Effective Assessment of Learning Outcomes – PART 1

In the last 30 years, the focus of teaching in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), has been shifted from teacher-centered education to Outcomes-Based Education (OBE). An OBE is a philosophy of teaching and learning that is based on a set of Learning Outcomes (LOs), that must be achieved by students at the course and program levels, which has become the task of the Quality Assurance and Institutional unit at the institution.

Quality Assurance (QA) in higher education is an ongoing, systematic, and structured processes of monitoring, assessing, assuring, maintaining, and improving student success and employability; Institutional Effectiveness (IE) is process by which the university measures the degree of meeting its mission and strategic goals.

The philosophy of OBE has been adopted worldwide by many countries. An accord named the Washington Accord was established between several countries to recognize undergraduate engineering degrees based on OBE. In recent years, the OBE philosophy has been adopted by accrediting agencies, such as the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency in Higher Education) in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the South African Qualification Authorities, and the United Arab Emirates CAA (Commission for Academic Accreditation).

In this part we shall outline the steps for achieving effective assessment of learning outcomes.

Steps for Effective Assessment of Learning Outcomes

There are numerous methods for assessing student learning outcomes in a specific course or program. We have applied the following steps and found to be effective:

1.???? Design the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) according to Bloom’s Taxonomy (Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating) and the accrediting national or international agencies, such as CAA - UAE, ABET and AACSB.

2.???? Develop the Program Curriculum Map (PCM). The PCM is a matrix that maps courses to PLOs to provide gradual learning, identify gaps, repetitions, and misalignments for improving program coherence. This map provides an effective method for assurance of learning outcomes.

3.???? Design the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) based on its location in the curriculum map. For example, first- and second-year courses should cover the first 3 levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and advanced courses should cover higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. One of the mistakes in designing course learning outcomes, is including high-level learning outcome that requires deep analysis, in an introductory course that requires students to demonstrate understanding and application. For example, a course learning with an action verb “Evaluate” requires students to make judgment based on sound and critical analysis. If an introductory course, say Accounting 101 course, has such a learning outcome, student do not have the necessary skills to perform judgment and deep analysis because they are learning the concepts and application of accounting. I shall discuss this in more detail in the subsequent parts.

4.???? Design assessment methods to be properly aligned with the course learning outcomes. For example, if the CLO statement is “Evaluate business data to reach meaningful decision” and if the assessment question is “Organize the data in groups and calculate the central tendency measures”, it is clear that the question does not reflect the objective of the CLO, and, therefore, the CLO assessment will not be precise.

5.???? Implement assessments at appropriate points in the program or course, according to the curriculum map. ?It’s critical that these assessments are conducted at intervals that can provide timely feedback for students and instructors alike.

6.???? Collect?data and evidence of student performance based on assessment measures that extend beyond merely grading assignments. It should include the systematic collection of work products, observations, and other relevant information that can be used to form a comprehensive picture of each student’s progress. This step is essential to build an archive of performance that can be used to identify trends over time.

7.???? Analyzing the collected data to evaluate student achievement and determine whether learning outcomes are being met, is a multilayered process. It involves the use of AI, analytics, statistical tools and comparative analysis to discern patterns and insights. The intention is to transform raw data into actionable intelligence that can guide decision-making regarding instructional methodologies and curriculum adjustments.

8.???? Use the findings from the assessment process to inform curriculum development, instructional strategies, and other improvements to enhance student learning and program effectiveness.

In the subsequent parts, we shall discuss each step.