Assessment as a Tool for Student Success
Assessment is a way to gather information about teaching and learning that goes beyond course averages and final grade distributions.
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. (Huba & Freed, 2000).
Integrating assessment best practices into the work that is already occurring at multiple levels across UCR, faculty, programs, and the campus as a whole can make evidence-based decisions to support student success and program improvement. Assessment ideally is embedded in teaching and part of an ongoing process of improvement.
Assessment at UCR
At UCR, assessment is a practice that is incorporated across multiple levels of the institution and specifically used for decision-making. Our approach to assessment is faculty-driven with faculty having the freedom to implement assessment in their courses in a manner that they feel is best suited to their content and pedagogy. This same individualized approach is utilized at the program level when assessing Program-Level Outcomes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
