Educational Policy 4.0—Assessment
Assessment is an integral component of competency-based education. To evaluate the extent to
which the competencies have been met, a system of assessment is central to this model of
education. Data from assessment continuously inform and promote change in the explicit and
implicit curriculum to enhance attainment of program competencies.
Accreditation Standard 4.0.1 —Assessment (The Plan)
The program presents its plan to assess the attainment of each of its competencies. The plan
specifies procedures, multiple measures of each practice behavior, and benchmarks employed to
assess the attainment of each of the program’s competencies (M2.0.4).
The assessment plan for the CSUSM MSW Program includes multiple measures and tools. Table
9 identifies the measures, the frequencies of their administration, and the applicable benchmarks.
Table 9: Assessment Plan Components
Measure
Method of
Administration
Comprehensive
Field Instructor
Skills Assessment evaluation of the
student
EPAS Course
Classroom
Rubric
Instructor
evaluation of the
student
Alumni Survey
Employer Survey
Graduates
assessment of own
competence, and
program
effectiveness
Employer
assessment of
graduate
competence, and
program
effectiveness
Benchmark
90% of students will be found
competent on each item
90% of first year students will meet
the standard that indicates minimal
competence on each practice behavior
for foundation practice.
90% of Advanced students will meet a
standard that indicates minimal
competence on each behavior for
advanced practice.
Alumni will be judge themselves
competent on 85% of practice
behaviors
Employers will rate former students
competent on 85% of practice
behaviors
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Frequency of
Admission
Each
semester
Each
semester
Every 3 years
Every 3 years
The program will use four methods of assessment. The first is the comprehensive skills
evaluation of the field practicum courses. The second is a rubric used by all classroom instructors
that assesses the level of proficiency that each student has attained on the competencies and
practice behaviors. The third is an alumni survey that asks graduates to assess their proficiency
with each of the competencies addressed in the curriculum. The fourth is an employer survey that
asks alumni to assess their proficiency with each of the competencies contained in the
curriculum.
Comprehensive Skills Assessment (CSA)
At the end of each semester the field instructor that supervises the work of the student in a
practicum will be required to assess students’ achievements of specified competencies expected
in field placement. The proficiency level of a student for each of the practice behaviors
encompassing a competency that is addressed by the field practicum course is rated by the
student’s field instructor in the CSA.
We have identified a set of EPAS competencies for foundation content and the advanced
curriculum that are addressed in the field. These competencies assume that as part of the learning
process students will demonstrate an acceptable level of mastery of specific skills and
appropriate professional behaviors. The items will be drawn from the practice behaviors. We
have identified 26 practice behaviors addressed in the foundation field courses (MSW 540 &
MSW 541). Thirty-one practice behaviors are addressed in the advanced year. See Tables 5 & 6
and syllabi for the competencies assessed in a specific course. Instructors will use the following
scale for assessing competence.
5= Highly competent
4= Exceeds the level of proficiency expected of a foundation or advanced
practitioner
3= Meets the minimal level of proficiency expected of a foundation or advanced
practitioner. No major areas of concern identified.
2= Meets the minimal level of proficiency expected, but some areas of concern
that need improvement before advanced practice
1= Fails to show a minimally level of proficiency
*Depending upon year the student is assessed for foundation and advanced competency.
Foundation students will be expected to be rated by the end of the second semester field as at
least “Meets the minimal level of proficiency expected, but needs improvement before advanced
practice” (a 2 on the scale) on all competencies, and a minimum average of 2.5 rating on all
items. The first and third semester’s evaluations will be used to help students identify
competencies that need additional work. The second and fourth semesters will be used to assess
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whether we are meeting the benchmarks or not. Advanced year students must be rated as a “3”
on all behaviors (“Meets the minimal level the minimal level of proficiency expected for an
advanced practitioner”). These assessments are completed for each field semester. Students who
do not demonstrate an acceptable level of mastery of the expected competencies receive a grade
of no credit and are disqualified from the program. The CSA evaluations assist in determining if
the relevant EPAS competencies have been achieved. The benchmark is that 90% of students
will meet the level for acceptable performance as defined above.
EPAS Classroom Course Rubric
The second method of assessment used by the program is made by the instructors of classes in
the required foundation and advanced curriculum. As described earlier in the curriculum section
of this document, practice behaviors and competencies are assessed in each course by exams,
papers, presentations, class participation etc.. Taken together, the courses address all of 10
competencies and 41 practice behaviors at the foundation and advanced level. Analysis of
student performance on these course based measures will enable faculty to identify whether a
student demonstrated competency as well as those areas needing improvement. The instructor
will use a common rubric to assess the level at which each student has demonstrated
competency. The level of competency will be determined by the instructor based on the
combination of papers, exams, presentations, class participation etc. completed by the student.
Students will be assessed on 5 levels that are described at the end of figure 2. This figure has an
example of the instrument that will be completed by the instructor.
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The completed instrument will be turned in to the Director. The Director in turn will see that the
competencies demonstrated by each student will be collated into a summary for the student. An
example of how this would look is shown in Figure 3 for a student that demonstrated that she had
exceeded the level of proficiency expected in all courses for all of the practice behaviors covered
in the class. Figure 3 only shows the first three competencies.
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The individual summaries for each student will reported in summary form on a program
summary sheet. The scores for each competency are established by adding up the scores for the
practice behaviors encompassed by a competency. For example, in Figure 2, we see that for the
foundation level of the curriculum, the 1st competency “Identify as a professional social worker
and conduct oneself accordingly” is addressed by three of the classroom courses; MSW 510
Generalist Practice; MSW 511 Generalist Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups; and
MSW 525 Law and Ethics. All of the practice behaviors encompassing the competency are
addressed by one of more of the courses. For example, practice behavior 1 “advocate for client
access to the services of social work” is addressed by MSW 540 alone, while practice behavior 2
“practice personal reflection and self-correction to assure continual professional development” is
addressed in MSW 505 and MSW 540.
The sum of all scores recorded for the practice behaviors encompassing a competency. In Figure
4 we see that the student received the highest scores for each practice behavior rated in each
class that a rating was given. Thus, the student scored 50 at the Foundation level for the 1st
competency. If the student had not met the minimum level of proficiency expected for any of the
practice behaviors in any of the courses addressing the 1st competency, the scores would be all 1s
instead of 5’s. The summary score would be 10 instead of 50.
For the purposes of setting a benchmark, it is expected that the sum score for a competency will
be the score that would be achieved if a student received a 2 for all of the practice behaviors
encompassed by a competency for all of the courses that addressed one or more of the
competencies. For the 1st competency, then, the benchmark score for the foundation level is 20.
For the Advanced Curriculum, the benchmark score is 4. The numbers in the that are in bold
Figure 3 summarize the benchmark scores expected for each of the competencies. We expect
90% of students to achieve these benchmarks.
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Figure 3: EPAS Summary of Student Performance
Foundation Content
Name_____________.
Competency & Practice Behavior
E.P. 2.1.1 Identify as a professional social worker and
conduct oneself accordingly.
PB 1. Advocate for client access to the services of social
work
PB 2. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to
ensure continual professional development
PB 3. Attend to professional roles and boundaries
PB 4. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior,
appearance, and communication
PB 5. Engage in career long learning
PB 6. Use supervision and consultation
Summary EP 2.1.1 Score
E.P. 2.1.2
PB 7. Recognize and manage personal values in a way
that allows professional values to guide practice
PB 8. Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of
the NASW Code of Ethics and if applicable the
IFSW/ASSW Statement of Principles
PB 9. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving conflicts
PB 10. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at
principled decisions
Summary E.P. 2.1.2 score Apply social work ethical
principles to guide professional practice
E.P. 2.1.3 Apply critical thinking to inform and
communicate professional judgments
PB 11. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple
sources of knowledge including research-based
knowledge and practice wisdom
PB 12. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, and
evaluation
PB 13. Demonstrate effective oral and written
communication in working with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues
Summary E.P. 2.1.3 score
500
HBSE
I
501
HBSE
II
510
GP
511
GP
IF&G
512
GP
Macro
520
Social
Policy
525
Law
&
Ethics
5
550
Research
Summary
Score on
EP
Comp.
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
20
25
50
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
20
20
20
20
10
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
10
15
15
15
15
10
6
95
5
10
90
Advanced Content – Concentration
Name___________________.
Competency & Practice Behavior
E.P. 2.1.1 Identify as a professional social worker and
conduct oneself accordingly.
PB 1. Advocate for client access to the services of social
work
PB 2. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to
ensure continual professional development
PB 3. Attend to professional roles and boundaries
PB 4. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior,
appearance, and communication
PB 5. Engage in career long learning
PB 6. Use supervision and consultation
Summary EP 2.1.1 Score
E.P. 2.1.2
PB 7. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that
allows professional values to guide practice
PB 8. Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of
the NASW Code of Ethics and if applicable the
IFSW/ASSW Statement of Principles
PB 9. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving conflicts
PB 10. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at
principled decisions
Summary E.P. 2.1.2 score Apply social work ethical
principles to guide professional practice
E.P. 2.1.3 Apply critical thinking to inform and
communicate professional judgments
PB 11. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple
sources of knowledge including research-based knowledge
and practice wisdom
PB 12. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, and
evaluation
PB 13. Demonstrate effective oral and written
communication in working with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues
Summary E.P. 2.1.3 score
602
ADV.
HBSE
5
630A
&B
ADV.
Practice
Ind.
631A & B
ADV.
Practice
Family &
Group
635A & B
ADV.
Policy
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
20
20
20
5
5
5
5
5
5
15
10
650
ADV
Research
695
Capstone
Summary
Score on
EP Comp.
10
60
5
5
5
7
10
40
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Employer Survey
The Employer Survey is conducted every three years and provides prospective employers with
the opportunity to assess the degree to which students are meeting the practice community’s
needs. The survey is directed to all agencies providing field practicum sites. Agency
management staff and supervisors of recent field students will provide data on the student
performance on the EPAS competencies and practice behaviors. Employers will be asked to rate
graduates on their ability to perform the practice behavior on a scale that had 4 levels where
4=highly competent, 3=competent, 2= some competence demonstrated, 1=no competence
demonstrated. Employers will be instructed to rate on their least capable student if they had more
than one alumni employed. The benchmark for competence will be at least 90% of competencies
will be rated in the aggregate as “2” or better with no more than 10% rated as 2. A rating of “3”
or 4 is regarded as indicating employers students consider the curriculum to have prepared well
to carry out the competency. A rating of “2” is regarded as an indicator that the curriculum needs
improvement, and “1” that the curriculum has failed in that area. We strive to have 85% of the
employers rate our graduates at a 3.0 or better, or have a mean score of 2.5 on all items (Practice
Behaviors).
Alumni Survey
The alumni survey will be conducted every three years. This survey allowed us to: (1) examine
career trajectories of our students; (2) to assess our most recent graduate’s reaction to the
curriculum, (3) and identify graduates perceptions of how well the programs objectives were met
based upon their perception of their own competency to perform the 41 practice behaviors.
Alumni will provide employment and salary information, data on professional attainments,
professional activities (such as leadership and engagement in policy development), career
patterns, professional memberships, continuing education, their perception on how well they
were prepared to perform EPAS competencies and practice behaviors at the CSUSM Social
Work Program.
Alumni will be asked to rate their ability perform the program’s goals and objectives on a 7 point
scale where 1= the curriculum did prepare them at all to perform the competency described, and
7= the program prepared them to a great extent to perform the competency. A rating of 4 is the
benchmark for indicating a minimal level of competency. As a benchmark we will take 85% of
former students having a rating of “4” as indicator that our program is graduating competent
students.
4.0.3 The program describes the procedures it employs to evaluate the outcomes and their implications
for program renewal. It discusses specific changes it has made in the program based on specific
assessment outcomes.
The MSW program will engage in a continual process of program evaluation and redesign primarily
through the Committee-of-the-Whole under the leadership of the director. The results of the above
evaluations will always be considered by the Committee. The Committee assigns tasks to the relevant
subgroup based on the outcome measures. The work of the subgroup is returned, and recommendations
growing out of the work of the task group are given to the full faculty.
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4.0.2 The program provides summary data and outcomes for the assessment of each of its
competencies, identifying the percentage of students achieving each benchmark.
The program will transform the data summarized in Figure 4 using measures of central tendency and
measures of dispersion. The data will be presented for public review in program materials and on the
program’s web site for each graduating class.
4.0.3 The program describes the procedures it employs to evaluate the outcomes and their implications
for program renewal. It discusses specific changes it has made in the program based on specific
assessment outcomes.
The MSW program will engage in a continual process of program evaluation and redesign
primarily through the Committee-of-the-Whole under the leadership of the director. The
program’s curriculum committee will annually review the data presented in from the various
measures described in this section. Based on the data we will make decisions about decisions
about program strengths and needs. The results of the above evaluations will always be
considered by the Committee. The Committee will assign tasks to the relevant subgroup based
on the outcome measures. The work of the subgroup will be returned to the Committee-of-the
Whole with recommendations growing out of the work of the task group for action. The
expectation is that summary data will reveal that the program is delivering a curriculum for
which most students are exceeding the minimal expectations of competency. Analysis of the
data will provide suggestions about any revisions to the curriculum that are needed.
4.0.4 The program uses Form AS 4 (B) and/or Form AS4 (M) to report its most recent assessment
outcomes to constituents and the public on its website and routinely up-dates (minimally every 2 years)
these postings.
The program’s curriculum committee will annually review the data from the evaluation
measures. The expectation is that summary data will reveal that the program is delivering a
curriculum that is meeting the benchmarks defined in Table 9. Analysis of the data will provide
suggestions about any revisions to the curriculum that are needed.
4.0.5 The program appends copies of all assessment instruments used to assess the program
competencies.
See attachments.
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