Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectatons and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education. (Thomas A. Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995).
To provide excellence in teaching and learning, as stated in our college mission, assessment is used to improve the quality of programs and student learning at BCTC. It is not a one-time activity, but is an ongoing, continuous process.
Assessment of student learning can be categorized as direct or indirect.
Direct measures of student learning are formal assessments based on samples or products of student's work. Examples of direct measures include tests (pre-/post, course-embedded, standardized, oral), projects, portfolios, case studies, and interviews.
Indirect measures of student learning reflect student's (or employer's) perception of what they have learned. Student surveys, alumni surveys, employer surveys are examples of perceived student learning.
To get a more holistic view of student learning, both direct and indirect assessment measures are used.
