Books
Palomba, C. A., & Banta, T. W. (1999). Assessment essentials: Planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
This book guides the reader through the most current practices for developing assessment programs for higher education. It includes information on the general process as well as many examples. Some chapters are “The Essentials of Successful Assessment,” “Developing Definitions, Goals, and Plans,” “Listening to Students’ Voices,” and “Assessing General Education.” It offers information on how to develop plans and goals that fit the needs of individual campuses, how to encourage involvement from all constituencies, how to select appropriate methods, and how to analyze, report and use assessment results. This book would be particularly useful for those relatively new to the assessment process, for it does not assume a working knowledge of the topic. However, it is also valuable for those who have been working in the assessment area for awhile because it is a good reference on developments in the field.
Assessment Essentials is also useful in understanding the confusion caused in using the word assessment to describe both a process to improve and a means to determine the level of quality. In this book, to assess is defined as “to examine carefully,” which does not necessarily entail giving feedback. The focus in the book is to encourage readers to look to see if a process is doing what it is supposed to do: to continue to improve the process (without indication of how to know how to improve), and to stop once a predetermined level of success is achieved.
Freeman, R., & Lewis, R. (1998). Planning and implementing assessment. London: Kogan Page.
This book is a good reference for those who wish to design, implement or critique an assessment process. It is divided into six parts, including principles of assessment, a methods toolbox, sources of assessment, using assessment methods, recording and reporting, and assessment issues. It is particularly strong in describing the use of criteria for both assessment and evaluation and in discussing how to move students to the point where they learn proactively.
It is important to note that readers will need to translate some of the terms. The author’s terms “judgmental assessment” or “summative assessment” correspond to the Faculty Guidebook’s definition of “evaluation” and “developmental assessment” or “formative assessment” for the Faculty Guidebook’s definition of “assessment.” The assessment conducted during a performance is termed “continuous assessment,” and assessment conducted at the end of a process is termed “final assessment.”
Banta, T. W. (1999). Assessment update: The first ten years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
This book is a compilation of articles written about assessment from 1990 to 2000. Trudy Banta is director of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Boulder, CO. In reading it cover to cover, one gets the sense that the word assessment has slowly been redefined over the years. This book is particularly useful for getting a sense of the history of assessment in higher education.
Mager, R. F. (1997). Preparing instructional objectives: A critical tool in the development of effective instruction. Atlanta, GA: Center for Effective Performance.
This book explains, in an extremely straightforward way, the characteristics of well-defined objectives and the process for writing objectives that match the learning expected of the students. This book shows how quality objectives can focus instruction. Along the way, questions are asked of the reader to make sure the terms are understood. If the questions are answered incorrectly, the reader is requested to re-read some of the material until the differences in terms begin to make sense. Many of the examples of poorly written objectives will ring true for any present or former student. By reading both good and poor examples, the reader can begin to understand the qualities needed for good objectives. This is one of the most useful books in print for understanding how to write criteria and set measures.
Huba, M. F., & Freed, J. E. (1999). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
This book combines research with practice to help readers understand the connections between the assessment of student learning and the improvement of student learning. It gives examples of how to shift from teacher-centered paradigms to learner-centered paradigms. It also suggests some strategies that can be used in the assessment process. The book is written in three sections. The first section deals with the development of a learner-centered perspective, including chapters on the role of assessment in facilitating the shift, describing the hallmarks of learner-centered teaching, and discussing effective principles that are supported by research studies. The second section in the book is devoted to practical techniques that both strengthen teaching processes and enhance assessment strategies. The techniques in this section can be used in assessment at the course level, academic program level, and institution level. The final section focuses on the individual and institutional implications of shifting to a learner-centered paradigm.
Web Site
Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment, North Carolina State University
<http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/assmt/resource.htm>The main focus of this website is outcomes assessment, and some of the links refer to what the Faculty Guidebook defines as evaluation. It is organized into six areas.
General resources that link to other general websites, including but not limited to AAHE, forums, journal articles, grant results, instruments used in outcomes assessment, rubrics, classroom assessment techniques, conference lists, glossary websites, National Survey of Student Engagement results, discussion lists, and available tracking software
Assessment handbooks that link to college and university assessment information
Assessment of specific skills or content that links to specific programs’ assessment plans and results
Individual institutions’ assessment-related pages for over 100 colleges and universities, ordered alphabetically
Links to all the higher education accrediting bodies, including the Council for Higher Education Accrediting, the regional accrediting bodies, and specialized/professional associations
Student assessments of courses and faculty links, including strategies and forms to use to get student feedback for improving teaching