Assessment Myths and Misconceptions

All departments, academic and non-academic, impact student learning.
Assessment of student learning is a means of increasing the mutual engagement of faculty, students, and staff in providing an optimal learning experience.
Assessment is a collaborative effort.
Academic assessment is a tool for faculty members to improve student learning. It should be faculty initiated, driven, and supervised.
Non-academic assessment is a tool for staff to improve institutional/program/office effectiveness.

First and foremost, assessment is about improving student learning and advancing the university.
All departments, academic and non-academic, impact student learning.
To that end, accrediting organizations expect institutions to perform assessment.

Desired outcomes (course, program, and institutional) may not be measured by the grading process.
Many variables affect grades (participation, for example). Individual assignments have objectives that may only tangentially connect with outcomes.
Outcomes may be developed and measured only partially in some courses.
An assignment or course may support multiple learning outcomes.

Assessment is not about finding fault with programs, courses, or individuals.
It is about collecting aggregate data that informs decision making for improvement to reach learning outcomes.
It should not be used to evaluate faculty and staff.

Resources are available to assist you through all steps of assessment at Arkansas Tech University.
University Assessment & Accreditation staff are here to help you plan assessment, develop learning outcomes, goals and objectives, conduct assessments, and analyze/use results.

Assessment Basics