Sonoma State University, Assessment for student learning

The Scope of Assessment
Colleges and universities across the US, and even across the world, are being asked to establish ongoing processes for assessing student learning. What is the scope of this new task and how to undertake it in a cost-effective way? One way to answer this question is to place assessment within the larger context of three major ideas: educational effectiveness; learning communities; and focus on student learning.

For amplification of these major ideas, choose among the buttons on this page…

Educational Effectiveness

Assessment is but one activity within the larger set of tasks necessary to deliver an effective education. Based on valid and reliable information, a department or program evaluates whether students are learning what it  expects them to learn.

Learning Communities

The task then is how schools and their departments become learning communities— group of teachers and staff members sharing a common vision, and learning together how students learn. Communities can only learn through individual learners.

Focus on Student Learning

The above process focus only on assessment of student learning, and at the program level. It is not about assessment or evaluation of faculty teaching.