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What is Assessment? The term assessment literally can be translated from the Latin term assidere, which means "to sit by or aside." This can be interpreted as the practice of a teacher observing the learning processes and then acting on those observations to improve that process. Thus, assessment in the classroom allows faculty to bridge the gap between what has been taught and what has been learned. Assessment can and should be both formative and summative in the classroom. Formative assessments are activities that examine the daily classroom learning environment. This type of assessment may come in the form of observing verbal and non-verbal cues, asking questions, daily assignments, or any Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) suggested by Cross and Angelo. Summative assessments are those that examine a body of student work. Examples of this might include core test items, a term paper, a performance, a project, or a portfolio. Why Assess? A common question that is often asked is: "Why should I do assessment and/or why is it important?" There are essentially three main reasons. First, there are what can be described as the political reasons. Assessment is a requirement for accreditation by whichever agency oversees your institution (for us, its the NCA). While some naysayers claim that assessment is just the latest fad dreamed up by accreditors, the reality is that assessment has been around for about twenty years and shows no signs of going away like some other ideas (take TQM, for example). At the state level, the Illinois Community College Board expects member institutions to demonstrate student learning through an assessment plan. This is in response to both the legislators and the taxpayers who are asking for accountability in education. In some states, talk of tying funds to student performance is a real issue, especially in the K-12 schools. Assessment plans that have been implemented provide the evidence of student learning that accreditors, legislators, and taxpayers are demanding from educational institutions. Second, assessment is a learner-centered endeavor. If faculty truly desire for their students to learn, then assessment provides the means to improving that experience. In other words, the goal of faculty should be to help learners be more effective and efficient in the learning process. Before assessment, faculty assumed learning was taking place because they were teaching. It was standard for many teachers to give four exams - one roughly every four weeks in a sixteen week semester - and nothing else. Unless students asked questions, the assumption was made that the students were learning. Then, when an exam was given, those teachers were often surprised at student performance. As the years passed and the instructor gained more experience, student performance would improve slightly, but this was accepted as the norm. After assessment efforts were begun, faculty are now much more in tune with what their students are or are not learning and can adjust their teaching methods for improved learning. Thus, assessment is done to improve the quality of the classroom experience for the learner - we want our students to learn! The third and final reason to assess is for the valuable information it provides to the faculty. Data generated from classroom assessment can lead to valuable insight for the instructor about student learning. If you have ever asked yourself "Why aren't my students learning what I am teaching?" after grading a test or a paper, then assessment can be a tool to find the answer. When faculty know that answer, then they can re-think their approach in the classroom and, hopefully, produce a new and more effective teaching strategy.
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