Using Course-Embedded Assessments for Program-Level Purposes

In my previous blog, I wrote, “It might be tempting to think that a handful of course-level assessments will add up to program assessment, but they do not.” 

If this is true, how might course-embedded assessments—i.e. exam questions, papers, projects, labs, performances—be used for program-level (or even institution-level) assessment?

The History Department offers an excellent example of just how course-embedded assessment translates to the program level. In this major, a capstone project was scored using a rubric where each item aligned to a program-learning goal.  The results were analyzed with respect to which program learning goals students were successfully achieving at the proficiency level.  Since the project was completed over the course of a full year, beginning in spring semester of the junior year and ending in the spring semester of the senior year, findings might also be analyzed to determine growth, or value-added, in the major.  Finally, the recommendations and action plans made were program-level ones, namely a curriculum revision that exposes students to historical methodology earlier in the program and requires more writing-intensive courses.   

Similarly, the English faculty developed a departmental rubric to score student papers in courses required for the major or for Core.  Rubric items align with the program-level learning goals.  The rubric was applied by individual instructors, and results were analyzed to see if student performance improved from 100-level courses to 300/400-level ones.  Majors were compared to non-majors, giving the faculty another way to view the data. Such analyses yielded program-level insights into student learning: the department identified where its majors were performing well and where the faculty may need to be more intentional about developing students’ competencies.   

Another example of how course-embedded assessments translate to the program-level may be found in Philosophy.  Philosophy faculty applied a departmental rubric to particular assignments in their classes that targeted relevant program learning goals and course objectives.  They measured student performance in courses that introduce the learning goal and compared these findings with results gathered from courses that reinforce the learning.  This assessment plan has allowed the faculty to demonstrate successful student learning in their program and has also indicated a need for improved adjunct faculty development.

Course-embedded assessments are a sustainable, organic approach to assessment and, because the work is generated in a course, students are probably motivated to do well.   That said, if they are going to be used for program assessment, the measures must align with program goals, multiple measures should be use to assess learning at various transition points in the curriculum, and the data should be analyzed with respect to the program’s goals.