In CARS, we think of the assessment process as an ongoing cycle, in which assessment of student learning outcomes is used to improve programming. Student learning outcomes are things we want students (or program participants) to know, think, or do upon completing the offered program. For more information on the assessment cycle, see the resources below. The following sections include resources for each step of the cycle.

JMU Rubrics/Instruments

• JMU Integrative Critical Thinking Rubric
• JMU Writing Rubric
• JMU Rubric for Academic Presentations
• JMU Student Opinion Scale (SOS)

Please see our Examples of Learning Improvement for examples of how JMU programs have used assessment result to improve their courses, activities, and other programming components.

Assessment Cycle

            Video: An Overview of the Assessment Cycle
            Slides: Workshop on the Assessment Cycle

Step 1: Writing Learning Outcome Objectives

            Video: Writing Objectives
            Handout: Writing Clear Objectives, the ABCD Method
            Handout: Common Mistakes in Writing Objectives
            Handout: The Do’s and Dont’s of Objective Writing
            Handout: Checklist for Effective Objectives
            Slides: Objective Writing Workshop

 Step 2: Mapping Objectives to Programming

            Video: Program Theory
            Video: Mapping Objectives to Program Components

  Step 3: Selecting and/or Designing Instruments

            Video: Selecting/Designing Instruments
            Handout: Overview of Selecting/Designing Instruments 
            Handout: How to Find Pre-existing Instruments 
            Handout: Comprehensive Guide to Selecting and Designing Instruments 
            Slides: Overview of Writing Instrument Items 
            Slides: Item Writing Workshop 
            Video: Designing and Using Rubrics 

  Step 4: Collecting Data on Learning Outcomes and Implementation Fidelity

            Video: Collecting Data on Learning Outcomes
            Video: Evaluating Implementation Fidelity 
            Video: Introduction to Implementation Fidelity 
            Slides: Implementation Fidelity Workshop with an Applied Example 
            Article: Measuring Implementation Fidelity (Gerstner & Finney, 2013)
            Article: Importance of Implementation Fidelity (Fisher, Smith, Finney, & Pinder, 2014)   

 Step 5: Analyzing Data

            Video: Analyzing Student Learning Outcomes Data 

Step 6: Using Assessment Results to Improve Programming and Learning Outcomes

            Video: Using Assessment Results