Assessing Student Learning : A Common Sense Guide

Interest in assessing student learning at institutions of higher education—and the need to learn how to do it—continues to gather the attention and support begun nearly 30 years ago. This book summarizes contemporary thinking on the practice of assessing student learning in a comprehensive, accessible, and useful fashion. This book is short on background and theory and long on practical advice. Plainspoken and informally written, it offers sensible guidance for assessment practitioners on all aspects of student assessment and for faculty who simply want to improve assessment within their classrooms. Assessing Student Learning presents readers with well-informed principles and options that they can select and adapt to their own circumstances.

Linda Suskie, currently the Vice President of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, has worked for 30 years in higher education assessment, institutional research, strategic planning, and continuous improvement.

Organized into four parts, this book

• Sets the stage for successful assessment efforts by discussing the nature of and rationale for assessment, principles of good practice, and campus culture
• Provides an overview of the many decisions that must be made in order to launch successful assessment efforts, including planning assessment strategies, establishing learning goals, and choosing appropriate assessment tools and approaches
• Includes information on a wide range of assessment tools, including hands-on assignments, reflective writing, portfolios, traditional tests, surveys and focus groups, and published instruments
• Concludes with information on summarizing, analyzing, and communicating assessment results and using them effectively and appropriately

LINDA SUSKIE is director of assessment at Towson University, near Baltimore, Maryland. Prior positions include serving as director of the assessment forum at the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and as a fellow at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Her 25 years of experience in college and university administration include work in assessment, institutional research, strategic planning, and continuous improvement.
For over 20 years, Ms. Suskie has been a frequent speaker, consultant, and workshop presented on higher education assessment topics to audiences throughout the United States and across the globe. Her publications include Assessment to Promote Deep Learning (editor), Questionnaire Survey Research: What Works, and the frequently cited "Fair Assessment Practices: Giving Students Equitable Opportunities to Demonstrate Learning" in the AAHE Bulletin. Her professional service has included serving on a number of advisory groups for higher education organizations, as regional program chair for the Society for College & University Planning, and as treasure of the North East Association for Institutional Research.
Ms. Suskie has taught graduate courses in assessment and educational research methods and undergraduate courses in statistics and developmental mathematics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in quantitative studies from John Hopkins University and a master’s degree in educational measurement and statistics from the University of Iowa.