Assessment
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our FAQs provide helpful insights into the assessment process at Kennesaw State. Get valuable answers to key topics such as how to get started, the purpose of assessment, and the ongoing nature of continuous improvement. These FAQs also explain why course grades alone are not sufficient for assessment and emphasizes the importance of using direct measures of student learning.
If you have other questions not explained here, please email us.
Assessment Team Email
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How should I begin?
Contact assessment@kennesaw.edu or contact your department chair/school director to ask for historical artifacts of assessment. -
What is assessment?
- Assessment is a collaborative effort intended to measure and improve student learning and student success. It is guided by the Office of Assessment.
- Your program has a mission and vision, along with program and course learning outcomes. Assessment results should inform efforts to improve student learning and student success, as well as curriculum changes.
- Assessment is one step in the continuous improvement cycle and should never be a burden when done correctly.
- Assessment is a collaborative effort intended to measure and improve student learning and student success. It is guided by the Office of Assessment.
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Are we done once the outcomes have been achieved?
- Assessment and improvement is a continuous process. A new cycle begins after the previous one has been completed (see model above). Once there is no more room for improvement for a particular learning outcome, the focus should move to a knowledge or skill area where there is more room for improvement.
- Learning outcomes and measures should also be revised as needed to ensure they align with curriculum changes, industry standards, and employer needs.
- In these cases, the Assessment Plan should be updated to reflect the shift in focus.
- Assessment and improvement is a continuous process. A new cycle begins after the previous one has been completed (see model above). Once there is no more room for improvement for a particular learning outcome, the focus should move to a knowledge or skill area where there is more room for improvement.
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Why can't course grades be used as assessment?
- Overall grades are not granular enough to determine the specific areas with which students struggle. As such, it will be difficult to identify strategies to improve student learning in those specific areas and track progress over time.
- Many factors may contribute to course grades that do not relate to student learning, such as attendance and class participation.
- Instead, of course grades, direct measures of student learning include: exam items, rubric items, and internship evaluation items that directly related to the Student Learning Outcome of interest.
- Overall grades are not granular enough to determine the specific areas with which students struggle. As such, it will be difficult to identify strategies to improve student learning in those specific areas and track progress over time.
