1. The Assessment Cycle and Basic Guiding Principles
by
’Bunmi Aina
Director, Keeping the Promise
Gallaudet University

2. Presentation Objective
This presentation will, hopefully, help provide a
framework for establishing assessment in
(a) your courses and/or
(b) services you provide to students

3. Definitions

4. Assessment –What it is
 Collection and interpretation of information
about what, how much, and how well
students are learning.
 It is part of the instruction model of
planning/teaching/assessing and refers to the
assignments and tasks that provide
information to improve the learning
experience of current and future students.

5. Assessment– what it is not
 It is not solely an administrative activity, though
University administration may assist you.
 It is not necessarily testing nor a series of tests,
though testing can be a part of assessment.
 It is not a part of the University's faculty evaluation
system.
 It intrudes neither on the faculty member's
classroom nor academic freedom.

6. Part 1.

7. Nature of Assessment Cycle
 The Assessment Cycle is iterative, that is,
repetitious.
 The process can be distilled into 4 steps:
 set goals and objectives for programs and courses;
 determine how to assess what, how much, and how
well students learn;
 implement the assessment plan; and
 review the data to make changes during the semester or
to determine what, how much, or how well students are
learning.

8. The Assessment Cycle
The George Washington University Office of Academic Planning and Assessment

9. Step 1 – Goals and Objectives
 When setting Learning Goals and Objectives –
 Goals are broad; objectives are narrow.
 Goals are general intentions; objectives are precise.
 Goals are intangible; objectives are tangible.
 Goals are abstract; objectives are concrete.
 Goals can't be validated as is; objectives can be
validated.
Source: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec540/objectives/Difference.html

10. Goals and Objectives
 Example –
 Goal: Discipline-specific knowledge
 Corresponding Objective: distinguish, analyze,
criticize, synthesize (evince thinking,
understanding, and application of core concepts)

11. Step 2- Assessment Strategies
 Formative or Direct
 occurs throughout the semester
 informs teaching with a goal to improve student
learning.
Examples

Non-graded quizzes, one-minute written summaries,
or short free-writes

Learning logs

Concept maps (see http://classes.aces.uiuc.edu/ACES100/Mind/CMap.html for
explanation and examples)

12. Assessment Strategies (2)
 Summative or direct
 Used to assign grades
 Used to meet accountability demands (such as
demonstration of sufficient knowledge in your field to
permit progression to the next course in the curriculum).
Examples
Paper and pencil test
Performance assessment of products and
process
Oral exam
Portfolios

13. Step 3 – Plan Implementation
 Formative Assessment
 Plan ahead. Focus on a course that you are confident is
going well. Identify the class session you will assess and
reserve time for the assessment
 Make sure students understand the procedures; what you
are going to do; why you are asking for the information
and that assessing their learning is to help them improve
 Let students know what you learned from the assessment
exercise and what adjustments or changes you will make
in your teaching and the adjustments they can make in
their behavior to help with their learning.

14. Plan Implementation (2)
 Consider what you want students to learn.
 Select tests and assignments that both teach and test the
learning you value most.
 Construct a course outline that shows the nature and
sequence of major tests and assignments.
 Check that tests and assignments fit your learning goals and
are feasible in terms of workload.
 Collaborate with your students to set and achieve goals.
 Give students explicit instructions for the assignments.

15. Plan Implementation (3)
 The English Language Institute (ELI) model.
 In developing exam questions, ELI instructors
follow a specific set of instructions.
 These instructions were developed following a
checklist developed at Stanford:
http://ctl.stanford.edu/teach/handbook/exam.html

16. Step 4– Use of the Data
 What does the evaluation or assessment information tell
you about what and how well students are learning?
 How will you use the information to improve student
learning?
 What additional information is needed?
 In what areas do students often have difficulty in your
course? – Can you address prior knowledge or content
differently or develop a different assessment tool?)

17. Use of the Data (2)
 The data translate institutional educational goals into
practical, measurable objectives.
 The data can help guide resource allocation,
strategic planning, ideas for modifying course
content to maximize student engagement and
learning.
________________________________________
 Bottom line: The data informs a review of goals
and objectives, and the cycle begins again.

18. Point to Note
 There must be clear linkage connecting
University Goal (Mission and Vision) 
Division (AA or A&F) Goal (Mission) 
Program (Department) Goals (Mission)
Course Goals

19. Part 2

20. Basic Principles of Assessment
 There are 5 basic principles in the assessment
process:
 1. Clarify the purpose
 2. Define what is to be tested
 3. Select appropriate test methods
 4. Address practical and technical issues of
administration and scoring
 5. Set standards for performance

21. Purpose Clarification
 Feedback i.e. for formative purposes
 Measure progress i.e. to track individual or cohort
improvement
 Ranking or grading students i.e. by norm or criterion
referencing
 Quality control i.e. to assess students against a
standard set internally or externally
 Evaluation of teaching or curriculum i.e. feedback to
professors and program coordinators

22. Purpose Clarification (2)
 Assessments should be designed with a single
purpose in mind, otherwise their
effectiveness can be reduced. If more than
one purpose exists, separate assessments
should be considered for each.

23. Define Test Objective
 What knowledge do you want to assess?
 Create a rubric
 - define the range of competencies
 - build the rubric
 - decide what weight to give the different cells
in your rubric

24. Select Appropriate Methods
 Let the purpose drive the choice!
 There are a range of assessment methods:
- MC, short answer essay questions,
projects, reports, portfolios, log books
etc.

25. Practical and Technical Integrity
1. Ensure reliability
 Inter-rater comparison
 Reproducibility (depends on sample size)

26. Practical and Technical Integrity
(2)
2. Ensure validity
 Method of scoring performance as accurate as
possible, removing any marker-bias
 Rating forms
 Check lists
 Multiple answer options

27. Practical and Technical Integrity (3)
 Scoring
 Consider rubrics
 Methods of combining elements of an exam to
produce a score
 Scoring keys

28. Setting Performance Standards
 Determine type of standard
 Relative (norm referenced)
 Absolute (criterion referenced)
 Choose standard setting method
 See
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/c
for ideas on standard setting methods

29. Setting Performance Standards (2)
 Setting standards involves consideration of content
standards, performance levels, the test, and
expectations for students.
 Setting standards is simply determining cut scores
that correspond to performance levels.
 The cut scores that are determined during the
Standard Setting procedure demarcate one
performance level from another

30. That’s all, Folks!
Thank You!

31. Credits:
 The George Washington University Office of
Academic Planning and Assessment
 School of Medical Education, University of
Sheffield
 College of Education, San Diego State University
 College of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Science at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
 Stanford University School of Education
 Colorado Department of Education