Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education

by Trudy W. Banta, Catherine A. Palomba, Jillian Kinzie (Foreword)

A comprehensive expansion to the essential higher education assessment text This second edition of Assessment Essentials updates the bestselling first edition, the go-to resource on outcomes assessment in higher education. In this thoroughly revised edition, you will find, in a familiar framework, nearly all new material, examples from more than 100 campuses, and indispensable descriptions of direct and indirect assessment methods that have helped to educate faculty, staff, and students about assessment. Outcomes assessment is of increasing importance in higher education, especially as new technologies and policy proposals spotlight performance-based success measures. Leading authorities Trudy Banta and Catherine Palomba draw on research, standards, and best practices to address the timeless and timeliest issues in higher education accountability. New topics As always, the step-by-step approach of Assessment Essentials will guide you through the process of developing an assessment program, from the research and planning phase to implementation and beyond, with more than 100 examples along the way. Assessment data are increasingly being used to guide everything from funding to hiring to curriculum decisions, and all faculty and staff will need to know how to use them effectively. Perfect for anyone new to the assessment process, as well as for the growing number of assessment professionals, this expanded edition of Assessment Essentials will be an essential resource on every college campus.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Grad School

368 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1999

Reviews

[Elliedakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Class requirement - basically a long lot review; name drops the same programs over and over

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps my review is colored by the later chapters, but I found the examples and discussion to be very general and vague. This did not come off as a practical guide, but a more general discussion about the merits of assessment.

[Eric Viets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on Assessment in Higher Education

This was a required textbook for my doctoral class in Education. I found it to be engaging and helpful for those who are wanting to understand Assessment in Higher Education.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work in high education assessment & accreditation. This book was informative regarding the pioneer institutions of assessment; however, I wish it would have used other institutions as references also.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read most of this for class, but did not get to it all - still giving myself credit for completing it! This is a well-written and useful guide to assessment in higher education with a lot of real world examples.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine, read for a class

[Gladys · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive book on assessment in higher education.

[Dylan Walgate]

Read for grad school

[Benjamin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a good example of what happens when education is industrialized and the study of education is turned into a social science. It also illustrates how easy it is to get 5-star reviews on Amazon. The book (even at 350 pages) is bloated and repetitive. Apparently, in order for schools to think about and reflect on what they're doing and how well they're doing it, and to take appropriate steps for change when needed, it is necessary to create a whole new bureaucracy for the school, the whole purpose of which is assessment. Surveys, focus groups, standardized tests, etc. are essential, which justifies the continued existence of the assessment bureaucracy.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

First introduction into the field of institutionalized assessment. This is a great resource to warm your shelf and inform your work throughout various stages of operationalizing and maintenancing assessment systems in educational contexts. No big ah-ha's here, rather a treasure trove of the small nips and tucks that can go a long way in this work.

[Dianna LeFevre · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and thin.