What is Assessment of Learning?

Learning assessment refers to a process where methods are used to generate and collect data for evaluation of courses and programs to improve educational quality and student learning. This refers to any method used to gather evidence and evaluate quality and may include both quantitative and qualitative data in instruction or student services.

9 Principles for Assessing Student Learning

The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.

Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time.

Assessment works best when the programs it seeks to improve have clear, explicitly stated purposes.

Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to the experiences that lead to those outcomes.

Assessment works best when it is ongoing not episodic.

Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from across the educational community are involved.

Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that people really care about.

Assessment is most likely to lead to improvement when it is part of a larger set of conditions that promote change.

Through assessment, educators meet responsibilities to students and to the public.

What is a Learning Outcome?

A Learning Outcome is a statement about the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities a student is expected to have upon successful completion of an academic activity. A Learning Outcome is expressed using active verbs and is stated in terms that make it measurable.

What types of Learning Outcomes are assessed at Shasta College?

There are 5 types of learning outcomes assessed at Shasta College:

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Library Student Learning Outcomes
Student Services Student Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs)

What is a Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle?

At Shasta College, a Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle consists of the following five steps:

Step 1. Develop, review, or revise the Learning Outcome

Step 2. Develop, review or revise an assessment method for the Learning Outcome Step 3. Assess the Learning Outcome

Step 4. Analyze the assessment results

Step 5. Apply the results to improve outcomes and then assess the effectiveness of these improvements

Repeat, repeat, repeat …

This Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle is applied to all types of Learning Outcomes assessed at Shasta College.

What are the benefits of assessing Learning Outcomes?

Systematic assessment of Learning Outcomes benefits the entire college community.

For students, statements of Learning Outcomes will:

provide clear statements about the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities expected upon successful completion of the learning experience
ensure a common core assessment across all sections of a course
reassure students that faculty are having conversations about student success allow students to make informed decisions about degrees and certificates

For faculty, participating in Learning Outcomes assessment will:

help determine what's working and what's not working in their courses or programs facilitate valuable campus-wide dialogue
provide evidence to justify needed resources to maintain or improve courses and programs
provide valuable feedback to inform and guide future teaching and learning to improve student learning

For Shasta College, Learning Outcomes assessment will:

provide data about how well the mission is achieved
demonstrate an institutional commitment to continually improving the academic programs and services offered
provide valuable data for integrated planning and decision-making
keep Shasta College in compliance with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) requirements for learning outcomes. ACCJC requires that community colleges be at the Sustainable Continuous Quality Improvement Level of Implementation on the ACCJC Rubric for Evaluating Institutional Effectiveness-Part III: Student Learning Outcomes (see Appendix A for the ACCJC Rubric for Evaluating the SLO Process).