Policies and procedures that ensure that data are regularly collected, compiled, aggregated, summarized, analyzed and used to make improvements.
The School of Leadership and Education Sciences has adopted a policy of an annual cycle of program assessment that has become part of the Faculty and Personnel Handbook. The text of that policy follows:
All programs in the School of Leadership and Education conduct a cycle of annual assessment. Facilitated by the Director of Assessment Support, every program establishes and publishes student learning outcomes and develops a curriculum map to determine appropriate points in the program to assess candidate development related to those outcomes. Results from these assessment measures are gathered by the Office of Assessment Support and annually brought back to program faculty where they examine how well candidates are progressing in the outcome areas. Revisions may be made to the curriculum, to course content, and/or to assessment measures. Action plans for the next academic year are put into place.
A record of the annual cycle of assessment for each masters level program is kept in the TaskStream Accountability Management System (AMS), which is maintained by the Office of Assessment Support.
Initial Programs
As noted in Standard 2 Exhibit 1, there is a set cycle of assessment in place for initial teacher credential programs that ensures that data are collected, compiled, aggregated, analyzed, summarized ad used to make improvements. All programs that are reviewed and certified by the state of California follow this process:
- Review of California Standards for the area of focus (i.e., preliminary elementary education, preliminary secondary education, preliminary special education, pupil personnel services: school counseling, preliminary administrative services, professional administrative services).
- Development of course level student learning outcomes that relate to the program mission and the California Standards.
- Curriculum mapping to determine points of instruction and assessment related to California Standards.
- Determination of appropriate midpoint and exit assessments to address the standards-based student learning outcomes. Additional points of assessment recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) are implemented for the special education program.
- Data collection by faculty and use of the Performance Assessment of California Teachers (PACT) for elementary and secondary teacher credential candidates.
- Additional data are pulled from state records for candidates who have to pass a specific test (CSET, RICA).
- Data analysis and summary by Director of Assessment Support.
- Meeting of faculty and Director of Assessment Support to review results and determine action items.
- Changes are made as appropriate and data are collected in the next annual cycle to determine if the changes are effective.
Advanced Programs
The assessment process for all advanced master’s programs includes these common elements:
- Development of program level student learning outcomes.
- Development of course level student learning outcomes that relate to the program mission and the program level student learning outcomes.
- Curriculum mapping to determine points of instruction and assessment related to program level student learning outcomes.
- Determination of appropriate midpoint and exit assessments to address the program level student learning outcomes.
- Data collection by faculty.
- Data analysis and summary by director of Assessment Support.
- Meeting of faculty and Director of Assessment Support to review results and determine action items.
- Changes are made as appropriate and data are collected in the next annual cycle to determine if the changes are effective.