Examination, grades, and student evaluations! That's what education seems t o he about as far as most students and their teachers are concerned. Some would argue, however, that assessment is an equally important component. Evaluation of student performance is a natural concern, and examinations do provide a measure, albeit somewhat limited, of the probability of success in subsequent work. The use of examinations or tests u)screen students for professional certification and licensing is common in educational syscems, for example, ACS certification for the BS degree in chemistry. Indeed, testing is a legitimate operation where selection, screening, andlor rankina is required, Assessment involves different goals t h a n the process known as "testing". Assessment usuallv denotes a oroeedure that has been designed to provide idformation &out the teaching and learning process in an effort to help improve the effectiveness with which students, faculty, and the institution carry out their work. Ideally, assessment is an internal part of education. In reality, however, assessment oftenoccurs informally-on the fly, in a sense. But, some degree of systemization is essential for assessment to be ma&ally effective. Assessment can he a powerful tool for clarifying student and faculty expectations as well as for increasing student involvement when i t is used to measure imorovement in performance. In this context, improvement is measured not toevaluate thestudent, but toaaina better underutandinaof theeducational process. Such measurement of improvem&t can provide a much more explicit means of maintaining academic standards than do t h e methods currently em: ployed by most institutions. For example, let's assume that the ability to do analytic reasoning is a requirement for awarding the baccalaureate degree. 'resting in the junior or senior year will provide information on the level of skill attainment at that point in the student's career. Assessing the improvement of that student's ability t o reason analytically, on the other hand, requires baseline data such as the results of a pre-test administered to entering freshmen. The results of the pre-test would allow the faculty to provide freshmen a clear indication of how much improvement in their analytic reasoning ability will he necessary to reach the standards required for graduation. A well thought-out assessment program would provide other insights for the fac-
ulty too. An number of broad questions can become apparent in an assessment process. What parts of the curriculum work and which don't? The faculty will he forced to identify the skills they are trying to develop and t o articulate the level of attainment desired. Does the educational process currently in place provide for the acquisition of such skills? Are students attainina the desired skill level? If not. what can be done to change the curriculum? Even if the c k r e n t system of education in a local environment is judged defective in anarea such asanalytic reasoning skillsdevelopment, the simple assessment process described above orovides the basis for revision. Perhaps the faculty have never made an explicit statement regarding analytic skills development. Maybe the topics that are stressed, or the way the subject is taught, do not help students develop analytic skills. Whatever the characteristics we hope to instill in our students, a systematic process of assessment can provide the basis for fine tuning and maximizina of our efforts. Well-conceived assessment procedures can'&ld important information on the "value added" in the educational Drocess. In a sense, the examination developed by the Division of Chemical Education's Examination Institute (the so-called "ACS Exams") for specific chemical suhjects can he used as assessment tools. However, these generally test knowledge in the Bloom sense, and thereforemay not he useful to assess skills a t higher cognitive levels. Prohahly the best way to tie assessment to improvement of teaching and learning is to insure that faculty have a interest in the assessment nrocess. If facultv are .oronrietarv . ~involved in choosing and/or developing the assessment procedures and instruments and in evaluating student responses, they will he more likely to makeappropriate adjustments in their interactionswithstudents.Theoutcomesthe faculty expect from individualcoursesandacademicprogramsmust necessarilv be a~ecifiedfar more oreciselv than thev eenerally are a t present. And, the more precisely the faculty can specify the desired outcomes, the more likely they are t o adjust their teaching approaches to attain those ends. A system of assessment will also provide more meaningful information for student advising and placement. Better haseline information on incoming students should lead to more. realistic and effective academic programs and help identify JJL for students the outcomes the faculty value most.
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Volume 63 Number 6 June 1966
461
