Moving Forward: Taking Charge
of SLO Assessment
Marcy Alancraig
English Professor and Learning
Outcomes Coordinator
Cabrillo College
To Deal with Student Learning
Outcomes You Need:
• Sense of Play
• Willingness to Experiment
• Healthy Dose of Skepticism
• Ability to translate assessment theory and
jargon into the language of your college
Why Assess SLOs?
• It’s what you’ve been doing
informally all along
• It’s good teaching practice
• It’s better for students
• It can make your teaching life better
New Accreditation Standards:
The 5 Stages of Faculty Grief
•
•
•
•
•
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Quickie Review: Standards
Require
• SLOs for all courses
• SLOs for all programs
• SLOs for all certificates and
degrees
More Review
• All SLOs must be assessed regularly
• Assessment results must be discussed
(dialogue is key!)
The
Assessment
Loop
Gather
Evidence
Interpret
Evidence
Mission/Purposes
Educational
Objectives
How well do we
achieve our
educational
Enhance teaching/
objectives?
learning; inform
institutional decisionmaking, planning,
budgeting
– Peggy Maki,
AAHE
Closing the Assessment Loop
• Assessment must feed back into processes
to improve teaching and learning
• In the classroom
• In the department
• Across the entire campus
• Activity should be useful
and easy
Key Point!
• Each school must design the
assessment process to fit that
school’s culture
Key Decisions
• How much time do you want to spend?
• Will the assessment be something extra you
require of students beyond class work?
• Will the assessment be something extra you
expect of faculty?
More Key Decisions
• Do you want the same method used to
assess SLOs across the entire campus?
• Who will analyze the results?
• How will you close the feedback loop?
A suggestion:
• Use the KISS method
• Keep it simple, sweetheart!
Rubrics Rock!
A Simple Method of assessment for
all SLOs
So What’s a Rubric?
• A very detailed grading scale
for one assignment
• A descriptor of each level of
achievement
Why Rubrics Rock
• Great for students
• Doesn’t impinge on your
academic freedom
• May make your teaching life easier
• Caveat: Doesn’t work for multiple choice
exams
Bonus Plus
• Can be easy assessment method for SLOs
But
only if the loop is closed
And the results are discussed
How do Rubrics Work?
• Rows: Criteria of rating
• Columns: Levels of mastery
• Beginner
• Developed
• Accomplished
• Cells: Describes work at each level of
mastery
• Build from strengths and weaknesses teachers
see in student work over the years
Activity
• Create a Chocolate Chip Cookie rubric
Sample Rubrics
• Grid
• Narrative with points
• Combined with Grading Sheet
Advice: Rubrics are
• As individual as instructor and
assignment
• Works in progress, always changing
• Something students should see in
advance?
Activity
• Choose one particular major assignment
• Use workbook to create a rubric for it
• Share with folks at your table
Where do you go from Here?
• Next Steps