[MATHEDCC] Outcomes Assessment
Mike Matteo (MatteoM@mail.umpqua.cc.or.us)
Fri, 05 Dec 1997 15:56:34 -0800
Instructors on our campus have been asked by our administration and
accreditation committee to develop quantifiable methods for assessing
learner outcomes. One particular method which was proposed(by
staff) has raised concerns among some folks including myself. I would
like to get some feedback on what you think as well as what you are
doing to assess learner outcomes.
The proposal in question was to assess the degree of student learning in
one class by the student success rate in a subsequent class. For
example, the number of students who earned a C or better in Intro. to
Alg.(Math 60) as a percentage of the students who had previously taken
Prealgebra(Math 45) and moved on to Math 60 would be used as a
means of gauging student learning success in Math 45. While I see this
information as having some value, I am concerned that it does not
accurately measure student learning in the original course, Math 45. The
results are now dependent, to some extent, on the Math 60 instructor's
ability to teach, and the student's ability to learn the new material
encountered in Math 60 and do not necessarily reflect the student's
learning success in the previous course, Math 45.
Currently, I am using a pretest/post-test for assessment. Thanks in
advance for your responses.
Mike Matteo
Umqua Community College
Roseburg, OR
matteom@umpqua.cc.or.us
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