There is a great deal of unnecessary confusion out there about
assessment of student learning. The theories are inconsistent, the
processes are overly complex, and the advice is contradictory. There are
national assessment experts telling us what to do, discipline-specific
assessment experts telling us what to do, and institution-based assessment
experts telling us what to do. And they all seem to speak a different
language. The one point on which they all seem to agree is that we have to
begin doing it; no more stalling.For
further information about simple, practical assessment, see Linda Suskie,
Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide (Bolton, MA:
Anker Publishing, 2004).