The Assessment Cycle

Whether for the purposes of accountability or improvement, assessment should be an iterative process, in which results are used to implement change, then re-assess impacts. Framing projects within a standardized cycle provides context for the similarly iterative process of collaboration between Student Affairs Departments and Assessment & Research. The following framework is adopted from Yousey-Elsener (2013).

Phases

An assessment project typically starts with a purpose, broadly to improve a certain program or prove its value. Purpose informs the logistics of the project, such as resources and timeline. Logistical factors in turn inform the methodology, including instrumentation and data collection methods. Once these first planning phases are complete, new and/or existing data is collected. Assembled data is analyzed and interpreted, sometimes identifying the need for further data collection. Results are organized into a format relevant for stakeholders. If the purpose is accomplished, results are utilized to implement change, whether improving a program or securing new resources. Finally, the effects of this change should be assessed, starting the cycle over again.

The Core

The idea of the core is to remember the mission throughout the cycle. Purpose should clearly come from the mission. However, a department’s mission should also influence decisions about methodology, interpretation, and other phases of the cycle. We’ve expanded the idea of the mission as core to incorporate Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle. Sinek proposes that inspiration comes from a core understanding of why an organization exists. From the why should come how the organization accomplishes what they do in pursuit of the why. This core is ideally evidenced in theory and research and mapped up to the institutional mission and strategic planning.

Application

When Assessment and Research consults with a department, we will organize action steps along this assessment cycle in order to share a consistent context. All projects should, before collecting data, have mutually agreed upon action items proposed for each phase of the cycle. Adaptability will likely be needed somewhere in the process, but not at the expense of intentionality. Beyond the application of the assessment cycle to departmental projects, SAAR’s educational programming will be designed and marketed to address different phases of the assessment cycle. In this manner, we can collaboratively track progress in building Division capacity to comprehensively assess our enrichment of student learning.

• Identify Purpose – what are the goals for your assessment? What questions do you want to answer? What decisions will these answers inform? What change do you want to implement?

• Plan Logistics – what are the limitations on your assessment, including financial and human resources? Is there a particular deadline or deliverable?

• Determine Methodology & build tools – how can you best meet the purposes of the project? What kind of assessment? What kind of tool should be used?

• Gather Data/Evidence – collect existing or new relevant information including numbers, expert opinions, stories, observations, and documents.

• Clean, Analyze, and Interpret – review and prepare your evidence for efficient and valid analysis, address purposes and integrity of findings during interpretation.

• Share Results – organize findings into format appropriate for necessary stakeholders.

• Prove/Improve– utilize findings to maintain or improve a desired outcome, pitch for resources, etc.

Identify Purpose

One of the most critical components of assessing a program, service, or other kind of initiative is to identify the purpose of assessing it. The purpose for pursuing assessment for an initiative usually aligns with goals or outcomes that were designed for that initiative. For instance, an early arrival program for first year students who identify as Hispanic/Latinx could have several student learning outcomes, program outcomes, or administrative outcomes that guide the content and goals of the program. Assessing the program examines whether the outlined goals and outcomes were met. Clearly delineating a purpose will help drive the direction and focus of the assessment cycle for that initiative.

Plan Logistics

After identifying a purpose for the assessment, one should create a clear and thorough plan that outlines specific steps for conducting the assessment. This plan should consider the who, what, when, and how of your assessment. Some things that may be considered are: Who is the target audience, or who needs to be included in this assessment? Who will be reviewing the results? What exactly is being assessed (learning outcomes, success of a program, etc.)? What kinds of methods are being used? Who will perform an analysis? When should the assessment be conducted? What is the timeline? What is the goal of the assessment (prove, improve, or both)? How will the feedback loop be closed?

Determine Methodology & build tools

Identifying a specific set of procedures or methods for which information will be collected, processed, and analyzed usually occurs in this phase of the assessment cycle. This phase also includes selecting and designing an assessment tool with which data will be collected (if data does not already exist). For example, if the goal of an assessment is to determine whether students who participated in a 6-week long training program for an on-campus leadership role met the learning outcomes established for the program, the methodology identifies a plan that may involve developing a quiz, survey, or portfolio (as the assessment tool) and outlining a process by which the data collected will be measured and analyzed.

Gather Data/Evidence

Once a methodology has been defined and assessment tools have been built, the following step would be to gather data or evidence using the created tools. If sufficient data already exists in support of the assessment as outlined in the goals or logistics, it may be unnecessary to duplicate efforts to collect additional data. Examples of activities during this phase may include the administration of a survey or the conduction of interviews or focus groups.

Clean, Analyze, and Interpret

After data is collected, the next step involves cleaning, analyzing, and possibly interpreting the results. Cleaning data may require errors in the data to be corrected, or incomplete/missing data to be removed. Analyzing the data may involve organizing the results using graphs or tables or determining frequencies for closed-ended questions (multiple choice, etc.). Interpretation of results could lead the reviewer to identify trends or patterns in the data, anomalies, differences, etc.

Share Results

Prove/Improve

References

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