Selected Bibliography
Assessment of Academic Programs
[For additional bibliographic sources, go to the Resources section of the Assessment Website.]
American Association for Higher Education, American College Personnel Association, National Association of Student Personnel Adminstrators. “Powerful Partnerships: A Shared Responsibility for Learning.” Washington, DC: AAHE, ACPA, NASPA, June 1998. http://www.aahe.org/assessment/joint.htm
A joint statement about insights gathered from assessment experiences: this paper summarizes the conditions under which learning appears to happen best. The paper offers advice and examples from universities across the nation. A copy is in your handbook.
Association of American Colleges and Universities. Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College. Washington, DC: AAC&U, 2002.
The result of a national panel’s two-year work, the report focuses on preparing students in accredited institutions. See esp. pp. 38-42 on assessment. A copy is in the Assessment Office, Library 437. http://www.aacu.org.
Astin, Alexander W. et al. “Assessment Forum: 9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning.” Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education. N.d. http://www.aahe.org/assessment/princip.htm
This briefly summarizes the principles or conclusions about how assessing student learning can best work. A copy is in your assessment handbook.
Banta, T.W., Lund, J.P., Black, K.E., & Oblander, F. W. Assessment in Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1996.
An update of the 1993 work edited by Banta, this includes articles on assessment methods that work and the basic principles that should be included in assessment efforts. The book includes 165 actual cases.
Banta, Trudy (ed.) Making a Difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
A compilation of reports from universities and colleges across the nation describing their approaches to and experiences with assessment. Good examples of the mistakes as well as the successes. A copy is in the Assessment Office, Library 437.
Conference on Higher Education Accreditation. The Competency Standards Project: Another Approach to Accreditation Review. CHEA Occasional Paper. Washington, DC: Conference on Higher Education Accreditation, August 2000.
A report on a pilot project to base accreditation upon teaching and learning primarily, demonstrating how support areas--such as resources allocated, residence hall life, advising, faculty development, and the library--relate to teaching and learning.
Gaff, J.G. New Life for the College Curriculum: Assessing Achievements and Furthering Progress in the Reform of General Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
This summarizes general education reform efforts from about 300 colleges and universities. Though not overtly about assessment, the insights can inform assessment efforts.
Nichols, James O. A Practitioner's Handbook for Institutional Effectiveness and Student Outcomes Assessment Implementation, third edition. New York: Agathon Press, 1995.
A very practical collection of articles on aspects of assessment from beginning the assessment process through selecting various mechanisms for assessment. A copy is in the Assessment Office, Library 437.
Nichols, James O. The Departmental Guide and Record Book for Student Outcomes Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness. New York: Agathon Press, 1995.
Forms and other practical materials for assessing programs in academic departments. A copy is in the Assessment Office, Library 437.
A concise summary of the steps to assessment and the dissemination of the results, along with a bibliography.
Newsletter:
Assessment Update. Trudy W. Banta, ed., San Francisco: Jossey Bass. http://www.interscience.wiley.com.
Brief articles on a variety of assessments at a variety of institutions. Copies are available in the Assessment Office, Library 437.
Valuable links:
The American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) Assessment Forum
http://www.aahe.org/assessment/assessnw.htm
A good place to start, for this is a key resource on assessment.
Assessment & Impact of Curriculum Transformation http://www.aacu-edu.org/KnowNet/general.htm
Links to good institutional web sites on assessment and other assessment resources.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation. http://www.ericae.net
Many presentations from national conferences.
Other bibliographic sources and links are available at the Skidmore Assessment Website.