Assessment Resources

Assessment of student learning is an important way to provide evidence of the quality of education at Calvin, as well as to create a continuous process to improve teaching and learning. The purpose of assessment is informed decision making that provides quality assurance for the protection of students. B. Walvoord, in Assessment Clear and Simple (p2), puts it this way:

Core Assessment

The Core Curriculum Committee spent much of the 2018-19 year analyzing individual assessment reports from Calvin classes that meet a core requirement. Of the 229 classes total, some of which were not taught this year, 176 (77%) classes submitted assessment reports. The Core Curricula Committee evaluated each report in 3 areas: the existence of current assessment data for Student Learning Objective 1, identified thresholds or targets, and evidence of "closing the loop."

The Academic Assessment Committee re-examined these same reports and aggregated all data to determine the extent that students have met the target for each learning outcome. They considered the total number of students in each course, the percent of courses reporting, as well as the number of students who met the threshold in each core category. Together these two studies found:

• 75% of Calvin students met the threshold for SLO#1 across core categories
• Most classes showed evidence of "closing the loop"
• See Core Assessment SLO#1 Analysis - Chart Summary

Program Assessment

Effective Program Assessment is both useful and workable, and a critical component to this is faculty discussion about student learning. If a department feels that their current assessment plan is neither useful nor feasible, they are encouraged to contact the director of assessment, Dr. Laura DeHaan, or their Departmental Liaison listed below.

Department Liaisons

Starting in 2019, the Academic Assessment Committee will be posting a summary of individual departmental reports on our Assessment Dashboard. Department chairs are welcome to review this information by clicking here. We are currently working on a process that will allow departments to post assessment data directly on this same dashboard.

Award-Winning Assessment Reports:

• Chemistry: Overall Excellance
• Communications: Best Plan for Assessing Multiple Programs
• World Languages: Best Use of Assessment Budget to Improve Assessment

Other Resources:

• Core Assessment Template
• Assessment Director Presentation: Creating Effective Student Learning Outcomes
• Assessment Director Presentation: Gathering and Interpreting Assessment Data
• Rubrics developed by AAC&U
• Rubrics in the humanities and others

Contact Info:

Academic Assessment Committee Members:

• Rachael Baker, Chemistry
• Nana Baidoo (student)
• Kerrie Berends, Kinesiology
• Becky Haney, Economics
• Jeremy VanAntwerp, Engineering

Core Committee Chair:

• Peggy Goetz, Speech Pathology

Deadlines:

• Core Assessment SLO #2 Reports Due: September 15 2019
• Departmental Assessment Reports Due: October 15 2019