Library Resources

Outcomes Assessment Sources

This is an annotated bibliography of sources the CSM library owns on the subject of outcomes assessments. The status of these books may be checked through our card catalog by author, titles or call number. More titles will be added as the collection grows.

Print Sources:

Angelo, Thomas, ed. Classroom Assessment and Research: an update on uses, approaches, and research findings.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.  LB2822.75 .C55 1998.   
New Directions for Teaching and Learning devoted an entire issue of their series to this topic, edited by Thomas Angelo. Three sections; the philosophy, the research and then new directions of classroom research are comprised of individual articles written by experts in the field.  References included at the end of each article.

Angelo, Thomas A. and K. Patricia Cross.  Classroom Assessment Techniques: a handbook for college teachers.  Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 1993. LB2822.75 .A54 1993.   Though this edition was published in 1993, this handbook is one of the largest, most comprehensive sources on assessment. In its 400+ pages, are chapters on "getting started" (which starts off defining classroom assessment), assessment techniques, many examples of successful projects, and "building on what we have learned". Tables include different techniques used for different academic disciplines. Features a complete index.

Astin, Alexander W. Assessment for Excellence: the philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1993.  LB2366.2 .A89 1993.  This book discusses the philosophy of assessment in a college setting, including student inputs and the environment. There is a chapter about how to use assessment results as well as the future of assessments (since this was published in 1993, their future predictions may well be in use now).  Several small tables are included but most of the information comes in densely packed chapters.

Banta, Trudy W. et al. Assessment in Practice: putting principles to work on college campuses.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.  LB2366.2 .A88 1995.   A significant portion of this book is devoted to case studies from colleges and universities. Each school's study explains the goal/assessment to be reached, the method used and the use of findings.  Also included in the book are the principles of assessment and how to make the data meaningful.

Banta, Trudy W. and associates.  Making a Difference: outcomes of a decade of assessment in higher education.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.  LA227.4 .M35 1993.   Making a Difference is split into five parts; each one examines a different aspect of assessment, such as adapting assessments to diverse populations, methods that work, and improving programs and services. Within each part is a separate chapter, authored by a different professional in the education field.

Campbell, Dorothy, et al.  Portfolio and Performance Assessment in Teacher Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.  LB1728 .P667 2000.    The intended audience for this book is educators who want to use portfolios in educating teachers. Chapters describe how to set up a portfolio, how and which types of performance assessments should be used in teacher education, and the assessment of program quality.

Cross, K. Patricia and Thomas A. Angelo. Classroom Assessment Techniques: a handbook for faculty.  Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan, 1998.  LB3051 .C7 1993.   This issue of New Directions for Higher Education discusses the interest in assessing student outcomes that blossomed in the 1980s. Includes four models of assessment, a state university's approach, and California's "master plan" for assessment programs.

Erwin, T. Dary. Assessing Student Learning and Development: a guide to the principles, goals, and methods of determining college outcomes.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991. LB2822.75 .E78.  This book is on the older side (1991) but still provides good information on how to select objectives and methods of student assessment. The preface states it provides a "comprehensive overview of the principles, purposes, practices and uses of assessment." It is divided up into nine fairly short chapters with three appendices at the back, as well as references and an index.

ETS Invitational Conference. Assessment in the Service of Learning: proceedings of the 1987 ETS Invitational Conference.  Princeton, N.J. : Educational Testing Service, 1988.  LB3050.5 .E87 1987.  These are proceedings of ETS' 1987 Conference on assessment. It consists of nine chapters or essays presented by different educators in the field.

Halpern, Diane F.  Student Outcomes Assessment: what institutions stand to gain.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987.  LB2806 .H3 1987.  This book contains three sections. First is why to assess students' outcomes, including a state university's perspective, and how to establish a program.  The second part  gives 4 models of assessment programs, and the last section is about designing programs that work, including a historical perspective and common issues pertaining to assessment.

Hernon, Peter and Robert E. Dugan.  An Action Plan for Outcomes Assessment in Your Library.  Chicago: American Library Association, 2002.  Z675 .U5 H54 2002.  An Action Plan is specifically geared toward the academic library and assessing its students' information literacy skills. Charts, figures and samples of data collection and plans for measuring outcomes are included.

Jacobi, Maryann, Alexander Astin, and Frank Ayala.  College Student Outcomes Assessment: a talent development perspective. Washington, D.C.: Association for the Study of Higher Education, 1987.  LB2806 .J3 1987.  This book looks at assessment from a talent development approach, i.e. placement testing. Administrators can use test scores not only for placement in classes, but in establishing a baseline from which to measure students' subsequent progress made throughout the academic program. Suggestions for conducting assessments, and an investigation into various instruments with which to measure outcomes are included.

Jones, Elizabeth A. and Richard A. Voorhees, preparers.  Defining and Assessing Learning: exploring competency-based initiatives: report of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Working Group on Competency-Based Initiatives in Postsecondary Education.  Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Education, 2002.  LC1032 .D4 2002.  This working group was charged with reviewing the use of assessment across postsecondary education, reporting the data of competency-based initiatives in institutions of higher learning and their connection to student learning, demonstrating the importance of such initiatives, and establishing a set of principles for defining and measuring competencies. This report is the outcome of their work.

Kleinert, Harold L. and Jacqui Farmer Kearns.  Alternate Assessment: measuring outcomes and supports for students with disabilities.  Baltimore, Md.: P.H. Brookes Pub. Co., 2001.  LC4019 .K543 2001.  This is one of our most up to date sources on assessment, a comprehensive guide to measuring assessments for students with disabilities. Chapters include information on creating individualized education programs (IEPs), how to implement and integrate assistive technology into the curriculum and assessment programs, the role of social relationships and studying the impact of alternate assessment. Many graphs, charts and examples are included.

Lidz, Carol Schneider. Improving Assessment of Schoolchildren.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981.  LB3051 .L468 1981.   Each phase of the assessment process is detailed in this book - referral, interviewing, testing, interpreting test results, and report writing.  The last chapter is about anticipating future trends which may already be past trends since its publication was over 20 years ago.

Miller, Richard I.  The Assessment of College Performance.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979.  LB2331.62 .M54.  As one of the older titles in this collection, Miller's book can be used in part as a historical perspective of the use of college assessment.  The techniques may have been improved on over the years, but some of the same issues still apply such as measuring accountability, and evaluating existing academic programs.

Nichols, James O.  A Practitioner's Handbook for Institutional Effectiveness and Student Outcomes Assessment Implementation.  New York: Agathon Press, 1995.  LB2331.63 .N54 1995.  This handbook is for educators who are setting up programs for institutional effectiveness and outcomes assessment. The ideas outlined in this book, with contributions from many different professionals in the field, lead to what they call a "long term implementation and not a 'quick fix'".

Nichols, James O. General Education Assessment for Improvement of Student Academic Achievement: guidance for academic departments and committees.  Bronx, NY: Agathon Press, 2001.  LB2366.2 .N53.  This recent title discusses assessment for "core courses" that all college students must take as part of their graduation requirements. The preface states that this is a good practical guide for committees who are charged with assessing general education programs. Several flow-chart type figures are included.

Ravitch, Diane and Chester E. Finn, Jr. What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know?: a report on the first national assessment of history and literature.  New York: Harper & Row, 1987.  E175.8 .R38 1987.

Sedlacek, William E.  Beyond the Big Test.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.  LB2351.2 .S43 2004.  The author presents a non-cognitive method of assessment for incoming college students that challenges the traditional method of using SATs and other standardized tests. Chapters include a noncognitive assessment model, how to teach a diverse student body successfully and how to design and evaluate campus programs using noncognitive variables.

Simon, Charlann S., ed. Assessment of Language-learning Disabled Students.  San Diego, Calif.: College-Hill Press, 1985.  RJ496 .L35 A87.

Trillin, Alice Stewart and associates.  Teaching Basic Skills in College: [a guide to objectives, support services, and administration]. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980.  LC1035.6 .T4.  There are five sections to this book; the first four chapters define and explore skill-level, diagnosis and placement, course levels and instructional methods of writing, reading, English as a Second Language and math. The last chapter is about program evaluation - collecting data, measuring and evaluating learning and implementation of assessment. The City University of New York is used as a model throughout the book.

Walvoord, Barbara E. Assessment Clear and Simple. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.  LB2822.75 .W35 2004.  This guide is very plainly laid out with several charts and graphs, and easy to read. It gives detailed steps on how to make assessment easy, cost-efficient and how to meet requirements of the governing agencies.  Among its many appendices is a general education assessment matrix that would be useful for any institution.

Wiggins, Grant. Educative Assessment: designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.   LB3051 .W495 1998.  This book is split into four parts: "essential elements of assessment", "designing assessments", "applications and implications", and "changing the system", essentially walking the reader through the process of developing an assessment program.  Also included is a table of contents to the many tables and figures which will prove very helpful for those who appreciate visual explanations of the topic at hand. Wiggins' longtime experience with student assessment has led to a very comprehensive guide.

Zucker, Brian J., Chantell C. Johnson and Thomas A. Flint.  Prior Learning Assessment: a guidebook to American institutional practices.  Chicago: Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, 1999.  LC45.4 .Z83 1999.  Prior learning assessment (PLA), assessment of skills learned before a student reaches his/her current environment, is the topic of this book.  It is a guide to what the best methods are, who uses PLA and future research in the field.

 Internet Sources:

Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment.  Created and maintained by North Carolina State University. It contains links to other sites' handbooks, list-servs, article archives as well as other educational institutions' assessment related webpages.

Directory of Online Resources for Information Literacy: Assessment.  Edited by a Librarian at the University of South Florida. It is a bibliography of assessment websites.