Assessment:
the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Kenneth E. Fernandez
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Learning Outcomes: the Good
1. Developed through input from all
faculty
2. COLA Learning Objectives used as a
model
3. Articles written in Journals
4. UNLV Assessment Workshop
5. Reexamined objectives after initial
assessment reports
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Learning Outcomes: the Bad
1. We chose not to require faculty to list
standardized outcomes on syllabi
2. In the beginning we had 23 learning
outcomes (not manageable).
3. We have 2 MA programs and a new
Ph.D. program but currently are
assessing graduate student learning
outcomes together (not necessarily a
problem).
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Measuring Outcomes: The Good
Undergraduate program:
1. Pre- and Post-test for all core courses
- 10 item, multiple-choice test
- Developed by faculty in those fields
2. Exit Survey for graduating seniors
- Self-Administered questionnaire
- Both closed and open-ended questions
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Measuring Outcomes: The Good
Graduate program uses multiple measures:
1. Grades
2. Comments on Teaching Evaluations
3. Focus group and/or interviews with
graduate students
4. Graduate Faculty comments
5. With new PhD program we now have
comprehensive exams after 18 credits
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Measuring Outcomes: The Bad
Undergraduate program:
1. Pre- and Post-tests
- a 10 item, multiple-choice test is limited
- limited resources (test projected on screen)
- tests are anonymous and aggregated
2. Exit Survey for graduating seniors
- Some questions not appropriate or useful
- Data entry is time consuming
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Measuring Outcomes: The Bad
Graduate program:
1. Grades are not an effective external
assessment mechanism
2. Students are at different stages
3. Not easy to do a careful aggregate study of
outcomes every semester. Not enough students
completing qualifying exams, prospectus, or
theses, presenting at conferences.
4. Not easy to contact part-time students
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Other Issues
1. What is the appropriate unit of analysis?
- student (track individual student progress)
- teacher
- class (or even a lecture)
- fields, GE courses, etc.
- programs or entire department
- semester, year, student career
- how many reports are needed (BA, MA,
EPS, PHD, GE, semester, yearly)?
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Assessment Reports: The Good
1. Forces self-examination (teacher, course,
field, department)
2. Several curricular changes due to
assessment data collection and analysis
3. Placing reports online is helpful to share
assessment approaches (at least to
assessment officers)
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Assessment Reports: The Bad
1. No one wants to do them.
2. Potential to develop an acceptable report
template and then put it on autopilot
and then ignore it.
3. Lack of resources creates obstacle to
applying a rigorous method to data
collection and analysis
4. This can create strange anomalies.
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The Ugly: Standardization
We should avoid standardization
A request to place the GE international
learning outcome in all PSC 211&231
syllabi:
“Students will [demonstrate proficiency in a
foreign language or] explain how
international cultures, societies, or
political economics relate to complex,
modern world systems.”
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The Ugly: Standardization
The faculty who teach these courses felt
such a learning outcome did not match
the true learning objectives and would
lead to confusion.
Should all courses with the same prefix or
fulfill a GE requirement have the same
learning outcomes on their syllabi?
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The Good News
1. UNLV’s Assessment Office has been
supportive and flexible.
2. The office provides guidance rather than
regulations or mandates.
3. It promotes a dialogue about teaching
and its connection to learning that
ironically is sometimes missing in a
department setting.
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Recommendations
1. Effective assessment needs funds
(pre/post-test, focus groups, etc.)
2. Yearly reports rather than semester
reports (helps reduce anomalies)
3. Maintain current flexibility. We do not
want to impose standardization.
4. Use technology to make assessment
easier (clickers, web-based surveys,
etc.).
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Appendix

http://faculty.unlv.edu/kfernandez/assessment/assessment.htm

http://liberalarts.unlv.edu/Political_Science/assessments.htm

http://provost.unlv.edu/Assessment/
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