Introduction to the
VALUE Rubrics
Using Authentic Assessment to
Understand Student Learning
Ashley Finley, Ph.D
Senior Director of Assessment & Research, AAC&U
National Evaluator, Bringing Theory to Practice
Kansas State University
March 14, 2014
What should a Kansas State University
graduate know and be able to do?
Bachelor’s
Foundational
courses
Graduate
Level
What is a Liberal Education?
 Liberal Education: A
philosophy of learning that
empowers & prepares
individuals to deal with
complexity, diversity, &
change.
 Broad knowledge
combined w/ in-depth
study
 To help students develop
a sense of social
responsibility, strong &
transferable intellectual
and practical skills & a
demonstrated ability to
apply knowledge.
“Knowledge is nothing
without imagination”
The mission of KSU is to
foster excellent teaching,
research, and service that
develop a highly skilled and
educated citizenry
necessary to advancing the
well-being of Kansas, the
nation, and the international
community. The university
embraces diversity,
encourages engagement
and is committed to the
discovery of knowledge…&
improvement in the quality
of life and standard of living
of those we serve.
What is the change you
promise in students?
[KSU] is committed to provide all
students with opportunities to develop the
knowledge, understanding, & skills
characteristic of an educated person. It is
also pledged to prepare students for
successful employment or advanced
studies …To meet these intentions, the
institution dedicates itself to providing
academic and extracurricular learning
experiences which promote and value
both excellence and cultural diversity…
K-State prepares its students to be
informed, productive, & responsible
citizens who actively participate in
advancing cultural, educational,
economic, scientific, and socio-political
undertakings.
• Knowledge
- Students will demonstrate a depth
of knowledge & apply methods of inquiry in a
discipline, and will demonstrate breadth of
Institutional
knowledge across
varied disciplines.
• Critical Thinking
- …demonstrate the ability to access
and interpret information, respond and adapt
to changing situations, make complex
decisions, solve problems, and evaluate
actions.
• Communication
- …demonstrate the ability to
communicate clearly and effectively
• Diversity
- …demonstrate awareness and
understanding of the skills necessary
• Academic and Professional Integrity
- …demonstrate awareness and
understanding of the ethical standards of their
academic discipline and/or profession to live
Outcomes
Gen.Ed./
Major
Courses &
Experiences
•Knowledge
The K-State
8
•Content areas
•Physical & Natural
•Intell. & Pract. Skills
Sciences
•Inquiry & Analysis
•Social
Sciences
•Critical
& Creative
Thinking
•Written
& Oral Comm.
•Historical
•Reading
Perspectives
•Quantitative Literacy
•Aesthetic
Appreciation
•Information Literacy
•Empirical& &
Quant.
•Teamwork
Prob-solving
Reasoning
•Personal
& Social
•Ethical Reasoning
&
Resp.
•Civic Knowledge
Responsibility
•Intercultural
Knowledge
•Human Diversity
•Ethical Reasoning
within
the US
•Lifelong Learning
•Global Issues
&
•Integrative
& Applied
Perspectives
Learning
THE JOB MARKET CASE FOR BROAD & SHARED LEARNING OUTCOMES…
Which is more important for recent college graduates who
want to pursue advancement and long-term career
success at your company?
Having knowledge and skills that
apply to a specific field or position
16%
Having a range of skills and
knowledge that apply to a range of
fields and positions
29%
Having Both field-specific
knowledge and skills AND a broad
range of skills and knowledge
55%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Source: It Takes More Than a Major (AAC&U and Hart Research Assoc. 2013)
300 employers were asked, “How much emphasis should
colleges and universities place on the following skills?”
More emphasis
The same emphasis
Work w #s & Stats
Less emphasis
55
35
Conn. choices/actions to ethical dec.
64
27
Teamwk/collab in diverse grps
67
22
Innovation/creativity
71
20
Locate, org. eval Info
72
19
App to real world
78
16
Written/Oral comm
80
12
Analyze/solve complex probs
81
13
Crit thinking/anal reasoning
82
11
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Source: It Takes More Than a Major (AAC&U and Hart Research Assoc. 2013)
“How important is it that employees have the following skills?”
Very important employees have skill
Know. of global cultures, histories,
values, religions & soc. Systems
Fairly important
16
Interest in giving back to
communities
39
26
45
Demonstrated capacity for prof dev.
& cont.new learning
61
33
Comfortable working w/ people from
diverse cultural bkgrds
63
33
76
Ethical judgment & integrity
0%
20%
40%
20
60%
80%
100%
Source: It Takes More Than a Major (AAC&U & Hart Research Associates, 2013)
WHAT MATTERS TO STUDENTS….
“I don’t know too many jobs that the job
is being well-rounded. You know, it’s
not like you’re going to work at ‘WellRounded, Inc’ or something.”
- Student (Wisconsin)
Transparency.
“Tell me why this is important or at
least tell me what your end goal is.
‘When you learn this, you’re going to
become [a] better adult because blahblah-blah.’ Tell me why this matters.”
Student (Wisconsin)
Transparency & Articulation
What defines improvement
toward expertise?
• Demonstrated
competence
• Across
multiple
dimensions
• Over time
VALUE Rubrics Project:
Background & Implications
 Rubric Development
 16 rubrics
 Created primarily by
teams of faculty
 Inter-disciplinary, interinstitutional
 Three rounds of testing
and revision on
campuses with samples
of student work
 Intended to be modified
at campus-level
 Utility
 Assessment of students’
demonstrated performance
and capacity for
improvement
 Faculty-owned and
institutionally shared
 Used for students’ selfassessment of learning
 Increase transparency of
what matters to institutions
for student learning
VALUE Rubrics
(www.aacu.org/value)
 Knowledge of Human Cultures
& the Physical & Natural Worlds
 Content Areas No Rubrics
 Intellectual and Practical Skills
 Inquiry & Analysis
 Critical Thinking
 Creative Thinking
 Written Communication
 Oral Communication
 Reading
 Quantitative Literacy
 Information Literacy
 Teamwork
 Problem-solving
 Personal & Social
Responsibility
 Civic Knowledge &
Engagement
 Intercultural Knowledge &
Competence
 Ethical Reasoning
 Foundations & Skills for
Lifelong Learning
 Global Learning
 Integrative & Applied
Learning
 Integrative & Applied
Learning
How have campuses used rubrics to
improve learning?
 Using the VALUE
Rubrics for
Improvement of
Learning and Authentic
Assessment
 12 Case Studies
 Frequently asked
questions
http://www.aacu.org/value/casestudies/
Resources:
Me: finley@aacu.org
VALUE Rubrics:
http://www.aacu.org/value/
Additional Campus Examples:
http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/pr-fa11wi12/