Links to Bibliographical Readings on History and Practice of Assessment: Seminal Readings
College and University Sites on Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Assessment Definitions
Rationales for Doing Assessment
Assessment Plans and Outcomes
Higher Education Associations
Accrediting Associations
Research Centers
Testing Companies
Other Assessment Associations
Web Home Pages for Assessment

Links to Bibliographical Readings on History and Practice of Assessment: Seminal Readings

Peter T. Ewell, "Organizing for Learning: A New Imperative," AAHE Bulletin, December 1997, condenses the literature on learning, promoting learning, and institutional change to bring about improvement in learning into 19 things we know. This article is available on-line at the AAHE Bulletin website.

Powerful Partnerships: A Shared Responsibility for Learning, A Joint Report of the American Association of Higher Education, American College Personnel Association (ACPA), and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), June 1998. Available for purchase from the American College Personnel Association (202/835-2272) or National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (202/265-7500) or on-line. Note: AAHE is now dissolved and links to its publications are no longer maintained.

Trudy W. Banta, ed., Assessment Update: The First Ten Years, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 1999. Text reads: Essays by Tanta, Peter Ewell, Jeffrey Seybert, Peter Gray, and Gary Pike. To order see the NCHEMS website: www.nchems.org.

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College and University Sites on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

California State University Institute for Teaching and Learning. The Institute for Teaching and Learning is a CSU systemwide organization devoted to the advancement of teaching and learning in the university. ITL encourages and supports the exchange of information about teaching and learning among the 20,000 faculty of the CSU, and promotes innovation, scholarship, and research on teaching and learning in the university. ITL addresses CSU faculty in both discipline-specific and cross-disciplinary groups in order to explore instructional innovation and promote investigation and assessment of learning. Its website contains information on conferences and other ITL projects. See http://www.calstate.edu/ITL/

Lane Community College's Vanguard Learning College Project has produced a number of documents regarding the assessment of program outcomes at the college. See http://www.lanecc.edu/vanguard/outcomes.htm .

Colloquium on Writing Assessment (CWA). The CWA is a Missouri state-wide organization of writing professionals from two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning across Missouri who are active and/or interested in writing assessment research and projects. Their website includes an annual writing survey over several years in addition to a "Position Paper on Writing Assessment." Website address: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/cwa/

Eastern New Mexico University offers numerous classroom assessment techniques with links to other colleges around the country.

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Assessment Definitions

T. Dary Erwin, Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1991.  The author describes this work as "a primer designed for those who will collect, review, use, and submit evidence about the strengths and weaknesses of their educational programs." To order publications from Jossey-Bass Publishers go to www.josseybass.com.

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Rationales for Doing Assessment

Shelly Potts, "Why Assess Student Learning Outcomes," a handout available in "Using Learning Outcomes Assessment to Improve University Teaching and Learning." Available directly from the author.

Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning. AAHE ASSESSMENT FORUM 9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.

Trudy W. Banta, Assessment in Community Colleges: Setting the Standard for Higher Education?, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 1999. Text Reads: To order see the NCHEMS website: www.nchems.org .

AAHE Assessment Forum on Stakeholders: "Telling Our Assessment Story to Our Publics," and "Identifying Community Expectations: Issues for a Metropolitan Campus." 1997.

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Assessment Plans and Outcomes

North Carolina State University: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/assmt/resource.htm. Contains comprehensive list of links to national assessment forums, manuals & handbooks, student learning, & other institutions.

California State University, Fresno: http://www.csufresno.edu/cetl/assessment/assmnt.html & http://www.csufresno.edu/cetl/assessment/status.html . Contains links to program assessment plans.

Boise State University: http://www2.boisestate.edu/iassess/outcomes/outcomes.htm . Contains links to program assessment plans organized by college.

Oklahoma State University: http://www.okstate.edu/assess/assessment_plans/assessment_plans.htm . Contains assessment method examples and assessment plan tips and checklist.

California State University at Sacramento: http://www.csus.edu/acaf/Assessment/assmnt.htm . Contains listing of program assessment plan links.

San Jose State University: http://www.sjsu.edu/ugs/assessment/as-main.html . Contains program assessment plans organized by college and a page containing links to other institutions.

Southeast Missouri State University: http://www2.semo.edu/provost/aspnhtm/busy.htm . Busy chairperson's guide to assessment (table of contents).

Southern Illinois University: http://www.siue.edu/assessment . Contains program assessment plans.

Ohio University: http://pages.ohio.edu/provost/sloa.cfm . Student learning outcomes assessment , 1999-2002, by department.

Central Michigan University: http://www.provost.cmich.edu/outcomes/ . Student learning outcomes by college for each major.

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Higher Education Associations

Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): http://www.aacu-edu.org
The website of the AAC&U offers publications with questionnaires designed for the purpose of assessing the GE plan. http://www.aacu-edu.org/Publications/publications.html

Virginia Assessment Group (VAG): http://www.vaassessgrp.org
An association engaged in institutional assessment activities.

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Accrediting Associations

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): http://www.chea.org
CHEA coordinates research, analysis, debate, meetings, and other activities and processes that improve accreditation; collects and disseminates data and information about accreditation, offers information on "best practices" and quality assurance; fosters communication and exchange on accreditation issues within the higher education community; mediates disputes between institutions of higher learning and accreditors, as necessary; and works through accreditation to maintain institutional quality and diversity. Its website is among the best around, offering a calendar of events, good practices database, reports on seminars and conferences it sponsors, a superb bibliography on the history, theory/practices, standards, and other literature on accreditation. In addition, one can find ordering information for the CHEA Almanac, the most comprehensive source of information about accrediting organizations, state agencies, and government and private ranking services.

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC): http://www.wascweb.org
WASC is actually three separate accreditation commissions: The Accrediting Commission for Schools, which has the responsibility for accreditation of all schools below the college level. Included are elementary, junior high, middle, high and adult schools, whether public, private, or church-related; the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) evaluates and accredits public and private postsecondary institutions that offer two-year education programs and award the associate degree: and the Senior College Commission accredits senior colleges and universities. From its website, its important accreditation documents can be downloaded or ordered. ACCJC also publishes a newsletter, Accreditation Notes, available at its website.

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education: http://www.ncacihe.org
The North Central Association's website contains valuable information on Institutional quality improvement.

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA): http://www.css-msa.org
MSA's website has resources on how outcomes assessment is defined by this accreditation body. Website address: 

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Research Centers

Education Information Resource Center (ERIC): http://www.eric.ed.gov/
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. The ERIC online system provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations going back to 1966. More than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), previously available through fee-based services only, are now available for free. ERIC is moving forward with its modernization program, and has begun acquiring materials for addition to the database

Center for the Study of Higher Education: http://www.ed.psu.edu/cshe/
The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) is one of the nation’s first research centers established specifically to study postsecondary education policy issues. For over 30 years, research teams composed of nationally recognized faculty, top graduate students, and effective professional staff have been devoted to examining the critical issues that influence the policies and practices of postsecondary institutions. To that end, CSHE is dedicated to 1) conducting and disseminating theory-based empirical research designed to improve higher education practice and policy, 2) providing high-quality data and analysis to institutional, state, and federal policymakers, and 3) supporting graduate training for students in the Higher Education Programs at PSU.

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Testing Companies

American College Testing (ACT): http://www.act.org/aap
Creator of instruments for assessment of freshman students and general education, ACT’s assessment is designed to assess high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. ACT’s tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. The website has information on registration, test dates, test preparation, test taking, and results.

Educational Testing Service (ETS): http://www.ets.org
Creator of instruments for assessment, the site contains information on higher education assessment in the areas of academic profiling, graduate program self-assessment services, program self-assessment service, student instructional reports, major field tests, and tasks in critical thinking.

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Other Assessment Associations

Development Dimenstions International (DDI): http://www.ddiworld.com
DDI provides competency- and behavior-based human resource solutions. We draw from three decades of research, experience, and products and services in selection, assessment, and training and development.

American Evaluation Association (AEA): http://danr.ucop.edu/eee-aea
The AEA’s mission is to Improve evaluation practice and methods; Increase evaluation use; Promote evaluation as a profession; and Support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. It’s website archives papers from previous annual conferences.