In its broadest sense, assessment pertains to measuring some type of outcome with the intent of then using that data to make improvements and demonstrate accountability. Assessment in higher education typically pertains to assessing learning outcomes in particular, for being able to demonstrate that students are indeed learning what we say they are learning is the core of the purpose of higher education.

**Read information in attachment and Reflect on how you answered the quiz questions. What did you notice as you answered them? Was the process of differentiating assessment from evaluation new for you? What is clearer, or what is still confusing? After reviewing the definitions of assessment and evaluation and after studying the attached readings, has your understanding of assessment been confirmed or is it changing?

Discovering Assessment and Evaluation

Introduction

Check your skills in distinguishing assessment from evaluation. Use the resources and readings provided in this unit for the self-assessment questions below. Later in the course, after studying assessment in more detail, you will take another self-assessment to test your knowledge.

Knowledge Check

The Dean of Student Services wants to gather information about the effectiveness of advising on his campus. Which term is correct for the process he has in mind?

a. Assessment

b. Evaluation

This question has not yet been answered.

Sarah oversees the orientation of new students at her college. She is creating a plan to determine if these students are actually learning the knowledge that is presented in the orientation. Which term is correct for the process she has in mind?

a. Assessment
b. Evaluation
This question has not yet been answered.

The Advisory Council for the Allied Health Department has requested evidence of student learning outcomes (SLOs) from the faculty. Which term is correct for the process needed to produce that evidence?

a. Assessment
b. Evaluation
This question has not yet been answered.

The department chair is looking for a better survey for students to complete as they provide feedback about their courses and their professors. Which term is correct for the process she has in mind?

a. Assessment
b. Evaluation
This question has not yet been answered.

Which term is most appropriate for examining the effectiveness of a program or process and implies making a judgment about something?

a. Assessment
b. Evaluation
This question has not yet been answered.

Which term is most appropriate for determining outcomes, usually the outcomes of a learning experience in higher education or adult education?

a. Assessment
b. Evaluation
This question has not yet been answered.

What Is Assessment?

Assessment Versus Evaluation: A Deeper Dive

In the most practical way of considering it, “Assessment is simply deciding what we want students to learn and making sure they learn it” (Suskie, 2018, p. 7). Another prominent assessment expert put it this way: “Assessment begins with simply wondering whether what you do all day is contributing to what you hope your efforts can accomplish” (Bresciani, 2011, p. 1).

Oh, that sounds simple enough. Then why does assessment seem to be such a challenge?

One possible reason why assessment seems to be challenging is confusion about the term itself. Assessment has been used to convey a range of meanings, some of which are actually something else: evaluation. To eliminate confusion, in this course, we will make a clear distinction between the two terms. In addition to the definition of assessment presented in the readings, the “What Is Assessment?” resource, and the Discovering Assessment and Evaluation quiz, we will consider one more from a highly respected source, the Degree Qualifications Profile.

Assessment: A process for the collection and analysis of evidence about the achievement of student learning outcomes used to determine student proficiency and improve or to demonstrate the effectiveness of an educational program or institution (National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, n.d.).

But what about institutional assessment? Don’t we assess our programs, our curriculum, our own work? Isn’t that what we are doing when we look for institutional effectiveness?

Two important points help to answer this question:

1. First, think about what we are assessing when we speak of “institutional assessment.” Institutional assessment is dependent upon the assessment of learning outcomes “because student learning is the heart of most college missions” (Suskie, 2018, p. 325).

2. Second, consider the most basic of distinctions between assessment and evaluation:

. Assessment – measuring outcomes and using the results to make improvements.

. Evaluation – examining the effectiveness of a process or program.

More completely stated, evaluation is defined as follows by some of the most respected authorities in the field:           

· Evaluation: The systematic investigation of the quality of programs … for purposes of decision making, judgments, conclusions, findings, new knowledge … leading to improvement and/or accountability (Yarbrough, Shulha, Hopson, & Caruthers, 2011, p. xxv). 

· Evaluation: “The diligent investigation of a program’s characteristics and merits.… The purpose of program evaluation is to provide information on the effectiveness of programs, or interventions, so as to optimize the outcomes, efficiency, and quality.… An evaluation may analyze a program’s structure, activities, and organization as well as its political and social environment. It may also appraise the achievement of a program’s goals and objectives and the extent of the program’s impact and costs” (Fink, 2005, p. 3).

· Evaluation: “Evidence-gathering processes that are designed to examine program- or institution-level effectiveness. But the object of evaluation usually extends beyond learning outcomes to examine a much wider domain of institutional performance” (Ewell & Cumming, 2017, p. 25). 

Keep referring back to this explanation of the difference between assessment and evaluation as you complete the units and work toward the creation of your course project, the Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Plan. Focus on assessment for your work in the upcoming units; in the final units, you will apply evaluation as it is defined in Suskie (2018), page 12.

Resources

Bresciani, M. J. (2011, August). Making assessment meaningful: What new student affairs professionals and those new to assessment need to know (Assessment brief) [PDF]. Champaign, IL: National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/documents/ABStudentAffairs

Ewell, P. T., & Cumming, T. (2017). History and conceptual basis of assessment in higher education. In T. Cumming & M. D. Miller (Eds.), Enhancing assessment in higher education: Putting psychometrics to work (pp. 6–31). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Fink, A. (2005). Program evaluation: A prelude. In Evaluation fundamentals (pp. 3–40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. (n.d.). Degree qualifications profile. Retrieved from http://degreeprofile.org/

Suskie, L. (2018). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., & Caruthers, F. A. (2011). The program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.