Rob, As one who has drunk the water (I'm in charge of the assessment and accreditation "stuff" on my campus), let me answer you in the way that I would answer that question from my faculty. Grades ARE a measure of student learning. The problem with using course grades for assessment purposes is that a course grade contains many elements - several different learning outcomes, perhaps some other things, too (participation, attendance, etc.). So, when trying to measure a single outcome, I want to see student work that is more specific to that outcome, and grades are a broader measure.
The other issue with grades is that they label an amount of learning within a course, but not necessarily across courses (or even students). So, if I looked at a grade distribution for your course, I would know which students had done better than others, but I wouldn't necessarily know (as an outsider) how much or exactly what they had learned. So, I would want to see a student work product (or aggregate data from a rubric that measured a specific student work product from multiple students). I have, unfortunately, heard that "grades don't measure learning" from enough people to recognize that it is being said - but it is wrong. The issue is that grades are too "macro" for a specific student learning outcome. --Catherine ********************************************************************** Catherine M. Wehlburg, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness TCU Box 297098 -- Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX 76129 Phone: (817) 257-5298 Fax: (817) 257-7173 Email: [email protected] Website: www.assessment.tcu.edu From: Rob Weisskirch [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:58 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Assessment of learning, not grades? TIPSfolk, Our university has jumped on the assessment bandwagon and those who have drunk the kool-aid talk about "assessment of student learning" and looking at student evidence. I continue to ask why looking at grade distribution is not an indicator of learning. The response is that grades are not an accurate reflection of learning Assuming that there are no points for participation or attendance, shouldn't final grades be an indicator of how much students are learning? If we engage in good practices like using rubrics and norming grading of assignments, shouldn't grades be a reflection of learning? Thanks for any insight, Rob Rob Weisskirch, MSW. Ph.D. Professor 90.77% Furlough 9.23% Associate Professor of Human Development Certified Family Life Educator Liberal Studies Department California State University, Monterey Bay 100 Campus Center, Building 82C Seaside, CA 93955 (831) 582-5079 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential, privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy or disclose any information contained in the message. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
