Assessment takes place throughout the collegiate context involving a range of diverse individuals and they need to be valued, appreciated, and respected for their unique individual, disciplinary, and professional contributions to assessment. Those working in assessment are encouraged to consider adopting collaborative, shared approaches to leading…

Universities administer assessments for accountability and program improvement. Student effort is low during assessments due to minimal perceived consequences. The effects of low effort are compounded by assessment context. This project investigates validity concerns caused by minimal effort and exacerbated by contextual factors. Systematic…

Using a critical paradigm, in this paper we highlight how current theoretical perspectives may serve to minimize and undermine historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within the discourse on racial climate assessment in higher education. In particular, we closely examine a widely used campus climate theory to highlight how it centers…

This article describes a faculty-led project to assess and revise institutional student learning outcomes at a small urban community college. The revision process involved four stages: (1) exploring stakeholders' explicit and implicit understandings through an experimental assessment; (2) using statistical tools to identify redundancies and…

The intersection in 2020 of the new COVID-19 pandemic with the ongoing pandemic of anti-black racism exacerbated existing injustices as well as caused and revealed new inequities in US higher education. Because inequities in assessment in particular were intensified by these twin pandemics, faculty at several US colleges revised assessment…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors were forced to adjust from in-person to emergency remote teaching; however, classroom observation protocols, like the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), have only been developed and validated for in-person instruction. Therefore, we developed and validated an…

Integrative learning is an important outcome for graduates of higher education. Therefore, it should be well-defined and assessed reliably. The American Association of Colleges & Universities has developed a rubric to define and assess integrative learning, but it has low reliability. This pilot study examines whether this rubric's reliability…

Students at many higher education institutions are expected to acquire effective written communication skills and strong critical thinking skills. Although these student learning outcomes are common, these skills are complex. Assessing students' attainment of these outcomes at an institutional level can be difficult as many approaches to measuring…

Traditional classroom assessment practice often leaves students out of the conversation, exacerbating the unequal power distribution in the classroom. Viewing classrooms as autonomy-inhibiting is known to influence students' psychosocial wellbeing as well as their academic achievement. This is especially relevant in STEM fields where marginalized…

A grand challenge is a problem that requires broad cooperation for successful resolution from a community of scholars. Several national and international organizations have generated lists of grand challenges to unify the efforts of scholars and practitioners in a field. However, the field of assessment has yet to identify its own set of grand…

As we face increasing accountability in higher education, how we measure student learning should exceed the calls for an account of learning that places students at the center. Qualitative approaches to assessment and theoretical underpinnings gleaned from the qualitative research tradition may provide a way that we can support a more holistic…

Assessment to improve student learning and program effectiveness is an essential skill for student affairs practitioners. Empirical findings from a content analysis of the Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners (ACPA & NASPA, 2010) shed important light on reflexivity as a foundational aspect of assessment. Based on…

Program assessment has been a topic of significance in higher education over the last decade. Initially, program assessment was implemented in response to concerns over the quality of college graduates' education and increasing competiveness in the job market for American college graduates. Recently, higher education institutions have been…

The increased pressure in higher education to demonstrate evidence of student learning is prompting all sectors to develop clear assessment methods. This national conversation has also sparked the greater recognition and use of assessment as a process for the improvement of teaching and learning. Given the scant literature on assessment in the…

Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…