Effective Grading and
Assessment:
Strategies to Enhance Student
Learning,
Faculty Satisfaction,
And Institutional Success!
Assessment is …
The systematic gathering and
analyzing of information
(excluding course grades)
to INFORM and IMPROVE
student learning or programs of
student learning
in light or goal-oriented
expectations.
Why adopt a faculty-driven
Assessment Model?
Good Assessment Begins
in the Classroom because:
1. Classroom assessment
measures “what matters
most”!
2. Classroom assessment
provides opportunities for
“multiple measures”!
Good Assessment Begins
in the Classroom because:
3. Classroom assessment provides
the best support and incentive
for student motivation!
4. Classroom assessment
has the greatest potential
for “closing the loop”!
Let’s Begin by Asking:
What are four “walk away” things
you want students to be able to
know and do when they
complete _______________?
Outcomes Assessments…
What do you want students to be able
to know and do when they
complete a course?
• A course of study
• A certification program?
• An AA degree?
• A baccalaureate degree?
Outcomes Assessments
may be…
Cognitive- pertaining to mental
processing
Affective- relating to attitudes,
feelings, and values
Psychomotor- relating to
physical performance of skills
What direct evidence of
student learning do you
collect?
Course-embedded
Assessment Strategies
• RUBRIC SCORED WORK
• SKILLS INVENTORIES
• TEST BLUEPRINTS
• REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
and MINI-PORTFOLIOS
• GEN ED ASSESSMENTS
Departmental or Capstone
Course-embedded Tools
• AFFECTIVE CHECKLISTS
• PORTFOLIOS with RUBRICS
• INTERNSHIP EVALUATIONS
• TECHNOLOGY INVENTORIES
• SEMINARS and POSTERS
reviewed by “panels” internally
and/or externally
MSCHE Key Dimensions of
Good Assessments
* Are planned, purposeful, USED
* Focus on clear, important goals
* Involve shareholders actively
*Communicate results widely,
clearly, fairly, and ethically
*Assess teaching and learning
processes as well as outcomes
Copy a graphic.
Ask students to write
down what they Fiji Exports of Bananas and
learned reading the Mangoes
graphic.
What did you conclude
50
Thousands of Pounds
from this graphic?
40
30
What did this graphic
bananas
20 mangoes
tell you about the
total number of
10
pounds of mangoes
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
and bananas grown Years
in Fiji in 1985? Give
a reason for your
answer.
Give a 5 minute lecture.
Ask students to write a 5
minute summary in class.
Hand out your summary.
Ask students to write HOW
and WHY theirs was
different outside of class.
Staple HOW/WHY to top of
their summary and turn in.
Use a split-page step
and reason list.
Step Reason
Assign a timeline.
To get the century right,
require students to add
some event relative to
their own experience.
Ask students to write
about how they feel.
Example: “How do you feel
about studying evolution?”
Students write one page or less.
Best thing I have done for the
study of evolution in freshman
biology!
Use it as a ticket to lab/class.
Use Venn diagrams to
see the big ideas.
Ask students to engage in
reflective practice.
Write at least three
sentences about
what is happening in
this picture.
Effective Grading and
Assessment can Enhance…
Student Learning,
Faculty Satisfaction,
And Institutional Success!
Focus on “Closing the Loop”!