø      Service learning or internship evaluations

Ø      Performance on licensure exams (industry-specific, national or state)

 

"Quantification" of Student Learning Outcomes

         

          The terms "systematic", "quantification", "data", "measures", and many others can provoke anxiety in many of us when we think about assessing the effects of our  courses and programs on student learning.  Some of us also have a critical view of the validity of many of the techniques used to measure student learning.  These are normal and sometimes, rightful feelings, but, nonetheless we all engage in some form of learning assessment as a necessary part of our role.

 

Using Grades for Focused Assessment of Student Learning

The most common form of student learning assessment is the assignment of grades.  Although there is lively debate in assessment circles regarding this issue, the use of grades, and specifically, the grading process has proved to be quite an  effective tool as a student learning outcome measure.  The important consideration regarding the use of grades is related to the issues of alignment between course objectives and outcome assessments.  If a grade on a particular exam, portion of exam, assignment, project, etc. is 1) specifically linked to a particular objective or set of objectives, and 2) well-defined in terms of its scale of achievement then it could make an appropriate student learning outcome measure.   Tools to help achieve both of these criteria, especially the latter are used by many in the form of grading rubrics or primary trait analysis.

 

Rubrics and Primary Trait Analysis: Development & Use

            Many faculty make regular use of some form of grading system or rubric for assessing student work.  The style and form of these systems may vary, but, usually, they break the student work down into different categories and establish a general scale of achievement to use in the evaluation process. A fantastic resource for developing rubrics or the related process of primary trait analysis (PTA) is the book, Effective Grading, a tool for learning and assessment, by Walvoord and Anderson. As Walvoord and Anderson point out, well-designed rubrics or PTA have many benefits, including, but not limited to:

 

Ø      Facilitation of a fair and consistent grading process

Ø      Demonstrating what you want to teach

Ø      Explaining to students your expectations

Ø      Assisting students and peers in participating in and evaluating their own learning

Ø      Saving time in the grading process

Ø      Contributing to course and program assessment efforts

 

Many examples of generic rubrics and actual rubrics used by SCC faculty are included in the Rubric Development Tools file.

 

 

 

 

 

Closing the Loop

 

          A critical feature of information gained from classroom assessment and, specifically learning outcomes is for it to be put to use by faculty for improvement of student learning.  The insights gained from the systematic assessment of student learning are vital inputs to curriculum and program development.  The up-front logistics of developing specific learning outcome measures and associated curricular modifications will definitely require extra time and effort. The determination of significant levels of achievement for specific outcomes is a faculty/course-specific endeavor that requires reflection, critical analysis and collaboration.  The possible conversion of course-level information to program level assessment may also be a challenging task (see Learning Outcomes Assessment Tools link for ideas on Unit plan connections).   However, the rewards of taking on such efforts can far outweigh these costs.  

         

Hopefully, the take-home message from these materials on student learning outcome assessment is that it is most effective as a formative means of discovery.  Meaningful measures of student learning have enormous benefits in terms of informing students and faculty of the areas that students are succeeding in and being challenged by.  The development of such measures at the unit (course) level by faculty and staff that work directly with our students is, in my opinion, the appropriate foundation for further departmental and institutional assessments of student learning.