Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) articulate the knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions a student will be able to demonstrate after completing a program of study. SLOs are indispensable to curriculum design and assessment, which means that learning outcomes guide instruction from start to finish.

Curriculum maps describe how students are introduced to, practice, and gain mastery of each SLO through their coursework in a program. The curriculum map illustrates the relationship between SLOs, courses, and assessments in an educational program.

Resources:

1. Identify outcomes: Writing and Revising SLOs
   • Student Learning Outcomes Statement Resources (NILOA)
   • Establishing Learning Outcomes (University of Nebraska, Kearney)
   • Bloom’s Verbs (Northeastern University)
   • Teaching Goals Inventory (NOVA)
2. Curriculum Mapping
   • Curriculum Mapping and Assignment Design (NILOA)
   • Why Engage in Curriculum Mapping (Cuevas & Feit)
   • Curriculum Mapping Glossary (Cuevas & Feit)
   • Rubric to Determine Levels of Program Outcome Content Delivery in Courses (Cuevas & Feit)

To assess SLOs, authentic artifacts of student performance are needed. Numerous methods and tools are available for gathering and compiling evidence of student performance. It is necessary for faculty to plan ahead for what will be assessed, what evidence will be used, when data collection will take place, and who will be responsible for these tasks.

Resources:

General Overview of Assessment Methods

• Program-Based Review and Assessment (University of Massachusetts)
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Assessment Techniques (Wright)
• Assessment Options: A Catalogue of Methods for Assessing Evidence (NOVA)
• How to Assess Students’ Prior Knowledge (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Why Course Grades are Inadequate Indicators of Student Learning (Carter)
• Develop a Plan for Collecting Data (Hatfield)
• Assessment Planning Worksheet (Lane)

Direct/Embedded Assessment Methods

1. Overview
   • Seven Ways of Learning (Davis & Arend)
   • Course-Based Assessment Overview (Spurlin)
   • Course-Based Review and Assessment Handbook (University of Massachusetts)
2. Planning ahead: targets, criteria, and rubrics
   • Assignment Design (NILOA)
   • VALUE Rubrics (AAC&U)
3. Assignments: Portfolios and ePortfolios
   • Using Student Reflective Portfolios to Facilitate and Assess Program-Level Outcomes (Raisor)
   • Portfolios (Authentic Assessment Toolbox)
   • Portfolios (University of Michigan)
   • Emergent Findings (INCEPR)
   • A Framework for General Education Assessment (Hubert & Lewis)
   • Can an ePortfolio Catch Fire? (Murphy)
4. Assignment: Oral Presentations
   • Oral Assignments (University of Michigan)
   • Oral Presentation Rubric (Purdue University)
5. Assignment: Case Studies
   • Case Studies (Vanderbilt University)
   • Case Studies (University of Michigan)
6. Assignment: Service Learning
   • Assessing Service Learning (Steinke & Fitch)
7. Assignment: Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
   • Classroom Assessment Techniques (Angelo & Cross)
   • Selected CATs for Getting Feedback on Student Learning and Response to Teaching (Angelo & Cross)
8. Assignment: Capstone Experiences
   • Assessment How-To: Capstone Experiences (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Indirect Assessment Methods

1. Surveys and Questionnaires 
   • Assessment for Curricular Improvement (University of Michigan)
2. Focus Groups 
   • Focus Group Guidelines (Austin Community College)
3. Interviews
   • Assessment for Curricular Improvement (University of Michigan)
   • How to Conduct an Interview (MIT)

Learning outcomes assessment offers faculty an opportunity to engage with concrete evidence of student performance and the program to reflect critically on current curriculum and teaching practices. The purpose of assessment data analysis is to identify areas where students are not meeting performance targets/thresholds, and then develop initiatives for targeted, ongoing improvement. Using assessment results to guide improvements in teaching and learning is called “closing the loop.”

Resources:

• Making Sense of Assessment Results (Suskie)
• Closing the Loop: Using Assessment Data to Improve Teaching and Learning (Clayton State University)
• Interpreting Data and “Closing the Loop” (Loyola Marymount University)
• Analyzing Data (Lane Community College)
• Analyzing Test Results (Quinlan)

Learning outcomes assessment is an opportunity for faculty to advocate for their programs and students in an evidence-based manner. Programs should discuss assessment results at regular meetings and make collective decisions about the steps that should be taken to improve student learning. Sharing the results outside of the program leads to questions about what to share and how to share it, which merit careful reflection. The resources below can shed light on how and when to share assessment results outside of the program.

Resources:

• Making Student Learning Evidence Transparent (NILOA)
• Communicating Assessment Results (Fulcher & Thelk)

Continuous improvement in student learning is the purpose of learning outcomes assessment. To that end, faculty leverage the insights that they gain from analyzing assessment results and sharing them with stakeholders in order to implement meaningful changes to the curriculum, instruction, student support, and other aspects of the student experience that can positively impact student performance.

Resources:

• Showing an Impact: Using Assessment Results to Improve Student Learning (NILOA)
• Understanding and Using Assessment Results (Syracuse University)
• Using Assessment Results: Promising Practices of Institutions That Do It Well (NILOA)

Because the purpose of learning outcomes assessment is continuous improvement, it demands a recursive, cyclical process of inquiry. Some aspects of this inquiry include:

• Tracking changes as they are implemented
• Evaluating the impact of those changes on student learning by re-assessing the same SLO, in the same courses, using the same methods
• Reporting findings in the context of past assessments to show trends—including a narrative describing current results in the context of past actions, past results, and future plans for changes
• As appropriate, considering changes to assessment methods and the revision of SLOs and curriculum maps, as a body of evidence and analysis accumulates over multiple assessment cycles

Programs will continuously implement the steps in the assessment loop as they consider the key knowledge and skills that students should develop as a result of instruction (Step 1), determine the most appropriate methods for assessing those outcomes (Step 2), collect and analyze assessment results to determine areas where students are not meeting targets (Step 3), share the results in order to identify and implement changes aimed to improve student learning (Steps 4 and 5), and evaluate the impact of those changes in later assessments (Step 6).