ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses assessment practices that best allow students in higher education programs to know they have mastered course and program outcomes in addition to describing instructional decisions faculty should make for students to learn to what degree they have mastered course and program outcomes. It describes quality assessment practices and strategies in higher education, incorporates results of a faculty survey about campuswide and department-specific assessment, and provides comments about faculty development needs to support effective assessment practices. Prior to administering an assessment, faculty need to clearly communicate to students about whether an assessment is being used for diagnostic, formative, or summative purposes. Students should be informed what the key assessments are throughout a course and their program and how results from the assessments will be used. Learner outcomes, or learning targets, focus on identifying and clearly articulating what students will do in courses and programs. Feedback is one of the most powerful tools influencing student achievement of learning outcomes.
