ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, international interest has grown in the assessment of student learning outcomes (SLOs) in higher education. Policy-driven, outcomes-oriented reform programs have introduced long-term changes to the higher education sector, particularly in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). International assessments of education first gained importance in primary and secondary education with the First International Mathematics Study (FIMS), carried out in 1964 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). FIMS was followed by a second study (SIMS), and a third that also included science, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Higher education institutions are expected to be accountable for the effectiveness of their courses and study programs; such accountability can be enhanced through information gathered from formative and summative assessments of students' basic generic and domain-specific knowledge and skills, and relevant determinants thereof, such as aptitudes and competencies they bring with them upon entering higher education.
