How to Conduct Course-level Assessment

Course-level assessment addresses the achievements of an entire class, as well as, the effectiveness of multiple‐section courses. Course assessment provides the opportunity for faculty to discuss course content; and, based on the results, faculty can consider how they can improve student learning in all sections of the course. Although instructors can use the data gathered to improve learning in their own courses, the data are also used to determine how well multiple sections of a course are achieving the desired course-level student learning outcomes (CLOs) or the purpose of the course in a learning sequence. Each semester faculty will complete the Course-Level Assessment Report for one of their courses, with all outcomes reported for a particular course occurring on a three-year cycle within the five-year program review cycle.

Course Assessment Plan and Timeline – (CASR Page 1)

An assessment plan allows faculty to design manageable, meaningful and sustainable methods for the collection of data with regards to student learning in a particular course. The plan should be a continuous improvement process and include when, where and how data will be collected over the duration of the course's assessment cycle.

What should be included in a course assessment plan?

Assessment plans should identify:

  • All of the student learning outcomes for the course
  • Timeline: when course outcomes will be assessed during the cycle. Repeat assessments to develop trend data. Assessment is an ongoing rather than episodic event.
  • Assessment methods: artifacts/assessment tools used
  • Criterion/Target: standards or expectations of student performance for a student learning outcome (i.e. all students will meet the outcome at 70%, or 70% of the students will meet the outcome at 75%)
  • Program Outcome to which Course Outcome is tied

Tip: If this is your first time conducting and/or reporting course assessment activities, start small. Choose one or two course outcomes to report on for your first Course-Level Assessment Report and schedule the remaining outcomes to be reported on in subsequent semesters. Be sure to check with your DAC, Program Director and/or Dean as some faculty may be expected to report on all of their course outcomes. If you have questions or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask!

Collection and Analysis of Data

Once you have completed your course assessment plan, it is now time to collect and analyze your data and report on this part of the process.

Data Collection – explaining your assessment process (CASR Question 1)

You will begin by identifying the outcome(s) for which data was collected and you will describe your assessment methods. Also in this section, you will identify the specific section number in which data were collected, the total number of students in that section, and the term in which data were collected.

Next, you will identify the types of instruments used in your course assessment, explain how the assessment method(s) measured the outcomes and identify the criterion/target(s) for the outcome, including a rationale behind particular criterion/targets that were developed for the outcomes.

This information is important as it enables both faculty and assessment leadership to understand why certain methods were developed and allows for information to be aggregated from the course level to the program level, if appropriate.

Reporting Results (CASR Question 2)

Once you have described your methods, you can then discuss the results of your data collection.

Results are first described and then compared to the criterion/target that you established earlier in the course assessment process. This part of the process will demonstrate where students are performing well and where they may be underperforming. This allows faculty to gain a better understanding of student performance with regards to course outcomes – which is the first step in determining if any improvements are needed.

Analysis and Action Plan – Changes you will make/Budget implications (CASR Questions 3 and 4)

We have reached the final steps in the course assessment process! Now that the results have been fully described in the previous section, they can be further analyzed to determine what was learned, what changes/improvements are going to be made, and any budget implications that may be required out to make those changes/improvements so that these may be included in LLCC's budget and planning process.

Note: when discussing changes/improvements and budget implications it is essential that they bedriven by the assessment data. This is what assessment is all about! Giving us the information to make data driven decisions that will lead to improvements in teaching and learning.

If the pattern of student learning does not meet the criterion/target, consider changes such as

  • Different approaches to teaching and learning;
  • Course content;
  • Course prerequisites;
  • Other instructional needs (i.e., software, equipment) that may have budget implications.

If student earning meets faculty expectation or the criterion/target, consider it a strength or consider raising expectations.