Expert Cautions Against Oversimplification of Assessment Results

Madison, Wis.—April 9, 2008 — Assessment is one of the hot-button topics of our day. During an April 9 online seminar, nationally-recognized expert Trudy Banta cautioned higher education administrators who are considering new accountability measures. Assessment should not be over-simplified, she noted. It can be a mistake to use the wrong type of assessment to measure an institution’s effectiveness.

Banta also reviewed “assessment for accountability,” which is meant to tell the public if institutions are doing their jobs educating students. For instance, the U.S. Department of Education has raised the idea of using standardized tests to demonstrate that college students are graduating with basic proficiencies. But there are concerns that this approach will not yield accurate results: Banta reviewed studies that suggest that such tests tend to measure the quality of the students’ pre-college education.

She discussed “assessment for improvement,” which includes
• assessment that helps students learn course content and understand their strengths and weaknesses as learners
• assessment that helps faculty and staff improve class instruction, academic programs, and student services

In the end, all assessment should be assessment for improvement, Banta argued.

“Frankly, I think if we undertake assessment just for the purpose of demonstrating accountability, we waste our time,” she said. “We must do assessment in a way that we are getting information that faculty can actually use to improve what they’re doing.”

In other words, assessment for accountability should yield not only valid results, but also usable results, she said.

“If we must test using standardized tests of generic skills, let’s engage our faculty and students in studies that match the scales on the test with the goals we think are important for learning,” she said. “Good assessment is good research.”

If you missed the live event, you can order the program in CD or transcript format, both of which include the presenters' handouts.

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