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The Underlying Principles

Assessment is a central element in the overall quality of teaching and learning in higher education. It provides the administration and faculty of educational institutions opportunities to monitor the attainment of learning outcomes and to receive feedback for ongoing improvement of academic programs. The overall goal of assessment is to improve student learning.

The basic concept of assessment is simple. The six steps an institution needs to undertake are as follows:

Identify in broad terms what educational goals are valued (institution and program mission statements).

Articulate measurable objectives relevant to the educational goals (learning outcomes).

Select appropriate approaches that will produce results which can be analyzed and interpreted as evidence of how well students overall meet the objectives (assessment process).

Decide upon appropriate benchmarks against which the evidence can be measured to determine the level of overall student learning (criteria for success).

Document, communicate, and analyze assessment findings (results and analysis).

Use feedback to make curricular changes and reevaluate the assessment process with the intent to continuously improve the quality of student learning (action plan).

While there are disagreements among assessment experts over some issues, the following underlying principles of assessment of student learning are widely accepted:

Faculty should have primary responsibility for the development, implementation, and maintenance of assessment activities.
Programs need to have clear, explicitly stated purposes. Clearly defined learning outcomes are essential.
Statements of intended student learning outcomes of all programs/disciplines should originate with, and be approved by, the faculty in those areas.
The work of students gathered for assessment purposes should remain confidential and be used only for the purposes of assessment (unless explicit permission is granted by the student).
Assessment of student learning outcomes is about improving learning, not about evaluating faculty.
Assessment is systematic, ongoing, and cyclical.
Assessment should be logical, attainable, and consistent with the institution’s mission.

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CC Home Assessment Committee About Assessment Awards Handbook FAQs Forms Meetings Membership Plan Calendar Plans Projects	The Underlying Principles Assessment is a central element in the overall quality of teaching and learning in higher education. It provides the administration and faculty of educational institutions opportunities to monitor the attainment of learning outcomes and to receive feedback for ongoing improvement of academic programs. The overall goal of assessment is to improve student learning. The basic concept of assessment is simple. The six steps an institution needs to undertake are as follows: Identify in broad terms what educational goals are valued (institution and program mission statements). Articulate measurable objectives relevant to the educational goals (learning outcomes). Select appropriate approaches that will produce results which can be analyzed and interpreted as evidence of how well students overall meet the objectives (assessment process). Decide upon appropriate benchmarks against which the evidence can be measured to determine the level of overall student learning (criteria for success). Document, communicate, and analyze assessment findings (results and analysis). Use feedback to make curricular changes and reevaluate the assessment process with the intent to continuously improve the quality of student learning (action plan). While there are disagreements among assessment experts over some issues, the following underlying principles of assessment of student learning are widely accepted: Faculty should have primary responsibility for the development, implementation, and maintenance of assessment activities. Programs need to have clear, explicitly stated purposes. Clearly defined learning outcomes are essential. Statements of intended student learning outcomes of all programs/disciplines should originate with, and be approved by, the faculty in those areas. The work of students gathered for assessment purposes should remain confidential and be used only for the purposes of assessment (unless explicit permission is granted by the student). Assessment of student learning outcomes is about improving learning, not about evaluating faculty. Assessment is systematic, ongoing, and cyclical. Assessment should be logical, attainable, and consistent with the institution’s mission.
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