Why Assessment is Necessary
Why do faculty give grades to students instead of trusting that each one learned what was taught? One might presume grades are assigned to let students know they have learned (or not). Grading then becomes a tool for learning and growing because it helps students learn what they did and did not understand in the material.
In this same way, assessment is a tool. Just as the students can use grades to improve, assessment is about getting the same benefit for ourselves. Specifically, assessment affords an opportunity to gather feedback we can use for our own benefit. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve learning (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Maki, 2004; Suskie, 2009)26. Stiehl and Null (2018)27 suggest we assess for three reasons: to assist students with learning, to advance students through a program of study, and to adjust our teaching or curriculum.
Assessment, while never perfect, is a tool to help faculty and an institution know and articulate how well students are achieving course and program learning outcomes. Prior to the learning outcomes model currently in place throughout colleges and university systems, assessment efforts were more focused on indirect measures and assessments of achievement, such as GPA and transfer rates. Although these measures are still monitored, the current model provides greater benefits for faculty and students by incorporating direct measures such as assignments and assessments that are embedded at the course level.
26Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. Cross (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.; Maki, P.L. (2004). Assessing for learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the institution. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.; Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd Ed). ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
27Stiehl, R. & Null, L. (2017). The assessment primer: Assessing and tracking evidence of learning outcomes. Corvalis, Oregon: The Learning Organization.