For
too long, assessment has been something we do to students, not something we do for or with students.
Nicholas Curtis and Robin Anderson note that “The current systems of
program-level assessment in the United States does not incorporate (or mention)
students other than as sources of information” (page 7).
We
need to change that.
If
an institution calls itself student-centered and claims it values inclusion, it follows that students should have agency in certain educational
processes, such as assessment. Further, when we analyze and interpret
assessment findings and survey results, we are limited by our own perspectives
and biases. Involving students at some point in our assessment efforts will expand
and improve our understanding of what the results mean.
Curtis
and Anderson write, “Without the involvement of
. . . students, our thoughts about the intended educational experiences
. . . are not going to relate to the
actual experiences of our students” (page 10). In addition, our knowledge and
understanding may often be restricted to a single course or major and not
embrace the totality—the Gestalt—of the student experience.
Giving
students agency in assessment is not relinquishing authority to them. Rather,
it is collaborating with them in an effort to identify ways a program or the
institution might improve the educational experience it offers.
How
a department involves students in its assessment processes depends on what its
members want to learn or understand. One strategy would be to present assessment
results to a representative sample of students and ask them to share their
understanding of the findings or describe an experience they had that is
illustrative of the finding. An example of this was when UC students in March
2020 had the chance to respond to the results from the climate survey. When
presented with the survey finding that students of color do not feel welcomed
in classes taught by white faculty, students described instances where white
faculty deliberately looked to white students to answer questions in class and
times when white faculty remained silent about racial incidents that occurred
on campus. Soliciting this kind of information from students better positions
faculty to address a finding that initially left them feeling defensive and
confused.
A
second way to involve students in assessment is to ask them how they understand
the learning goals. How can we be certain, for instance, that students define
goals such as problem-solving and teamwork the same way we do? I recall years
ago asking students to explain why the college was receiving consistently low
ratings from students when asked how well their coursework developed their
problem-solving skills. Students explained that they didn’t consider
problem-solving as being addressed in the curriculum. Instead, they saw it as
something they developed more in their co-curricular experiences, where they
might be given a project to complete and it was entirely up to them to manage
all the steps needed to bring the project to fruition. In their classes, they
explained, all the “problems” were solved by the instructor who organized the
course.
A
third possible way to involve students is to include them in planning. Ask them
what kinds of assessments might truly capture the student experience in the
program. Collaborate with them on implementing action plans to address areas
where students may be underperforming in the program.
Including
students in our assessment processes should be done thoughtfully and sparingly,
but it should be done. Curtis and Anderson observe that creating
student-faculty partnerships “spurred interesting and deep conversations about
the benefits of thinking and assessing at the program-level rather than the
classroom-level” (page 10). This is especially important since faculty
generally focus on and care primarily about their individual courses, whereas
students consider a single course as part of a larger experience.
A
former faculty colleague of mine articulated the benefit he saw in involving
students in assessment: “It sends a message that we do this for the students,
that they’re the major stakeholders, and that they literally have a seat at the
table.” Another stated, “[They] help faculty and departments understand that we
engage in assessment processes for the benefit of our students. Including them
communicates back to the student body the importance of assessment and what
[the college] does to ensure that they receive a quality education.”
Work Cited
Curtis, N.A., & Anderson, R.D. (2021, May). A Framework for Developing Student-Faculty Partnerships in Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes Assessment. (Occasional Paper No. 53). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University. National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment.
