The following resources range from book citations to short articles on academic assessment. These resources address topics such as classroom assessment techniques, accreditation and writing student-learning outcomes.

To request additions to this list, please email us your suggestions.

Guides for Designing Assessment

• Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education , by Catherine Palomba and Trudy Banta
  Assessment Essentials provides a comprehensive overview of academic assessment, starting with developing a plan and concluding with suggestions on reporting assessment results to various constituencies (e.g., accreditors). Assessment Essentials is available in the Penrose Library collection.
• Assessment Clear and Simple , by Barbara Walvoord
  Walvoord's guide includes chapters written especially for departments and programs, for those assessing general education, and for institution-wide planners. The appendices also include sample rubrics and a number of examples of departmental goals. Assessment Clear and Simple is available in the Penrose Library collection.
• Designing Effective Assessment, by Trudy Banta, Elizabeth Jones and Karen Black
  This book offers a set of principles for good practice in academic assessment and many examples of those principles in practice. The examples are broken down into categories that offer specific insights for undergraduate programs, graduate programs, general education and more.
• Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, by Linda Suskie
  Suskie's book provides a step-by-step guide to academic assessment, including an introduction to assessment, a guide to planning assessment (including suggestions on developing a culture of assessment), examples of assessment tools for many purposes and a discussion of how to translate assessment results into meaningful action.
• Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses , by L.D. Fink
  Creating Significant Learning Experiences is available in the Penrose Library collection.
• The NPEC Sourcebook on Assessment
  The National Postsecondary Education Cooperative put together this highly detailed, comprehensive sourcebook on assessment in 2000. Volume 1 covers the assessment of critical thinking, problem-solving and writing skills (including in-depth discussion of measurement problems, recommended approaches and sample rubrics). Volume 2 supplies several case studies of colleges and universities developing, implementing and adapting in response to assessment programs.
• A guide to the assessment design process
  This is a guide to developing assessments, with an emphasis on rater training and reliability—drawn from A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment, by Jeffrey L. Herman, Pamela R. Aschbacher and Lynn Winters.
• Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning (PDF)
  These principles, developed by the American Association of Higher Education's Assessment Forum, provide valuable guidelines for developing academic assessments.

Accreditation

• Student Learning, Assessment, and Accreditation (PDF)
  The Higher Learning Commission issued this statement on how assessment relates to accreditation.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Student Learning Outcomes: A Faculty Resource on Development and Assessment
  The University of Washington provides this good overview of the purpose, development and implementation of student learning outcomes.
• Writing Student Learning Outcomes (PDF)
  We've provided this guide to writing effective, meaningful and measurable student learning outcomes for any level of assessment.

Classroom Assessment Techniques

• Two articles on CATs—CTL Newsletter, winter 2009 (PDF)
  This article discusses the value and use of CATs, accompanied by a discussion of implementing CATs with Blackboard.
• 50 Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers , by Angelo and Cross (1993) (PDF)
  This is an extensive list of possible CATs techniques.
• Six Examples of the Fifty Angelo & Cross Classroom Assessment Techniques (PDF)
  Use these quick techniques for assessment at the course level.
• Assessing Learning in the Classroom , by J. McTighe and S. Ferrara
  Assessing Learning in the Classroom is available in the Penrose Library collection.
• Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers , by T.A. Angelo and P. Cross
  Classroom Assessment Techniques is available in the Penrose Library collection.

Other Resources

The Office of Assessment at North Carolina State University maintains a comprehensive page of assessment resources.