Mention a “culture of assessment” to your colleagues in higher education and their responses to you may likely be an eye roll, sigh, or perhaps even a groan. This is, of course, if they aren’t running away from you. If we’re being honest, we’ll acknowledge this phrase has become a cliché. Many consider it synonymous with accountability, compliance, or bureaucratic accreditation processes – thus, the less than enthusiastic response from your peers.
Before we decide to discard “culture of assessment” from our vocabulary, it deserves a close examination. What are the ins and outs of this phrase? In other words, what does this phrase imply for faculty and students within a program as well as for outside stakeholders such as central administrators, accreditors, prospective students, and funders?
Assessment for Those Within A Higher Ed Program
For those on the inside, consider Mahatma Gandhi’s definition of culture as something residing in the heart and soul of a group. Although Gandhi was referring to the culture of a nation, the concept of assessment as an ingrained norm is applicable in higher education. From this perspective, assessment is a force within a program or department. It is the subconscious pulse of its existence. Assessment exists as a natural and ubiquitous phenomenon, seamlessly woven into teaching and learning.
A culture of assessment within a program implies faculty routinely establish program outcomes, and student learning is evaluated based on those outcomes. By evaluating outcomes, both students and faculty identify the concepts or skills that have been mastered. Faculty use this information to inform and improve their teaching, and this in turn improves student learning. A culture of assessment equates to a culture of improvement. Assessment, from this perspective, is a deeply rooted and continuous process. When a culture of assessment exists within a program, assessment is so embedded in teaching and learning it may go unnoticed by faculty and students.
Assessment for Stakeholders Outside A Higher Ed Program
But what about the reality of accountability? What does a culture of assessment imply for a program’s outside stakeholders? External stakeholders, whether policymakers, professional accreditors, campus administrators, parents, or funders have a vested interest in a program. From their perspectives, assessment is a process by which a program confirms it is meeting its teaching responsibilities and achieving its student learning goals.
For outside stakeholders a culture of assessments implies a culture of assurance or evidence. To be assured a program is fulfilling its responsibilities, stakeholders look for evidence of student learning. By definition, evidence offers visible proof something has occurred. In this case, evidence is the outwardly visible indicators of what students have learned. For those outside of a program, a culture of assessment exists only if there is visible and tangible evidence of student learning.
The Dichotomy Facing Higher Education
The dichotomy facing those in higher education is this – provide visible proof of what should be embedded in the heart and soul of a program. If we wish to foster a culture of assessment, we must find a way for assessment to permeate teaching and learning to an extent it goes almost unnoticed by those within the program, while at the same time make certain evidence of assessment is conspicuously available to those outside the program.
The outside demands are real and increasing. We must make assessment results at both the course and program level accessible to stakeholders. This provides evidence of student learning as well as evidence of assessment efforts. To external parties, this is clear and convincing evidence indicative of a culture of assessment.
However, if this is the only thing we do, internal parties will continue to view assessment as yet another administrative distraction. In order to build a culture of assessment within a program, discussions of assessment results must become routine and systematic. “Assessment” should appear as a standard item on meeting agendas, and all faculty members should be involved and recognized for their role in collecting and discussing data. Initially, these types of assessment efforts may seem feigned. However, consistency and perseverance will gradually make what was once contrived a natural order of business, and internal parties will come to view assessment as something beyond a response to accountability mandates.
Developing an internal culture of assessment is no small task. Upcoming blog posts will address three critical components related to building an internal culture of assessment: the collaborative and collective nature of assessment, the use of data to inform program improvement, and removing barriers to faculty involvement.
Author
Dr. Connie Schaffer is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO). She serves as the College of Education Assessment Coordinator and is involved in campus-wide assessment efforts at UNO. Her research interests include urban education and field experiences of pre-service teachers. She co-authored Questioning Assumptions and Challenging Perceptions: Becoming an Effective Teacher in Urban Environments (with Meg White and Corine Meredith Brown, 2016).
