~ Trudy W. Banta, Jon P. Lund, Karen E. Black, Frances W. Oblander

About the Book:

Good practice in assessment is taking place on hundreds of campuses across the country. Yet most accounts of this work go unreported or are widely dispersed, published in the literature of dozens of academic disciplines. Now, Assessment in Practice brings together in one volume the best current knowledge of assessment methods that work and principles that should be incorporated into all effective assessment efforts--whether at institutional, program, or departmental levels.

Drawing from 165 actual cases--and including 86 of them in their entirety, in the words of those who developed them--the authors illustrate methods and techniques covering a wide range of assessment objectives in diverse types of institutions. Classroom assessment topics, for instance, include mathematics, foreign language, technology, and more. Topics on overall institutional effectiveness range from student motivation in standardized testing to a multiple-campus, course-embedded approach to assessment of general education. The authors provide a helpful cross-referencing system that enables readers to access cases by assessment objective, institutional type, and measurement method. And they include numerous forms, questionnaires, and contact names to help practitioners implement the book's strategies.

About the Authors:

Trudy W. Banta is Professor of Higher Education and Vice Chancellor for Planning and Institutional Improvement at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.  She is coauthor of Assessment in Practice and Making a Difference, and founding editor of Assessment Update (a Jossey-Bass bimonthly newsletter). Jon P. Lund is director of residence life at Luther College and a doctoral candidate in higher education at Indiana University Bloomington. Karen E. Black is assistant to the vice chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and managing editor of Assessment Update. Frances W. Oblander is an educational consultant and assistant editor of Assessment Update.

Contents:

Part One: Identifying Principles of Good Practice in Assessment

1. Assessment: It Starts with What Matters Most
2. An Imaginative Consideration of Learning
3. The Road to Success is Paved with Goals
4. It´s Not Only Where They End Up, But How They Get There
5. Assessment Doesn´t Just Happen, It Evolves
6. Involvement in Assessment: A Collaborative Endeavor
7. Making Data Meaningful
8. The Important Part is What You Do with It
9. Accountability: The Train Is Leaving the Station
10. Perhaps There Are Ten

Part Two: Examples of Effective Assessment Practices

11. Assessing Student Achievement in the Major
12. Assessing Student Achievement in General Education
13. Assessing Student Development and Progress
14. Assessment at the Classroom Level
15. Faculty Development to Promote Assessment
16. Developing a Campuswide Approach to the Assessment of Institutional Effectiveness
17. Has Assessment Made a Difference?

Ordering Information:

Assessment in Practice:
Putting Principles to Work on College Campuses
Trudy W. Banta, Jon P. Lund, Karen E. Black, Frances W. Oblander
ISBN: 0-7879-0134-2
416 pages
October, 1995
URL: www.josseybass.com