The purpose of assessment is to improve student learning by:
- gathering evidence on what students are and are not learning, and
- proposing changes to instruction or curriculum based on the findings.
Assessment has three steps:
- Articulate student learning outcomes, goals, or objectives: What do you want students to be able to do as a result of taking this course or completing this program?
- Collect information on student achievement of these goals, both direct and indirect measures.
- Use the results you collect, especially the results from direct measures, to determine what step(s) to take to improve student learning.
Resources for Departmental Assessment Coordinators
- Assessing Student Learning in Departments or Programs – Offers a simple department assessment plan, strategies to consider, examples for using evidence, and ways to gather learning data.
- Department Assessment Report Template – Helps departments prepare assessment reports.
- Closing-the-Loop Report
Helps you collect, analyze, and apply learning results and interventions. FDC staff created this report template to help systematize assessment data collection in preparation for UMBC’s accreditation self study.
For additional information and support, please contact the FDC.
Return to the main FDC Learning Assessment Resources page here.