William H. Rickards

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes Across a Curriculum

Disciplinary and professional competence in postsecondary education is made up of complex sets of constructs and role performances that differ markedly across the disciplines and professions. These often defy definition as learning outcomes because they are multidimensional and holistic. Even so, instructors who teach and assessors who evaluate competence in many fields may engage their colleagues in processes, usually within disciplines and professions, to capture enough breadth and depth of constructs and performances that are essential for particular roles. The question is whether students can integrate and transfer their learning across a curriculum and over time. Authors report on the design of an assessment technique for integration of knowledge constructs and role performances and their use, and adaptation and transfer across math and science prerequisite coursework. This assessment requires students to demonstrate scientific reasoning, quantitative literacy, analysis, and problem solving across these disciplines and over time, on demand, and in a setting outside of their regular coursework. During training of faculty assessors, independent evaluators recorded and categorized faculty questions re validity and reliability of their judgments and of assessment policies and procedures. A subgroup resolved them through action research. The authors conclude that each of the validity and reliability issues, also identified by the subgroup of multidisciplinary faculty and educational researchers, was also raised by faculty members as they were being trained as assessors. These faculty assessors were from across the disciplines and professions. Thus, faculties experienced in performance assessments who also serve as assessors of broad learning outcomes are likely to continue to develop assessment techniques with appropriate considerations of validity, reliability, and especially consequential validity. At this college, contextual and consequential validity for demonstration of individual student learning outcomes on assessments of integration and transfer imply achievement of complex, multidimensional learning outcomes, so students who were unsuccessful had further opportunity for instruction and reassessment.