three years, so one hopes that this model might be a useful “on the ground” report. In spite of
these various constraints, there is still value in exploring a different model for course evaluation
and assessment.
Assessment: A Growth Industry
Assessment is everywhere in higher education. Titles such as Assessing Student
Learning
, Knowing What Students Know
Classroom Assessment Techniques
increasing focus on assessment as part of the educational enterprise. This generalized emphasis
on assessment has reached beyond the classroom to the work of disciplines in publications such
as Assessing Student Competence in Accredited Disciplines
Assessing Academic Programs
in Higher Education
. In response to this emphasis, scholars have sought to develop strategies to
facilitate assessment in works such as Changing Practices in Evaluating Teaching
Approaches to the Evaluation of Teaching
Techniques and Strategies for Interpreting
More recently, the question of assessment has taken on some specific public policy tones.
The Commission on the Future of Higher Education released the third draft of its report on the
state of higher education.
One of the central recommendations from this report is a call to a
1
Linda Suskie,
Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide
(Bolton, Massachusetts: Anker Publishing
Company, 2004).
2
Committee on the Foundations of Assessment,
Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of
Educational Assessment (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001).
3
Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross,
Classroom Assessment Techniques
, 2
nd
edition (San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass Publishers, 1993).
4
Catherine A. Palomba and Trudy W. Banta
, eds.
, Assessing Student Competence in Accredited Disciplines:
Pioneering Approaches to Assessment in Higher Education (Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, 2001)
5
Mary J. Allen,
Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education
(Bolton, Massachusetts: Anker Publishing
Company, 2004).
6
Peter Seldin,
Changing Practices in Evaluating Teaching: A Practical Guide to Improved Faculty Performance
and Promotion/Tenure Decisions (Bolton, Massachusetts: Anker Publishing Company, 1999).
7
Christopher Knapper and Patricia Cranton, eds.
Fresh Approaches to the Evaluation of Teaching
. New Directions
for Teaching and Learning, no. 88 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2002).
8
Karron Lewis,
T
e chniques and S
trategies for Interpreting Student Evaluations.
New Directions in Teaching and
Learning, no. 87 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001).
9
Commission on the Future of Higher Education,
Report: Draft for Discussion
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Education, 2006).
3
Convention