INtopFORM Assessment Plan
This session is designed for participants
in Programs of Study
• If you are a Faculty Fellow, please meet in room
106 with Amy Johnson
• If you are involved as a part of CSCI 1100, please
meet in room 101 with Bill Kirkwood
Please sit with other faculty members from your
program of study.
Goals for today’s session
• By the end of today’s session, you should:
– Understand basic assessment of student learning;
– Tentatively identify when and where assessment of
the six ITF LOs will take place in your program;
– Develop a plan for assessment measures to be used
(ITF rubric, major field test, standardized final, etc.);
– Develop a plan for collecting baseline data (preferably
during Spring 2014);
– Decide when you and your colleagues will discuss
assessment results;
– Know what your responsibilities are for reporting; and
– Be familiar with the ITF assessment calendar.
What is assessment?
1. Collecting data so
we can report it to
SACS
2. Something the folks
in Dossett Hall came
up with to keep
faculty busy
3. A useful teaching
and learning tool
33%
1
33%
2
33%
3
Assessment is
Deciding what
we want our
students to learn
Making sure they
learn it
From Linda Suskie, courtesy of Jane Wolfson, Towson University
Assessment Cycle
1)
2)
4)
3)
Excerpted from Assessing Student Learning by Linda Suskie, Jossey-Bass, 2009
Step 1: Establish Learning Goals
QUESTIONING
SEEKING
EVALUATING
USING
COMMUNICATING
RECOGNIZING
• Six INtopFORM Learning Outcomes
• What do they mean in YOUR
discipline?
– See Worksheets completed for each
INtopFORM Learning Outcome
Record possible learning outcomes for your program
in Column A of the Assessment Plan Template
Step 2: Provide Learning Opportunities
• Must allow students to practice and develop skill
in each of the six INtopFORM Learning Outcomes
• Where will this take place in your curriculum?
– See results of Curricular Mapping activity
• What methods might you use?
– See Teaching Ideas worksheets for each ITF LO
Record possible student learning opportunities for
your program in Column B of the Assessment Plan
Template
Step 3: Assess Student Learning
• Where will you measure student learning?
• Goal
– Collect “reasonably accurate, truthful evidence”
– Good enough to use with confidence
• Possibilities include single assignments,
capstone courses, core courses, final exams
• Must be observable
INtopFORM Assessment Guidelines
• Must evaluate all six ITF LOs
• Must occur annually
• Must provide data on the culminating skills and
abilities of students in a program of study
– Ordinarily in the senior year
• Must yield findings applicable to all majors
– Can evaluate all majors’ work or that of a sufficient
representative sample
Director of Assessment and Teaching will
Assist faculty in designing assessments
 Approve programs’ assessment protocols

Assessment Methods
• Select from two options:
– Use the ITF assessment rubric to evaluate
papers or projects;
– Study students’ performance on designated
items on major field tests, standardized final
exams, or locally designed tests of information
fluency
Record possible assessment methods for your program
in Column C of the Assessment Plan Template. Include
where these assessments will take place in your
curriculum in Column D.
Sampling
• More evidence collected means higher
confidence in conclusions, but be practical
• If you use a sample, it should adequately
represent your student population
– Online vs. on ground
– Adult vs. traditional
Record from whom you will collect assessment
information in Column E of the Assessment Plan
Template.
Baseline Data
• Must be collected during Year 1
– Spring 2014 preferred
• Use standard reporting template
– % of student work at Excellent, Satisfactory, and
Unsatisfactory level
Brainstorm how your program might collect
baseline data. Record ideas in Column F of the
Assessment Plan Template.
Institutional Assessment Goals
• Improvement in Years 2-5 compared to baseline data in
Year 1
• >30% of the rubric ratings or test scores on each
INtopFORM learning outcome are “excellent”
• >90% of the rubric ratings or test scores on each
INtopFORM learning outcome are “satisfactory”
• >90% of students majoring in the program of study
achieve rubric ratings or test scores demonstrating
“satisfactory” performance on all INtopFORM learning
outcomes
California Critical Thinking Skills Test
• ETSU’s Senior Exit Exam, administered since 2005
for general education assessment
• Five areas: Analysis and Interpretation, Inference,
Evaluation and Explanation, Deductive Reasoning,
and Inductive Reasoning
• CCTST maps well to EVALUATING and USING
INtopFORM learning outcomes
• A&T will collect baseline CCTST data in 2013-14
• Annual reports provided to ITF programs of study
CCTST Data Provided by A&T
CCTST Results – Year to Year Data Comparison
Scores at or above
“strong”
Baseline
N (%)
Analysis and
Interpretation
Scale (maps
to
EVALUATING
outcome)
Evaluation and
Explanation
Scale
(maps to
EVALUATING
outcome)
Inference
Scale
(maps to
USING
outcome)
CCTST Total
Score
Year 1
N (%)
Scores at or above
“moderate”
%
Change
Baseline
N (%)
24
26
+2%
63
16
17
+1%
54
22
28
+6%
16
18
+2%
Year 1
N (%)
63
%
Change
Scores at or above
15
Baseline
N (%)
Year 1
N (%)
%
Change
Scores at or
above 19
Baseline
N (%)
Year 1
N (%)
%
Change
---
45
46
+1%
30
33
+3%
59
+5%
39
43
+4%
26
25
-1%
58
62
+4%
41
48
+7%
32
40
+8%
48
53
+5%
52
53
+1%
22
28
+6%
Goals for CCTST Performance
• Mean CCTST Total Scores and subtest scores should
exceed baseline in Years 2-5
• >30% of scores on each CCTST subtest at or above
“strong”
• >90% of scores on each CCTST subtest at or above
“moderate”
• >30% of CCTST Total Scores are at least 19 (“strong”)
• >90% of CCTST Total Scores are at least 15
(“moderate”)
Step 4: Use the Results
• Assessment is worthless if it isn’t useful
– How will results be analyzed? By whom?
– How and when will results be shared?
– Who can act on your assessment data to make
improvements?
Discuss how your program might use the
assessment information you collect and record in
Column G of the Assessment Plan Template.
Annual Assessment and
Improvement Meetings
• Each fall in Years 3-5
• Includes Director of A&T, QEP Director, program
leaders, and other interested faculty
• Purpose
– Review previous year’s assessment data
– Use results to refine plan for enhancing information
fluency
– As needed, define improvement actions, responsible
parties, and calendars
• Annual assessment and improvement report drafted by
Directors and approved by program faculty
Overview of Assessment Timeline
Programs of Study, Cohort 1
Year 1: 2013-14
Develop program assessment plan
Su
Fa
Sp
X
X
X (refine)
Collect baseline data
Collect and analyze results, refine
plan, make improvements
Year 2: 2014-15
Su
Fa
Sp
X
X
X
X
Year 3: 2015-16 Year 4: 2016-17 Year 5: 2017-18
Su Fa Sp Su Fa Sp Su Fa Sp
Develop program assessment plan
Collect baseline data
Collect and analyze results, refine
plan, make improvements
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Year 1 Assessment Calendar,
Programs of Study
First Year of Participation
When
Fall
What
Create a plan to help all students in the
program attain the six INtopFORM learning
outcomes
Who
Program of Study Faculty
Design assessment of ITF learning
outcomes
Program of Study Faculty
Spring
Collect and report baseline assessment data Program of Study Faculty
Fall, Spring,
and Summer
Collect and report baseline CCTST data
Assessment and Teaching
Summer
Send participating programs of study
analysis of baseline data, including CCTST
Assessment and Teaching
Year 2 Assessment Calendar,
Programs of Study
Second Year of Participation
When
Fall and Spring
What
Implement plans to help students attain
learning outcomes
Who
Program of Study Faculty
Collect and report data on ITF learning
outcomes
Program of Study Faculty
Fall, Spring,
and Summer
Collect and report CCTST data
Assessment and Teaching
Summer
Send participating programs of study
analysis of data, including CCTST
Assessment and Teaching
Years 3-5 Assessment Calendar,
Programs of Study
When
Early Fall
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Year of Participation
What
Who
Conduct meeting to evaluate prior year
Program of Study Faculty,
assessment data and refine program’s
Director of A&T, QEP
INtopFORM plan
Director
Fall and Spring
Collect and report data on ITF learning
outcomes
Program of Study Faculty
Fall, Spring,
and Summer
Collect and report CCTST data
Assessment and Teaching
Summer
Send participating programs of study
analysis of data, including CCTST
Assessment and Teaching
Decide what you
want your
students to learn
Make sure they
learn it
Contact Information
Cheri Clavier
Director of Assessment and Teaching
clavier@etsu.edu
439-7483
136 Sherrod
Reedena Newlon
Executive Aide, Assessment and Teaching
newlon@etsu.edu
439-7484
137 Sherrod