Assessment for The University of Montana

Assessment at The University of Montana is an ongoing process that allows for informed academic decision-making, program modifications and improved student learning. In the spring of 2004, departments across the university revisited their assessment procedures and provided reports to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, answering the following questions:

1. What is the mission of the department?
2. What do you want the student who completes your major to know and be able to do?
3. How do you determine whether students have achieved the learning goals specified?
4. What changes to the major or department have you made, or are you making, as a result of the findings?

The Assessment Advisory Committee reviewed these responses in fall 2004 as part of their charge to improve assessment activities across the University. Each year departments update their assessment reports. In Fall 2008, department assessment reports were expanded to include more detailed information about assessment activities and to provide samples of measures and rubrics.

Assessment Reports by Departments/Colleges

As modifications are submitted to the provost's office in Microsoft Word format during future semesters, they will be posted as soon as possible. They may be sent to Associate Provost Arlene Walker-Andrews. Contact Dr. Walker-Andrews for a Word copy for updating, if necessary, as all versions of the reports are stored electronically in the provost's office for that purpose.

What is Assessment?

According to Tom Angelo (1995), assessment is "an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves:

• Making expectations explicit and public;
• Setting appropriate criteria and high expectations for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards;
• Using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance.

Simply put, assessment (often called outcomes assessment) should be used to:

• Evaluate curriculum
• Plan improvements when necessary, and
• Evaluate the effects of the changes.

Assessment helps departments affirm those things in their curricula and courses that are going well. Assessment also helps identify what is not going well, and often points to the specific changes that might be needed. Assessment is not static; rather, it is an ongoing and continuous effort to improve the quality of instruction, student learning, and overall effectiveness of a department or unit.

Uses for Assessment

Outcomes assessment has several uses. It can be formative, summative, or both.

Formative Assessment:  Formative data are gathered to assess the effectiveness of a program. A formative evaluation is designed specifically to evaluate a program’s effectiveness and to influence immediate decisions about how it might be improved. Formative data are typically reported only to those who have direct responsibility for improving and implementing a program, often at the class level.

Summative Assessment:  In summative assessment, the value or worth of a new curriculum may be judged by comparing it with the curriculum it is intended to replace. In this case, data are gathered for the purposes of accountability, advancement, and decisions about continuation of the program.

Dimensions of Assessment

Outcomes assessment of student learning, the effectiveness of a department’s curriculum, and teaching effectiveness can be accomplished by measuring Benjamin Bloom’s (1960) dimensions of cognition; including knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

In addition, one can assess behaviors/skills outcomes or attitudes and values.

Getting Started with Assessment

The steps for developing an assessment plan are direct and simple. They include the following:

• Reviewing, revising, and/or writing your unit’s mission statement;
• Developing goals and objectives for your program;
• Identifying the educational experiences or activities for attaining goals and objectives;
• Identifying measures to assess progress toward meeting your goals;
• Developing a plan for gathering the data;
• Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data;
• Using the data to continuously revise and improve students’ educational experiences and activities;
• Communicating the results.

Assessment Workshops

During spring, 2001, department chairs from across campus participated in a series of four classes devoted to outcomes assessment. These classes were based upon James Nichols' 1995 text, Departmental Guide and Record Book for Student Outcomes Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness. The purpose was to provide chairs with a step-by-step guide for developing departmental mission statements through identifying specific objectives to meet the department's mission. Classes involved discussion and small group work.

In the spring of 2005, a workshop was presented by Dr. Donald Whitaker from Ball State University, as part of the Chairs' Workshop Series. Dr. Whitaker is the Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Ball State University. He coordinates university academic assessment efforts and institutional research activities. He also assists departments in refining their assessment plans by establishing goals, selecting appropriate assessment techniques, developing time frames for assessment activities, and creating a process for using the results.

Each year at least one of the Chairs' Workshops focuses on assessment and departmental progress.