What are the benefits of outcomes assessment?
Outcomes assessment improves student learning by increasing the effectiveness of decisions pertaining to student learning. Specifically, outcomes assessment increases the likelihood of improvement in student learning because decisions for change are not based on “educational fad[s] or on vague notions about what might be effective” (Walvoord, 2004, p. 6). Astin (1993, p. 130) described the benefits of assessment by analogy to the benefits of a dancer using a mirror. Just as a dancer uses a mirror to “systematic[ally]…critique and correct her own performance” (Walvoord, 2004, p. 6), assessment can help a department systematically critique and correct the ways they facilitate and support student learning.
Outcomes assessment improves student learning by increasing the effectiveness of decisions pertaining to student learning. Specifically, outcomes assessment increases the likelihood of improvement in student learning because decisions for change are not based on “educational fad(s) or on vague notions about what might be effective” (Walvoord, 2004, p. 6). Astin (1993, p. 130) described the benefits of assessment by analogy to the benefits of a dancer using a mirror. Just as a dancer uses a mirror to “systematic(ally)…critique and correct her own performance” (Walvoord, 2004, p. 6), assessment can help a department systematically critique and correct the ways they facilitate and support student learning.
