Assessment Essentials Planning

Implementing and Improving

Assessment in Higher Education 2nd
Edition Trudy W. Banta
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/assessment-essentials-planning-implementing-and-i
mproving-assessment-in-higher-education-2nd-edition-trudy-w-banta/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

The Impact of Feedback in Higher Education: Improving

Assessment Outcomes for Learners Michael Henderson

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-impact-of-feedback-in-
higher-education-improving-assessment-outcomes-for-learners-
michael-henderson/

Handbook on Measurement Assessment and Evaluation in

Higher Education Charles Secolsky

https://textbookfull.com/product/handbook-on-measurement-
assessment-and-evaluation-in-higher-education-charles-secolsky/

Assessment in Mathematics Education Large Scale

Assessment and Classroom Assessment 1st Edition
Christine Suurtamm

https://textbookfull.com/product/assessment-in-mathematics-
education-large-scale-assessment-and-classroom-assessment-1st-
edition-christine-suurtamm/

Scaling up Assessment for Learning in Higher Education

1st Edition David Carless

https://textbookfull.com/product/scaling-up-assessment-for-
learning-in-higher-education-1st-edition-david-carless/
Professionalism in Practice: Key Directions in Higher
Education Learning, Teaching and Assessment 1st Edition
Kay Sambell

https://textbookfull.com/product/professionalism-in-practice-key-
directions-in-higher-education-learning-teaching-and-
assessment-1st-edition-kay-sambell/

Positive Psychological Assessment A Handbook of Models

and Measures 2nd Edition Matthew W. Gallagher

https://textbookfull.com/product/positive-psychological-
assessment-a-handbook-of-models-and-measures-2nd-edition-matthew-
w-gallagher/

Assessment in Early Childhood Education 6th Edition Sue

C. Wortham

https://textbookfull.com/product/assessment-in-early-childhood-
education-6th-edition-sue-c-wortham/

Dysphagia Assessment and Treatment Planning A Team

Approach 4th Edition Rebecca Leonard

https://textbookfull.com/product/dysphagia-assessment-and-
treatment-planning-a-team-approach-4th-edition-rebecca-leonard/

Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher

Education: Dreamers and Schemers 1st Edition Jacquie
Mcdonald

https://textbookfull.com/product/implementing-communities-of-
practice-in-higher-education-dreamers-and-schemers-1st-edition-
jacquie-mcdonald/
 Praise for
Assessment Essentials

“Banta and Palomba’s new edition of Assessment Essentials covers a wide range of
current topics that are crucial for faculty, staff, and administrators to follow as
they strive to sustain effective assessments. I highly recommend this comprehensive
resource for academic leaders and others in higher education who want to main-
tain the quality of their assessment efforts.
I regularly teach graduate courses and used the original Banta and Palomba
book as required reading that helped students learn critical knowledge and skills
in implementing and sustaining assessments. I plan to use the comprehensive new
edition of this book for my upcoming graduate courses and highly recommend this
valuable resource to other faculty members.”
—Elizabeth A. Jones, Ph.D., professor of education and director,
Doctoral Program, Holy Family University

◆ ◆ ◆

“It’s hard to improve on a classic, but Banta and Palomba have done so with this
updated edition of Assessment Essentials, which is replete with examples of what
effective assessment work looks like in different types of institutions.”
—George D. Kuh, adjunct professor and director,
National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment,
University of Illinois and Indiana University

◆ ◆ ◆

“A sweeping update that brilliantly reflects the evolution of the field. Institutions
should use it to build the assessment infrastructure they will need in the brave new
world of prior learning assessment and competency-based education.”
—Barbara D. Wright, vice president,
WASC Senior College and University Commission,
Alameda, California
Assessment Essentials
Planning, Implementing,
and Improving Assessment
in Higher Education

Second Edition

Trudy W. Banta, Catherine A. Palomba

Foreword by Jillian Kinzie

Cover Design: Lauryn Tom
Cover Image: © iStockphoto/VikaSuh

Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass
A Wiley Brand
One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594
www.josseybass.com/highereducation

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise,
except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without
either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the
appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers,
MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to
the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online
at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best
efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the
accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or
extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained
herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where
appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other
commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other
damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources
for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and
when it is read.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass
directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S.
at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some
material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in
print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the
version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com.
For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and is on file with
the Library of Congress.

ISBN 9781118903322 (cloth); ISBN 9781118903766 (ebk.); ISBN 9781118903650 (ebk.)

Printed in the United States of America

first edition
HB Printing╅ 10╇9╇8╇7╇6╇5╇4╇3╇2╇1
THE JOSSEY-BASS HIGHER AND ADULT
EDUCATION SERIES
CONTENTS

List of Exhibits and Figuresâ•… xiii

Forewordâ•…xv
Jillian Kinzie
Prefaceâ•…xix
About the Authorsâ•… xxiii

1. Defining Assessmentâ•… 1
Some Definitionsâ•… 1
Pioneering in Assessmentâ•… 3
Quality Assurance: An International Perspectiveâ•… 7
Assessment Purposesâ•… 9
Values and Guiding Principlesâ•… 11

2. The Essentials of Assessmentâ•… 15

Planning Effective Assessmentâ•… 16
Engaging Stakeholdersâ•… •â•… Establishing Purposeâ•… •â•… Designing a Thoughtful Approach
to Assessment Planningâ•… •â•… Creating a Written Planâ•… •â•… Timing Assessment

vii
viii Contents

Implementing Effective Assessmentâ•… 22

Providing Leadershipâ•… •â•… Selecting or Designing Data Collection Approachesâ•…
•â•… Providing Resourcesâ•… •â•… Educating Faculty and Staffâ•… •â•… Assessing Resources
and Processes as Well as Outcomesâ•… •â•… Sharing Findings

Improving and Sustaining Assessmentâ•… 31

Obtaining Credible Evidenceâ•… •â•… Ensuring the Use of Assessment Findingsâ•…
•â•… Reexamining the Assessment Process

Additional Thoughtsâ•… 36

3. Engaging Faculty and Students in Assessmentâ•… 39

Involving Faculty in Assessmentâ•… 41
Faculty Responsibilityâ•… •â•… Assessment Resources for Facultyâ•… •â•… Faculty Rewardsâ•…
•â•… Maximizing the Role of Faculty and Faculty Acceptanceâ•… •â•… Some Stumbling
Blocks in Understanding Assessmentâ•… •â•… The Nature of Resistance

Involving Students in Assessmentâ•… 54

Student Responsibilityâ•… •â•… Resources for Studentsâ•… •â•… Student Rewardsâ•…
•â•… Maximizing Student Acceptance of Assessment

Acting with Integrityâ•… 63

4. Setting Expectations and Preparing to Select Measuresâ•… 65

Intentions for Learning: Goals, Objectives, Outcomesâ•… 65
Defining Termsâ•… •â•… Learning Taxonomies

Developing Statements of Expectationsâ•… 69

Statement Contentâ•… •â•… Curriculum Mapsâ•… •â•… Using Matrices and Other Tools

Selecting Methods and Approachesâ•… 73

Inventories of Existing Activitiesâ•… •â•… Developing Criteria for Choosing Methodsâ•…
•â•… An Overview of Methodsâ•… •â•… Use of Existing Informationâ•… •â•… Locally Developed
versus Commercial Measuresâ•… •â•… Comparing Potential Methods to Criteria

Designing Instrumentsâ•… 85
Recognizing the Uniqueness of Designing Instruments for Assessmentâ•…
•â•… Enlisting Help from Campus Expertsâ•… •â•… Enhancing Instrument Reliability
and Validity

Determining Approaches for Implementationâ•… 87

Research Strategiesâ•… •â•… Identifying Eligible Participantsâ•… •â•… Sampling and
Sample Size

Putting Everything Togetherâ•… 91

Contents ix

5. Using Direct Measuresâ•… 93

Using Classroom Assignments for Outcomes Assessmentâ•… 93
Performance Assessmentâ•… 95
Types of Performance Assessmentâ•… •â•… Using Performance Measures for Outcomes
Assessmentâ•… •â•… Designing Effective Assignments

Rubricsâ•… 100
VALUE Rubricsâ•… •â•… Some Rubric Issues

Aggregating Assessment Results in and across Coursesâ•… 104

Using Objective Tests for Outcomes Assessmentâ•… 105
Advantages and Disadvantages of Objective Testsâ•… •â•… Developing Good Tests
and Writing Good Itemsâ•… •â•… Implications for Students

Electronic Portfoliosâ•… 110

Using E-Portfolios for Outcomes Assessmentâ•… •â•… Choices for E-Portfoliosâ•…
•â•… Student Reflectionâ•… •â•… Scoringâ•… •â•… Resources and Trainingâ•… •â•… Feedbackâ•…
•â•… Impact on Studentsâ•… •â•… Using Resultsâ•… •â•… Developing E-Portfoliosâ•…
•â•… Appeal of Portfolios and Some Cautions

6. Using Indirect Assessment Methodsâ•… 121

Using Surveys in Assessmentâ•… 121
Topics for Assessment Surveysâ•… •â•… Selecting and Using Various Target Groupsâ•…
•â•… Response Types and Scalesâ•… •â•… Writing Survey Questionsâ•… •â•… Questionnaire
Administrationâ•… •â•… National Surveys for Assessment

Using Focus Groups in Assessmentâ•… 132

Topics, Target Groups, and Participantsâ•… •â•… The Moderator’s Roleâ•…
•â•… Developing Questions and Summarizing Resultsâ•… •â•… Other Considerations

Additional Indirect Methodsâ•… 136

Interviewsâ•… •â•… Written Materialsâ•… •â•… Documents and Records

Qualitative versus Quantitative Approachesâ•… 141

Classroom Assessment Techniquesâ•… 142

7. Assessing Learning in the Majorâ•… 145

Capstone Experiences and Coursesâ•… 146
Capstone Experiencesâ•… •â•… Capstone Courses

Portfoliosâ•… 150
Experiential Educationâ•… 152
Internshipsâ•… •â•… Service-Learningâ•… •â•… Applied Projects
x Contents

Group Work and Team-Building Skillsâ•… 160

Employer Involvementâ•… 162
Employers as Assessorsâ•… •â•… Employers as Advisorsâ•… •â•… Employer Surveys

Intentional Learningâ•… 165

8. Assessing Learning in General Educationâ•… 167

The Nature of General Educationâ•… 167
Assessment Choices and Issuesâ•… 170
Agreeing on Program Purposes and Learning Objectivesâ•… •â•… Selecting an Assessment
Approach for General Educationâ•… •â•… Generating, Reporting, and Using Results

Using Commercial Instruments and the Voluntary System

of Accountabilityâ•… 175
Assessing Specific Aspects of General Educationâ•… 178
Critical Thinking and Problem Solvingâ•… •â•… Writingâ•… •â•… Information Literacyâ•…
•â•… Oral Communicationâ•… •â•… Ethical Reasoningâ•… •â•… Values and Attitudes

The Degree Qualifications Profileâ•… 189

Assessing General Education Outcomes within the Majorâ•… 190

9. Assessing Student Learning and Program Effectiveness

in Student Affairsâ•… 193
Foundations for Assessment in Student Affairsâ•… 193
Mission, Goals, and Objectivesâ•… 197
Goals and Objectivesâ•… •â•… Mapping Outcomes

Leadership and Preparation for Assessment in Student Affairsâ•… 199

Committees, Offices, and Assessment Teamsâ•… •â•… Resources and Training

Assessment Frameworks, Models, and Diagramsâ•… 204

Assessment Plans and Methodsâ•… 205
Planning Templates and Guidesâ•… •â•… Methods

Reporting and Sharing Resultsâ•… 208

Reporting Templatesâ•… •â•… Evaluating Reportsâ•… •â•… Communicating Results

Ethical Behaviorâ•… 210

Improving Assessmentâ•… 212
Rewards for Assessmentâ•… 212
Contents xi

10. Analyzing, Reporting, and Using Assessment Resultsâ•… 215

Helping Faculty and Staff Use Their Assessment Resultsâ•… 215
Encouraging Reflection and Collaborationâ•… •â•… Providing Mentorsâ•… •â•… Sharing
Materialsâ•… •â•… Communicating about How Assessment Results Have Been Usedâ•…
•â•… Linking Assessment Results to Important Processes

Assessment Reporting by Departments and Programsâ•… 221

Outcomesâ•… •â•… Methodsâ•… •â•… Findingsâ•… •â•… Action Plansâ•… •â•… Follow-Upâ•…
•â•… Closing the Loopâ•… •â•… Reflections on the Process

Summarizing Reportsâ•… 225

Managing Dataâ•… 226
Assessing Unit Reportsâ•… 226
Making the Process Transparentâ•… 228
Institutional Assessment Reportingâ•… 229
Theme Reportsâ•… •â•… Extracts for Colleges and Departmentsâ•… •â•… Oral Reportsâ•…
•â•… Comprehensive Reportsâ•… •â•… Institutional Data and Dashboards

Analyzing Assessment Informationâ•… 234

Descriptive and Comparative Informationâ•… •â•… Impact of Various Response Scales
on Analysisâ•… •â•… Qualitative Analysisâ•… •â•… Multivariate Analysisâ•…
•â•… Data Mining and Learning Analytics

Displaying Resultsâ•… 239

Other Considerationsâ•… 240

11. Assessing Institutional Effectivenessâ•… 241

Linking Assessment and Institutional Planning: An Exampleâ•… 242
Organizing to Assess Institutional Effectivenessâ•… 245
Assessment Leadersâ•… •â•… Assessment Committeesâ•… •â•… Leadership in Unitsâ•…
•â•… Central Offices

Planning and Institutional Improvement at IUPUIâ•… 248

Testing Centerâ•… •â•… Office of Institutional Effectivenessâ•… •â•… Office of Institutional
Researchâ•… •â•… Office of Program Reviewâ•… •â•… Office of the Economic Model

Administering an Assessment Planâ•… 252

Planning Levelsâ•… •â•… Using Assessment Informationâ•… •â•… Assessing and Facilitating
Assessment

Considering Costsâ•… 258

Linking Assessment to Other Valued Processesâ•… 259
xii Contents

12. Summing Upâ•… 263

A Time of Transitionâ•… 263
Current Practiceâ•… 265
Purposesâ•… •â•… Assessment Approachesâ•… •â•… Stakeholder Involvementâ•… •â•… Technology

Continuing Challengesâ•… 268

Assessment’s Effect on Individual Studentsâ•… •â•… Alternative Ways to Credential Studentsâ•…
•â•… Sharing Assessment Information and Resultsâ•… •â•… Assessment Costs and Benefitsâ•…
•â•… Finding a Home for Assessmentâ•… •â•… Creating a Culture of Assessment

Referencesâ•… 279
Name Indexâ•… 311
Subject Indexâ•… 317
LIST OF EXHIBITS AND FIGURES

Exhibit 4.1 Content-by-Process Matrixâ•… 71

Exhibit 4.2 Curriculum Mapâ•… 72
Exhibit 4.3 Planning for Learning and Assessmentâ•… 73
Exhibit 4.4 Selection Criteria Matrixâ•… 85
Exhibit 4.5 Objective-by-Measures Matrixâ•… 85
Exhibit 5.1 Planning Sheet for e-Portfoliosâ•… 120
Exhibit 11.1 Assessment Plan Outlineâ•… 257
Figure 11.1 Planning, Evaluation, and Improvement at IUPUIâ•… 243

xiii
FOREWORD

T he pressures for colleges and universities to demonstrate educational

effectiveness and use empirical evidence to make improvements
have only intensified since 1999, when Assessment Essentials debuted as a
�comprehensive resource for those responsible for assessment in higher
education. Now, with the prospect of the tenth reauthorization of the
Higher Education Act, lawmakers are pushing to enact new ways to hold
colleges and universities accountable for their costs and outcomes. How
are colleges and universities navigating this period of heightened demands
for accountability?
Results from the 2009 and 2013 National Institute for Learning
Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) survey of provosts suggest that most
�institutions are engaged in considerable assessment activity and are using
multiple approaches to gather evidence in response to a variety of drivers,
most notably accreditation. In 2009, the vast majority (92 percent) of all
colleges and universities participating in the survey used at least one assess-
ment approach at the institution level, and the average was three. In 2013,
that average increased to five. Institutional use of assessment evidence for
every category—including accreditation, external accountability, strategic
planning, and institutional improvement—was also higher in 2013 than
in 2009.

xv
xvi Foreword

Indeed, much has changed in the world of assessment since the first
edition of Assessment Essentials was published, and results demonstrating
the amount of assessment activity going on at most institutions suggest
significant progress on the assessment agenda. Yet strong interest in
learning more about how to effectively implement, organize, support,
and sustain assessment activities continues to grow. In this second edi-
tion, Trudy Banta and Catherine Palomba make a substantial and timely
contribution to enriching the knowledge base regarding how assessment
is carried out and the best ways to organize and structure effective assess-
ment work.
This updated edition of Assessment Essentials serves as a good checkup
of the robustness of assessment practice. The practical examples it presents
are a source of reassurance that assessment in colleges and universities
is healthy and that institutions are not ignoring important assessment
behaviors—while also serving as an alarm system, raising questions
about current conditions of assessment before they become chronic. The
Contents list alone could function as an annual checklist for healthy assess-
ment practice in colleges and universities. These respected general prac-
titioners of assessment have done a thorough examination of the overall
health of assessment.
Banta and Palomba are exactly right to place considerable emphasis
throughout this book on increasing the involvement of faculty in assess-
ment. They make the case that effective assessment of student learning
cannot occur without the participation of faculty in every step of the
assessment process. Quite simply, faculty involvement is key to meaning-
ful assessment, and the meaning of assessment is only as good as the scope
and quality of faculty involvement. Notably, the authors also acknowledge
the importance of assessing student learning and program effectiveness
in student affairs and have added a new chapter to address this expansion in
assessment work. In particular, the chapters dedicated to engaging fac-
ulty and students in assessment and evidence of focused efforts to assess
learning in student affairs make a significant contribution to documenting
effective work and discussing current needs in the field.
It is heartening to see that ensuring the use of assessment results is
a consistent theme across all chapters in Assessment Essentials. For almost a
dozen years, I have had the good fortune to work with the National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to further the assessment of stu-
dent engagement in educationally effective practice and provide colleges
and universities with diagnostic, actionable information to inform efforts
to improve the quality of undergraduate education. While it is rewarding
Foreword xvii

to see campuses adopt NSSE as an important component of their assess-

ment programs that provides them concise summaries of the strengths
and shortcomings of their students’ experience, it is disappointing when
campuses fail to share results with faculty, draw clear lessons from their
assessment data, or formulate concrete improvement priorities. Motivated
by the understanding that campuses are much better at gathering data
than using assessment to improve, Banta and Palomba dedicate much-
needed attention to outlining approaches that campuses can use to
encourage faculty and staff to take action on assessment information, and
in several chapters they highlight examples of closing the assessment loop,
or taking action and then determining the results of these actions. Quite
simply, assessment has little to no value if results are not shared and used
in meaningful ways. This book aims to make assessment results meaning-
ful and used.
Assessment has taken on greater importance across all areas and units
of colleges and universities. The widespread use of national surveys, rubrics,
and portfolios to assess learning; the emergence of assessment technolo-
gies, including an array of data management systems; and the increase in
assessment specialists are all signals of serious investment in assessment.
While “assessment cynics” do still exist, the shallow compliance approach to
assessment—simply to satisfy the expectations of accreditation—is clearly
untenable and no longer holds sway. Although previously common, the
compliance approach to assessment has been supplanted by an approach
favoring assessment for learning and improvement. Now, assessment more
often than not is viewed as vital to improving educational quality and effec-
tiveness. The first edition of Assessment Essentials helped guide this shift,
and this new edition updates and extends the guidance. More important,
Banta and Palomba demonstrate how faculty and staff have made meaning
of assessment results to demonstrate educational effectiveness and inform
institutional improvement.
Improving quality in undergraduate education to foster learning and
success for all students is imperative for US higher education. The chal-
lenge that this presents to institutional leaders, faculty, and staff demands
meaningful assessment and concerted action to enhance educational
effectiveness. The stock-taking activities undertaken by NILOA indicate
that assessment has become a permanent fixture in the structure of col-
leges and universities, yet there is clearly more to do for assessment at
these institutions to advance and mature. Moreover, assessment in higher
education has grown increasingly more complicated as demands for evi-
dence and expectations for ensuring student learning and institutional
xviii Foreword

improvement have intensified. Faculty and staff with assessment responsi-

bilities and students of assessment need practical resources and achievable
assessment examples to advance their assessment skills and repertoire.
Assessment Essentials is precisely the resource to guide the field in these
demanding times.

Jillian Kinzie
associate director, Indiana University
Center for Postsecondary Research,
and NILOA senior scholar
Bloomington, Indiana
PREFACE

W â•›hen we were considering the possibility of undertaking the task of

revising the 1999 version of Assessment Essentials, our Jossey-Bass edi-
tor, David Brightman, offered to ask three experienced assessment pro-
fessionals to review the original and give us advice about approaching
a revision. We are indebted to this anonymous trio because they gave us a
perspective that opened our eyes to the distinctive character of the first edi-
tion and to the possibilities for continuing to make a unique contribution
to the literature with a revision.
Our reviewers told us that we had offered a practical guide to assess-
ment practice, with principles, examples, and advice about decisions that
must be made in the course of implementing an outcomes assessment
�initiative. In addition to the guidance for practice, we had provided his-
tory and context with perspective and vision. The reviewers asked us for a
similar approach in our revision, and we have tried to fulfill that request.
When we wrote the 1999 edition, there were few such resources to
guide faculty and staff who needed a basic introduction to outcomes
assessment, with connections to current references that would help even
experienced assessment leaders acquire fresh examples and extended
understanding. Now there are many books, several journals, numerous
conferences, new organizations, and a panoply of examples of good prac-
tice available on institutions’ websites. This has made it extremely difficult

xix
xx Preface

to produce, as we were instructed by our publisher, a work of as few pages

as the first edition!
In addition to the principles, examples, and perspectives offered
in the first edition, our three reviewers asked us to add information about
these topics:

• The use of technology in assessment, including electronic student

portfolios
• Capstone courses as assessment vehicles
• Assessment in student affairs
• The link between outcomes assessment and such valued institutional
processes as strategic planning, curriculum revision, and comprehensive
program review

So much has changed since 1999 that we have replaced virtually all of
our original examples, and of course this required new surrounding text.
So while we have retained much of our original organization, most of the
words are new. We have expanded our original focus on assessment of stu-
dent learning to include institutional effectiveness. Accordingly, there are
new chapters on assessment in student affairs and assessing institutional
effectiveness.

Audience

The three reviewers of our first edition identified our audience as �learners:
faculty and staff engaged in leading outcomes assessment on their cam-
puses, faculty and staff new to assessment and seeking a comprehensive
overview, faculty and staff teaching master’s and doctoral students in higher
education and student affairs. We have attempted to provide some history,
context, perspective, and vision for these populations.

The Contents

In Chapter 1 we introduce our broad definition of outcomes assessment,

encompassing all institutional programs and services. We also include
some history and perspective on assessment’s progress. Chapter 2 presents
�
our assessment essentials envisioned in three phases: planning, imple-
menting, and improving/sustaining assessment. The essential step of
 Preface xxi

engaging faculty and students in outcomes assessment is the subject of

Chapter 3.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 prepare readers to develop outcomes statements
and make decisions about appropriate outcomes. Curriculum mapping,
instrument validity and reliability, rubrics, and examples of direct and indi-
rect measures are introduced.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 contain illustrations of the ways measures can be
applied in assessing student learning in the major, general education, and
student affairs, respectively. Chapter 10 addresses the essential processes of
analyzing, reporting, and using assessment findings.
Chapter 11 offers examples of comprehensive institution-wide assess-
ment programs. In Chapter 12 we characterize the current assessment
scene as one fraught with uncertainties, making it difficult to predict
a clear way forward. Yet much has been achieved in the four-decade his-
tory of outcomes assessment in higher education, and we conclude with
some of those achievements, as well as some continuing challenges.

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the thousands of assessment professionals who have

moved this field forward over the past four decades and have unselfishly
shared their successes, failures, and continuing challenges in books, journals,
and conference presentations, as well as on websites. They have provided the
hundreds of examples we cite in illustrating our Assessment Essentials.
Cindy Ahonen Cogswell, a doctoral candidate in Indiana University’s
higher education program, has contributed her considerable research
skills and editing expertise on our behalf. We could not have produced
this book without the amazing clerical assistance of Shirley Yorger. And
finally we appreciate the review of the final manuscript by Kenneth Gilliam,
a master’s-level student in the student affairs program at Indiana University.

Trudy W. Banta
Indianapolis, Indiana
Catherine A. Palomba
Durham, North Carolina
 To Our Essentials:

Ruth and Ky
Logan, Holly, and T.J.

Mady and Max

Neil, Mary Frances, and Nick
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Trudy W. Banta is professor of higher education and senior advisor to the

chancellor for academic planning and evaluation at Indiana University-
Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Considered a pioneer in out-
comes assessment in higher education, Banta has received ten national
awards for her work in this field. Before moving to IUPUI in 1992, she
was the founding director of the Center for Assessment Research and
Development at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Banta has developed and coordinated twenty-seven national con-
ferences and fifteen international conferences on the topic of assessing
quality in higher education. She has written or edited eighteen books on
assessment, contributed thirty chapters to other published works, and writ-
ten more than three hundred articles and reports. She is the founding
editor of Assessment Update, a bimonthly periodical published since 1989
by Jossey-Bass.

◆ ◆ ◆

Catherine A. Palomba is director emeritus of assessment and �institutional

research at Ball State University. Prior to leading a nationally recognized
assessment program on that campus, she taught economics at West Virginia

xxiii
xxiv About the Authors

University and Iowa State University. She also was a research analyst at the
Center for Naval Analyses in Virginia. She earned her PhD in economics
from Iowa State University and her master’s degree in economics from the
University of Minnesota. Her assessment work includes two books, as well
as several articles and presentations.
ASSESSMENT ESSENTIALS
 CHAPTER 1

DEFINING ASSESSMENT

T he concept of assessment resides in the eye of the beholder. It many

definitions, so it is essential that anyone who writes or speaks about
assessment defines it at the outset.

Some Definitions

In common parlance, assessment as applied in education describes the mea-

surement of what an individual knows and can do. Over the past three
decades, the term outcomes assessment in higher education has come to
imply aggregating individual measures for the purpose of discovering group
strengths and weaknesses that can guide improvement actions.
Some higher education scholars have focused their attention on the
assessment of student learning. Linda Suskie, for instance, in the second
edition of her book Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide (2009)
tells us that for her, the term assessment “refers to the assessment of student
learning.” In the first edition of this book, we also adopted the focus on
student learning:

Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of infor-

mation about educational programs undertaken for the purpose

1
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 My good Lord Sinnatus,
I once was at the hunting of a lion.
Roused by the clamour of the chase he woke,
Came to the front of the wood—his monarch mane
Bristled about his quick ears—he stood there
Staring upon the hunter. A score of dogs
Gnaw’d at his ankles: at the last he felt
The trouble of his feet, put forth one paw,
Slew four, and knew it not, and so remain’d
Staring upon the hunter: and this Rome
Will crush you if you wrestle with her; then
Save for some slight report in her own Senate
Scarce know what she has done.
(Aside.) Would I could move him,
Provoke him any way! (Aloud.) The Lady Camma,
Wise I am sure as she is beautiful,
Will close with me that to submit at once
Is better than a wholly-hopeless war,
Our gallant citizens murder’d all in vain,
Son, husband, brother gash’d to death in vain,
And the small state more cruelly trampled on
Than had she never moved.

Camma.

Sir, I had once

A boy who died a babe; but were he living
And grown to man and Sinnatus will’d it, I
Would set him in the front rank of the fight
With scarce a pang. (Rises.) Sir, if a state submit
At once, she may be blotted out at once
And swallow’d in the conqueror’s chronicle.
Whereas in wars of freedom and defence
The glory and grief of battle won or lost
Solders a race together—yea—tho’ they fail,
The names of those who fought and fell are like
A bank’d-up fire that flashes out again
From century to century, and at last
May lead them on to victory—I hope so—
Like phantoms of the Gods.

Sinnatus.

Well spoken, wife.

Synorix (bowing).

Madam, so well I yield.

Sinnatus.

I should not wonder

If Synorix, who has dwelt three years in Rome
And wrought his worst against his native land,
Returns with this Antonius.

Synorix.

What is Synorix?

Sinnatus.

Galatian, and not know? This Synorix

Was Tetrarch here, and tyrant also—did
Dishonour to our wives.

Synorix.

Perhaps you judge him

With feeble charity: being as you tell me
Tetrarch, there might be willing wives enough
To feel dishonour, honour.

Camma.

Do not say so.

I know of no such wives in all Galatia.
There may be courtesans for aught I know
Whose life is one dishonour.

Enter Attendant.

Attendant (aside).

My lord, the men!

Sinnatus (aside).

Our anti-Roman faction?

Attendant (aside).

Ay, my lord.

Synorix (overhearing).

(Aside.) I have enough—their anti-Roman faction.

Sinnatus (aloud).

Some friends of mine would speak with me without.

You, Strato, make good cheer till I return.

[Exit.

Synorix.

I have much to say, no time to say it in.

First, lady, know myself am that Galatian
Who sent the cup.

Camma.

I thank you from my heart.

 Synorix.

Then that I serve with Rome to serve Galatia.

That is my secret: keep it, or you sell me
To torment and to death.

[Coming closer.

For your ear only—

I love you—for your love to the great Goddess.
The Romans sent me here a spy upon you,
To draw you and your husband to your doom.
I’d sooner die than do it.

[Takes out paper given him by

Antonius.

This paper sign’d

Antonius—will you take it, read it? there!

Camma.

(Reads) “You are to seize on Sinnatus,—if——”

Synorix.

(Snatches paper.) No more.

What follows is for no wife’s eyes. O Camma,
Rome has a glimpse of this conspiracy;
Rome never yet hath spar’d conspirator.
Horrible! flaying, scourging, crucifying——

Camma.

I am tender enough. Why do you practise on me?

Synorix.

Why should I practise on you? How you wrong me!

I am sure of being every way malign’d.
And if you should betray me to your husband——

Camma.

Will you betray him by this order?

Synorix.

See,
I tear it all to pieces, never dream’d
Of acting on it.

[Tears the paper.

Camma.

I owe you thanks for ever.

Synorix.

Hath Sinnatus never told you of this plot?

Camma.

What plot?

Synorix.

A child’s sand-castle on the beach

For the next wave—all seen,—all calculated,
All known by Rome. No chance for Sinnatus.

Camma.

Why, said you not as much to my brave Sinnatus?

Synorix.
Brave—ay—too brave, too over-confident,
Too like to ruin himself, and you, and me!
Who else, with this black thunderbolt of Rome
Above him, would have chased the stag to-day
In the full face of all the Roman camp?
A miracle that they let him home again,
Not caught, maim’d, blinded him.

[Camma shudders.

(Aside.) I have made her tremble.

(Aloud.) I know they mean to torture him to death.
I dare not tell him how I came to know it;
I durst not trust him with—my serving Rome
To serve Galatia: you heard him on the letter.
Not say as much? I all but said as much.
I am sure I told him that his plot was folly.
I say it to you—you are wiser—Rome knows all,
But you know not the savagery of Rome.

Camma.

O—have you power with Rome? use it for him!

Synorix.

Alas! I have no such power with Rome. All that

Lies with Antonius.

[As if struck by a sudden thought.

Comes over to her.

He will pass to-morrow

In the gray dawn before the Temple doors.
You have beauty,—O great beauty,—and Antonius,
So gracious toward women, never yet
Flung back a woman’s prayer. Plead to him,
I am sure you will prevail.
 Camma.

Still—I should tell

My husband.

Synorix.

Will he let you plead for him

To a Roman?

Camma.

I fear not.

Synorix.

Then do not tell him.

Or tell him, if you will, when you return,
When you have charm’d our general into mercy,
And all is safe again. O dearest lady,

[Murmurs of “Synorix! Synorix!” heard

outside.

Think,—torture,—death,—and come.

Camma.

I will, I will.
And I will not betray you.

Synorix (aside).

(As Sinnatus enters.) Stand apart.

Enter Sinnatus and Attendant.

Sinnatus.
Thou art that Synorix! One whom thou hast wrong’d
Without there, knew thee with Antonius.
They howl for thee, to rend thee head from limb.

Synorix.

I am much malign’d. I thought to serve Galatia.

Sinnatus.

Serve thyself first, villain! They shall not harm

My guest within my house. There! (points to door) there! this
door
Opens upon the forest! Out, begone!
Henceforth I am thy mortal enemy.

Synorix.

However I thank thee (draws his sword); thou hast saved my

life.

[Exit.

Sinnatus.

(To Attendant.) Return and tell them Synorix is not here.

[Exit Attendant.

What did that villain Synorix say to you?

Camma.

Is he—that—Synorix?

Sinnatus.

Wherefore should you doubt it?

One of the men there knew him.
 Camma.

Only one,
And he perhaps mistaken in the face.

Sinnatus.

Come, come, could he deny it? What did he say?

Camma.

What should he say?

Sinnatus.

What should he say, my wife!

He should say this, that being Tetrarch once
His own true people cast him from their doors
Like a base coin.

Camma.

Not kindly to them?

Sinnatus.

Kindly?
O the most kindly Prince in all the world!
Would clap his honest citizens on the back,
Bandy their own rude jests with them, be curious
About the welfare of their babes, their wives,
O ay—their wives—their wives. What should he say?
He should say nothing to my wife if I
Were by to throttle him! He steep’d himself
In all the lust of Rome. How should you guess
What manner of beast it is?

Camma.
 Yet he seem’d kindly,
And said he loathed the cruelties that Rome
Wrought on her vassals.

Sinnatus.

Did he, honest man?

Camma.

And you, that seldom brook the stranger here,

Have let him hunt the stag with you to-day.

Sinnatus.

I warrant you now, he said he struck the stag.

Camma.

Why no, he never touch’d upon the stag.

Sinnatus.

Why so I said, my arrow. Well, to sleep.

[Goes to close door.

Camma.

Nay, close not yet the door upon a night

That looks half day.

Sinnatus.

True; and my friends may spy him

And slay him as he runs.

Camma.
 He is gone already.
Oh look,—yon grove upon the mountain,—white
In the sweet moon as with a lovelier snow!
But what a blotch of blackness underneath!
Sinnatus, you remember—yea, you must,
That there three years ago—the vast vine-bowers
Ran to the summit of the trees, and dropt
Their streamers earthward, which a breeze of May
Took ever and anon, and open’d out
The purple zone of hill and heaven; there
You told your love; and like the swaying vines—
Yea,—with our eyes,—our hearts, our prophet hopes
Let in the happy distance, and that all
But cloudless heaven which we have found together
In our three married years! You kiss’d me there
For the first time. Sinnatus, kiss me now.

Sinnatus.

First kiss. (Kisses her.) There then. You talk almost as if it

Might be the last.

Camma.

Will you not eat a little?

Sinnatus.

No, no, we found a goat-herd’s hut and shared

His fruits and milk. Liar! You will believe
Now that he never struck the stag—a brave one
Which you shall see to-morrow.

Camma.

I rise to-morrow
In the gray dawn, and take this holy cup
To lodge it in the shrine of Artemis.
 Sinnatus.

Good!

Camma.

If I be not back in half an hour,

Come after me.

Sinnatus.

What! is there danger?

Camma.

Nay,
None that I know: ’tis but a step from here
To the Temple.

Sinnatus.

All my brain is full of sleep.

Wake me before you go, I’ll after you—
After me now!

[Closes door and exit.

Camma (drawing curtains).

Your shadow. Synorix—

His face was not malignant, and he said
That men malign’d him. Shall I go? Shall I go?
Death, torture—
“He never yet flung back a woman’s prayer”—
I go, but I will have my dagger with me.

[Exit.

Scene III.—Same as Scene I. Dawn.

 Music and Singing in the Temple.

Enter Synorix watchfully, after him Publius and Soldiers.

Synorix.

Publius!

Publius.

Here!

Synorix.

Do you remember what

I told you?

Publius.

When you cry “Rome, Rome,” to seize

On whomsoever may be talking with you,
Or man, or woman, as traitors unto Rome.

Synorix.

Right. Back again. How many of you are there?

Publius.

Some half a score.

[Exeunt Soldiers and Publius.

Synorix.

I have my guard about me.

I need not fear the crowd that hunted me
Across the woods, last night. I hardly gain’d
The camp at midnight. Will she come to me
Now that she knows me Synorix? Not if Sinnatus
Has told her all the truth about me. Well,
I cannot help the mould that I was cast in.
I fling all that upon my fate, my star.
I know that I am genial, I would be
Happy, and make all others happy so
They did not thwart me. Nay, she will not come.
Yet if she be a true and loving wife
She may, perchance, to save this husband. Ay!
See, see, my white bird stepping toward the snare.
Why now I count it all but miracle,
That this brave heart of mine should shake me so,
As helplessly as some unbearded boy’s
When first he meets his maiden in a bower.

Enter Camma (with cup).

Synorix.

The lark first takes the sunlight on his wing,

But you, twin sister of the morning star,
Forelead the sun.

Camma.

Where is Antonius?

Synorix.

Not here as yet. You are too early for him.

[She crosses towards Temple.

Synorix.

Nay, whither go you now?

Camma.
 To lodge this cup
Within the holy shrine of Artemis,
And so return.

Synorix.

To find Antonius here.

[She goes into the Temple, he looks

after her.

The loveliest life that ever drew the light

From heaven to brood upon her, and enrich
Earth with her shadow! I trust she will return.
These Romans dare not violate the Temple.
No, I must lure my game into the camp.
A woman I could live and die for. What!
Die for a woman, what new faith is this?
I am not mad, not sick, not old enough
To doat on one alone. Yes, mad for her,
Camma the stately, Camma the great-hearted,
So mad, I fear some strange and evil chance
Coming upon me, for by the Gods I seem
Strange to myself.

Re-enter Camma.

Camma.

Where is Antonius?

Synorix.

Where? As I said before, you are still too early.

Camma.

Too early to be here alone with thee;

For whether men malign thy name, or no,
It bears an evil savour among women.
Where is Antonius? (Loud.)

Synorix.

Madam, as you know

The camp is half a league without the city;
If you will walk with me we needs must meet
Antonius coming, or at least shall find him
There in the camp.

Camma.

No, not one step with thee.

Where is Antonius? (Louder.)

Synorix (advancing towards her).

Then for your own sake,

Lady, I say it with all gentleness,
And for the sake of Sinnatus your husband,
I must compel you.

Camma (drawing her dagger).

Stay!—too near is death.

Synorix (disarming her).

Is it not easy to disarm a woman?

Enter Sinnatus (seizes him from behind by the throat).

Synorix (throttled and scarce audible).

Rome! Rome!

Sinnatus.
 Adulterous dog!

Synorix (stabbing him with Camma’s dagger).

What! will you have it?

[Camma utters a cry and runs to

Sinnatus.

Sinnatus (falls backward).

I have it in my heart—to the Temple—fly—

For my sake—or they seize on thee. Remember!
Away—farewell!

[Dies.

Camma (runs up the steps into the Temple, looking back).

Farewell!

Synorix (seeing her escape).

The women of the Temple drag her in.

Publius! Publius! No,
Antonius would not suffer me to break
Into the sanctuary. She hath escaped.

[Looking down at Sinnatus.

“Adulterous dog!” that red-faced rage at me!

Then with one quick short stab—eternal peace.
So end all passions. Then what use in passions?
To warm the cold bounds of our dying life
And, lest we freeze in mortal apathy,
Employ us, heat us, quicken us, help us, keep us
From seeing all too near that urn, those ashes
Which all must be. Well used, they serve us well.
I heard a saying in Egypt, that ambition
Is like the sea wave, which the more you drink,
The more you thirst—yea—drink too much, as men
Have done on rafts of wreck—it drives you mad.
I will be no such wreck, am no such gamester
As, having won the stake, would dare the chance
Of double, or losing all. The Roman Senate,
For I have always play’d into their hands,
Means me the crown. And Camma for my bride—
The people love her—if I win her love,
They too will cleave to me, as one with her.
There then I rest, Rome’s tributary king.

[Looking down on Sinnatus.

Why did I strike him?—having proof enough

Against the man, I surely should have left
That stroke to Rome. He saved my life too. Did he?
It seem’d so. I have play’d the sudden fool.
And that sets her against me—for the moment.
Camma—well, well, I never found the woman
I could not force or wheedle to my will.
She will be glad at last to wear my crown.
And I will make Galatia prosperous too,
And we will chirp among our vines, and smile
At bygone things till that (pointing to Sinnatus) eternal peace.
Rome! Rome!

Enter Publius and Soldiers.

Twice I cried Rome. Why came ye not before?

Publius.

Why come we now? Whom shall we seize upon?

Synorix (pointing to the body of Sinnatus).

The body of that dead traitor Sinnatus.

Bear him away.

Music and Singing in Temple.

END OF ACT I.
 ACT II.
Scene.—Interior of the Temple of Artemis.

Small gold gates on platform in front of the veil before the colossal
statue of the Goddess, and in the centre of the Temple a tripod
altar, on which is a lighted lamp. Lamps (lighted) suspended
between each pillar. Tripods, vases, garlands of flowers, etc.,
about stage. Altar at back close to Goddess, with two cups.
Solemn music. Priestesses decorating the Temple.

Enter a Priestess.

Priestess.

Phœbe, that man from Synorix, who has been

So oft to see the Priestess, waits once more
Before the Temple.

Phœbe.

We will let her know.

[Signs to one of the Priestesses, who

goes out.

Since Camma fled from Synorix to our Temple,

And for her beauty, stateliness, and power,
Was chosen Priestess here, have you not mark’d
Her eyes were ever on the marble floor?
To-day they are fixt and bright—they look straight out.
Hath she made up her mind to marry him?

Priestess.

To marry him who stabb’d her Sinnatus.