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  • Writer's pictureH. Kuneyl

Assessment is a Guide


Assessment is a core competence for the profession of higher education and student affairs (Berencea, 2015). The ability to understand and conduct assessment is a highly sought after skill in terms of the job market (Lombardi, 2008). Virginia Tech’s higher education masters program requires students to complete six hours of assessment course work within their first academic year. Despite all of this there remains an unwillingness to take part in assessment (Lombardi, 2008). This hesitation may stem from fear of results or from the lack of time to dedicate to implementation and review of assessment results. However, others may argue that it is misunderstanding of the process of assessment that keeps people from participating (Elbow, 1993). For me it is a bit of both, people fear the outcome of assessment and thus refuse to familiarize themselves with the process.

It is true that assessment is hard work and that it takes time to complete. Additionally, it is also true that results of assessment may be disruptive. However, fear of assessment results from misunderstanding of its purpose. Assessment is not meant to weed-out imperfection, but to guide improvement. For example, imagine a person who is trying to learn a new sport. I will imagine that it is baseball as I am most familiar with the rules of the game. Okay, so now the new player is trying to score a run. Perhaps they are a little nervous, but they put on their helmet, gloves, and pick up the bat and practice swinging. Then, the pitcher throws the ball in the strike zone, they swing, and they miss. Is the player then kicked off the team ? No, instead they are provided feedback and given time and space to try again and again until they learn the new skill. Assessment is the same thing, or at least it is for those who embrace its purpose.

Assessment of my abilities is what makes me a better employee. Assessment of my pedagogy is what makes me a better teacher and assessment in the classroom is a tool that I used to aid in learning. I embrace assessment because I know its purpose. The purpose of assessment is to guide learning and learners and not to judge aptitude or worth of an individual.

References


Berenecea, J., Eanes, Fechter, T., Gordon, S. A., Harper, S., Havice, P., Hoffman, J. L., & Osteen,

L. (2015). Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators.https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/ACPA_NASPA_Professional_Compe tencies_FINAL.pdf

Elbow, P. (1993). Ranking, evaluating, and liking: sorting out three forms of judgment. College English, 55(2), 187–206.

Lombardi, M. (2008). Making the Grade: The Role of Assessment in Authentic Learning.


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