Academic Achievement: Student performance of program and general education outcomes; measured by various assessment methods pertaining to the stated outcomes.

Assessment: Assessment is an ongoing process anchored to the mission of the College, aimed at improving student learning and quality educational programs. It involves developing criteria and high standards for learning; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve learning.

Benchmark: A description or example of student or institutional performance that serves as a standard of comparison for evaluation and judging quality.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives: Six levels arranged in order of increasing complexity (1=low, 6=high):

1. Knowledge: Recalling or remembering information without necessarily understanding it. Includes behaviors such as describing, listing, identifying, and labeling.

2. Comprehension: Understanding learned material and includes behaviors such as explaining, discussing, and interpreting.

3. Application: The ability to put ideas and concepts to work in solving problems. It includes behaviors such as demonstrating, showing, and making use of information.

4. Analysis: Breaking down information into its component parts to see interrelationships and ideas. Related behaviors include differentiating, comparing, and categorizing

5. Synthesis: The ability to put parts together to form something original. It involves using creativity to compose or design something new.

6. Evaluation: Judging the value of evidence based on definite criteria. Behaviors related to evaluation include: concluding, criticizing, prioritizing, and recommending. (Bloom, 1956)

Capstone Course: A capstone could be a senior seminar or designated assessment course. Program learning outcomes can be integrated into assignments.
                                                  
CATs: Classroom assessment techniques; usually non-graded methods used in the classroom (little class time is taken) to ascertain whether or not students have achieved a course objective or how much prior knowledge students have of a concept. These methods include a minute paper, muddiest point, confidence survey, and a paper prospectus. They can only be used in an assessment program if the method used directly addresses a program or general education outcome (not course objective) and a detailed observation can be made or quantified for future reference and comparison. (Refer to Cross and Angelo, Classroom Assessment Techniques, 1993.)

Classroom Assessment: The systematic and on-going study of what and how students are learning in a particular course; often designed for individual faculty who wish to improve their teaching of a specific course. Classroom assessment differs from tests and other forms of student assessment in that it is aimed at improved student learning and course improvement, rather than at assigning grades.

Closing the Loop/Feedback Loop: Closing the loop is the process by which assessment results are used in programmatic and campus-wide decisions to impact student learning. In other words, it provides data/evidence for decisions for changes in pedagogy and curriculum—taking relative feedback and doing something with it.

Community of Practice (CoP): CoP is the collaboration and inquiry among individuals to share ideas find solutions, and build innovations regarding student learning;

Competency-Based Assessment: An assessment of a student’s performance/competency as compared to a specific learning outcome or performance standard. Competencies are assessed by the instructor to prove competence in isolated tasks; for example, do a minimum number of tasks; minimum level of proficiency. These can be assessed by demonstration and check-off in the classroom or lab when the student is ready.

Content-Based Assessment: The purpose is to assess knowledge in a content framework by assigning a grade and identifying 100%, top student. It is assessed by the class (curve) or the instructor (%) by a standard determined by the instructor or test developers using a quiz or objective test weekly, midterm, final, etc.

DACUM: Developing Curriculum (DACUM): The DACUM process for occupational analysis involves local men and women with reputations for being the “top performers” at their jobs, working on a short-term committee assignment with a qualified DACUM facilitator. Workers are
recruited directly from business and industry. These workers become the Panel of Experts who collectively and cooperatively describes the occupation in the language of the occupation.

The Panel works under the guidance of a trained facilitator for two days to develop the DACUM Research Chart. The chart contains a list of general areas of competence called DUTIES and several TASKS for each duty. Brainstorming techniques are used to obtain the collective expertise and consensus of the committee. As the Panel determines each task, it is written on a card. The cards are attached to the wall in front of the Panel. The completed chart is a graphic profile of the duties and tasks performed by successful workers in the occupation.

The Panel also identifies the general knowledge and skills required of successful workers, the tools, equipment, supplies, and materials used the important worker behaviors essential for success, and the future trends and concerns likely to cause job changes. The process produces superior results for all occupational levels.

Direct Assessment Methods: Assessment that requires students to display their knowledge and skills as they respond to the instrument itself. These methods include licensure test results; capstone course portfolios, presentations, and entry and exit test results. Objective and performance measures are both types of direct assessment methods. Direct assessment may also be quantitative (numerical scores) or qualitative (descriptions).

Embedded Questions to Assignments: Questions that are related to program learning outcomes are embedded within course exams. It is a means of gathering information about student learning that is built into and a natural part of the teaching-learning process. It is often used for assessment purposes in classroom assignments that are evaluated to assign students a grade. Can assess individual student performance or aggregate the information to provide information about the course or program; can be formative or summative, quantitative, or qualitative. Example: as part of a course, expecting each senior to complete a research paper that is graded for content and style but is also assessed for advanced ability to locate and evaluate Web-based information (as part of a college-wide outcome to demonstrate information literacy).

Evaluate/Evaluation: Definition 1: Evaluation uses assessment information to make an informed judgment on such things as: whether students have achieved learning goals that we’ve established for them; the relative strengths and weaknesses of our teaching/learning strategies; or what changes in goals and teaching/learning strategies might be appropriate. Assessment results alone guide us; evaluation informs our decisions. Definition 2: Evaluation is used to investigate and judge the quality or worth of a program, project, or other entity, rather than student learning. Under this definition, evaluation is broader than assessment.

Formative assessment: Assessment that takes place so that feedback can be given prior to the completion of the performance (program), which enables the student to modify and improve the student performance (program).

Goals: Goals are general aims or purposes of a program and its curriculum. Effective goals are broadly stated, meaningful, achievable, and assessable. Goals provide a framework for determining the more specific educational outcomes of a program and should be consistent with program and institutional mission. Goals are what we “wish” for our programs and students. Goals require outcomes to provide evidence of how to reach the goal.

Grades: A mark that signifies the overall rating of student performance on an assignment; it is comprehensive that it includes the rating of all student work on the assignment; it cannot be used as a method of assessment as it does not specifically pertain to a single objective; however, individual PATs used to assess specific outcomes can be aggregated into a grade.

Indirect Assessment Methods: Assessment that requires students to reflect upon their learning rather than demonstrating what has been learned. Surveys; interviews; number of students successfully transferring; graduation rates; placement data; advisory committee evaluation; and feedback from students, graduates, or employers are typical indirect methods.

Learner-Centered Outcome (LCO): The purpose of LCO is to increase learning by demonstrating evidence of intended outcomes. Learner-centered describes up front what the student will be able to DO (in the rest of life) with what he learns in a course. The students will engage in meaningful work projects, portfolios, presentations, exhibits, etc., that require synthesis of understanding and skill development and are assessed by students, peers, instructor, stakeholders, with clearly identified qualitative criteria. LCO is assessed priorly, continuously, or summatively. While some believe competencies and outcomes to be the same thing, they are not. (Outcomes Primer, 2002) The intended learning outcomes justify the course content. They give it purpose beyond learning content for the sake of content.

Matrices (Formative and Summative (F&S Charts): Matrices are used to summarize the relationship between program outcomes and courses, course assignments, or course syllabus outcomes to examine congruence and to ensure that all outcomes have been sufficiently structured into the curriculum.
                                                               
Mission Statement: The mission statement is the initial point of reference for a program. It is a brushstroke statement (not measurable) of the general values and principles which guide the curriculum and the larger context in which more specific curricular goals will fit. In broad terms, it is your program’s vision that will set a tone and philosophical position of what you do, for whom you do it, and how you will get it done.
It addresses the following questions:
1. What are the general values and broad principles that will guide the program?
2. What are the general characteristics and abilities of the ideal graduate?
3. Whom will the program serve and how?
4. In what specific ways is the program mission consistent with the college’s mission and strategic plan?

Observations: Observations can be of any social phenomenon, such as student presentations, students working in the library, or interactions at student help desks. Observations can be recorded as a narrative or in a highly structured format, such as a checklist; and they should be focused on specific program outcomes.

Portfolio: A portfolio is a systematic and organized collection of a student's work that exhibits to others the direct evidence of a student's efforts, achievements, and progress over a period of time. The collection should involve the student in selection of its contents, and should include information about the performance criteria, the rubric or criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection or evaluation. It should include representative work, providing a documentation of the learner's performance and a basis for evaluation of the student's progress. Portfolios may include a variety of demonstrations of learning and have been gathered in the form of a physical collection of materials, videos, CD-ROMs, reflective journals, etc.

Primary Trait Analysis (PAT): PAT is a rubric that specifically addresses desired outcomes and scores the achievement of those outcomes using a detailed description of the degree to which the outcome has been achieved

Program and General Education Outcomes Validation: This step of the process seeks to determine if program and general education outcomes are appropriate to meeting current academic, business, trade, and/or professional/technological requirements. A well-executed program outcomes validation study will answer the question, “Are the program outcomes consistent with expectations of employers, transfer institutions, entering students, and the communities of interest?” Program Outcomes Validation studies are required of all programs every three years.

Program Assessment: A combination of assessments techniques, data collection and analysis about student achievement for learning outcomes at the classroom and course levels, and leading to improvements of the academic program.

Reliability: Reliability insures that the instrument or results from the instrument measure the desired outcome consistently over time.

Scoring Rubrics: A rubric describes a specific set of criteria that clearly defines for both student and teacher what a range of acceptable and unacceptable performance looks like. Criteria define descriptors of ability at each level of performance and assign values to each level. Levels referred to are proficiency levels which describe a continuum from excellent to unacceptable product that delineates criteria used to discriminate among levels is developed and used for scoring. Generally two raters are used to review each product and a third rater is employed to resolve discrepancies.

Significant Learning: For learning to occur, there has to be some kind of change in the student. No change, no learning. Significant learning requires that there be some kind of lasting change that is important in terms of the learner’s life. (Lee Fink: Univ. of Oklahoma, 2003)

Summative Assessment: The gathering of information at the conclusion of a course, program, or undergraduate degree to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. When used for improvement, impacts the next cohort of students taking the course or program. Example: examining student final exams in a course to see if certain specific areas of the curriculum were understood less well than others.

Triangulation: Triangulation involves the collection of data via multiple methods in order to determine if the results show a consistent outcome.

Validity (validation): Validity refers to outcomes or instruments that are well grounded and are based upon evidence or fact.