Assessment and College Progress: Capacity Building Through Formative Summative Program Evaluation

Abstract

This chapter clarifies opportunities that colleges have to build teaching and assessment capacity. Development of assessments measuring true student ability requires multidimensional approaches that account for performance variation over time, within and between a discipline’s core principles, patterns, and relationships. Quality online assessment also actively develops a student voice, addressing the issues of passivity and academic dishonesty, by requiring students to both prepare for courses and participate differently. Building faculty capacity for assessment design is facilitated by the introduction of rubrics that are easy to use, but that are thoroughly grounded in theory and that reflect the realities of practice.