can we evaluate the effectiveness of what we do now with an eye toward constantly improving it?" ( A Conversation, 1991).The questions answered in assessment depend on several factors -- in- cluding its purpose, the actors, the timetable, the institutional commitment, and the resources allocated -- but the most important is the educational philosophy driving the enterprise. "Differences in meaning and under- standing of the word assessment tend to be philosophical ones," according to Terenzini ( 1993), who explained that, "Some view assessment as a public policy vehicle, in that it provides a public accounting for the expenditure of public funds, and as having both political and educational dimensions. Others see no direct links to funding issues and consider the primary purpose of quality assessment to be the enhancement of student learning" (p. 4). On the one hand, outcomes assessment may take the form of an end product -- a summative report to an outside agency with the primary purpose of accounting for allocated resources. On the other hand outcomes assessment may be approached as a process of diagnostic, formative, evaluative activities infused into all aspects of learning with the primary purpose of continuous improvement.Whether the purpose is summative, formative, or a little of each, in planning an assessment methodology is an issue. Will it be quantitative, qualitative, or a combination of both? Will it be normative, criterion-refer- enced, or descriptive? Ultimately, no one approach win fit all assessments. That was the conclusion of 12 experts on outcomes assessment invited to a series of six discussions sponsored by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Assessment Forum between 1989 and 1992. The partic- ipants agreed that, "There is no one best way of conducting an assessment. . but effective practices do have features in common" ( Hutchings, 1993, p. 6). In 1992 they issued the document Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning ( 1993), listing nine principles common to all outcomes assessment efforts:
1.
The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.
2.
Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as multidhnensional, integrated, and revealed in perfor- mance over time.
3.
Assessment works best when the programs it seeks to improve have clear, explicitly stated purposes.
4.
Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to the experiences that lead to them.
5.
Assessment works best when it is ongoing, not episodic.
6.
Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from across the educational community are involved.
7.
Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that people really care about.
-4-
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Publication Information: Book Title: Assessing Communication Education: A Handbook for Media, Speech, and Theatre Educators. Contributors: William G. Christ - editor. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Place of Publication: Hillsdale, NJ. Publication Year: 1994. Page Number: 4.
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