• Guidelines, Formats and Criteria for Review of Assessment Plans



• Guidelines and Format for Submission of Annual Status Reports



• Assessment Definitions and Issues



• Assessment Infrastructure



• Time Line 1993-2003



• Principles of Good Practice in Assessment



• Problematic Issues in Assessment



• Types of Assessment at CSUSB



• 1994 Faculty Senate Resolution on Assessment



• Internet Assessment Links



• Assessment Funding



• Assessment Plans and Status Reports



• General Education Outcomes Assessment



• Assessment Archives



• Assessment Methods Used by Programs



• Uses of Assessment Results for Program Improvement



• CSU Trustee Action on Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

The Mission Statement should establish the values and philosophy of the department. It should establish the broad directions and aspirations of the department and its programs. There may be language which further defines the mission of each major concentration or degree level offered.

The Goals should focus on the general aims or purposes of the program and curriculum. The goals should settle the broad, long range intended outcomes, wishes, desires, hopes and intentions of the major/concentration as well as describe what is provided in terms of content, skills developed, attributes, areas covered and broad knowledge/values, perspectives expected of all program graduates

A division of goals into three domains is a good starting point:

Cognitive: What does the student know?

Affective: What does the student care about?

Performance/Skill: What can the student do?

Objectives are brief, clear statements of learning outcomes of instruction. Attention is focused on the specific types of performances that the students are expected to demonstrate at the end of instruction. While goals express intended outcomes in broad, global, (sometimes vague) language, objectives use more precise terms.

Objectives should be related to and flow from the goals. It is helpful to use a format that lists one or more objectives directly under each goal:

Objectives are intended results; outcomes are the achieved result. Objectives take goals to the level of action and should "operationalize" the goals. These behavioral objectives may be in some hierarchy, such as in Bloom's Taxonomy, from lower level attainment to more complex, higher order skills.

It is helpful to use action verbs and statements, such as identify, explain, translate, construct, solve, illustrate, analyze compose, compile, design, etc.

Another useful technique is to describe the objective with "performance indicators" embedded in them. "All graduates will score above the 70th percentile on...."

Operationalize your goals. Move from focus on what the program/curriculum requires/provides to what tangible/observable outcomes are expected. Be sure your objectives are measurable and assessable.

Another technique for developing your objectives: Think forward to what is expected in your assessment plan. How will you know students have met your goals and objectives? What are the "performance indicators." What is the minimum each graduate should know or demonstrate? Then, work backwards to see if there are objectives implied in these expected outcomes. Can you tease them out into statements of intentional completion?