Assessment isn’t going away, warned CAO Institute plenary speaker Peter Ewell, vice president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, but there is a real danger in the current post-Spellings Commission accountability frenzy that faculty members and administrators may get so caught up in “assessing” that they miss its underlying purpose: improving teaching and critically examining administrative processes.

In the wake of recent political developments and the forces influencing the accreditation process from the Department of Education and Congress, Ewell stressed that, “we need to take the high road and say we believe in gathering evidence and making it public.” He reviewed what has and has not been accomplished and examined the current “culture of evidence,” the rubrics and characteristics of assessment evidence, and the pitfalls and challenges of implementing assessment.

In terms of what has been accomplished, Ewell noted that, “assessment is, for the most part, now perceived as inevitable and legitimate. The vast majority of institutions have statements of learning outcomes to drive assessment; a semi-profession has grown up around assessment that didn’t exist before, including assessment coaches and plenty of conferences and literature on assessment; and methods of gathering evidence to assess learning has grown steadily more sophisticated. No one today has the excuse of not knowing how to assess student learning.”

What has not happened, he said, is “authentic integration of assessment into faculty cultures and behaviors (assessment activities are still largely added onto the curriculum instead of being embedded in it); systematic and widespread use of assessment results for institutional and curricular improvement; and proactive and sincere institutional engagement with accrediting organizations around topics of assessment.”

Ewell urged CAOs to build a “culture of evidence” on campus. Attributes of a meaningful culture of evidence include “respect for facts (if you have evidence, people will listen to it); a comprehensive framework for thinking about learning outcomes; an accessible store of information about student learning and what produces it; an attitude toward problem solving that minimizes finger pointing at institutions and individuals; clear follow-through on decisions made and the evidence used to make them; and a willingness to stop doing things when they don’t work.”

Assessment is part of this culture of evidence. Ewell stressed that “assessment is about learning—not processes or resources. It’s about what the student takes away from college; it is a focus on results; it is about performance; it is about more than grading—it’s about collective results, founded on clear and public criteria. Its methods are consistent and reliable. It needs to be contextualized in different settings.”

Assessment should address alignment, Ewell said. Among the questions that should be asked: “Are we all on the same page with regard to learning outcomes across units, sequences, and courses? Can we demonstrate successive levels of attainment? Is there a match between curricular design, delivery, and the student experience? Is there a match between instruction and the needs of diverse student bodies? Can we prove the effectiveness of particular innovations and interventions?”

As campuses undertake assessment efforts and build a culture of evidence, Ewell suggested that administrators “start small; ask how many general education goals you have, and if it is more than 12, it is too many. Start with easy ones such as writing and quantitative ability. Ensure that your methods are appropriate to your goals. Determine who are your customers, what they want, how effectively you serve them, and how to get better at what you do.”

Implementing assessment is not easy, Ewell said, citing institutional challenges and pitfalls, among them:

• gaining faculty/staff involvement and buy-in;
• lack of consistent support from top leadership;
• lack of time and burnout;
• linear thinking;
• trying to do it all at once;
• difficulties interpreting the numbers; and
• waiting for perfection.

Ewell recommended that campuses use assessment results to inform and initiate discussions rather than give answers, and to stimulate change. “Assessment is not measuring everything that moves—it’s measuring priorities. It is not just checking up after the fact or searching for final answers—in many cases the questions are more important.”

Finally, he said, “Doing assessment has no point if that’s all you’re doing—it’s important to get beyond the mechanical practice of doing assessment and put the information to work to transform what we do.”

The full text of Ewell’s address is available here on CIC's website.