Teagle Assessment Scholar Program Outcomes

In the Teagle Assessment Scholar Program, scholars have the opportunity to participate in development activities designed to help them improve the skills necessary for helping institutions use evidence to improve student learning. These skills include the following:

• The ability to understand different forms of assessment evidence and effectively communicate their meaning to a range of audiences. Specifically, Teagle Scholars will:
  • Be able to read and understand summary quantitative and qualitative assessment reports, including (1) summary reports from standardized surveys and outcome measures as well as (2) institutional summaries from accreditation, departmental assessment reports, reports from institutional information systems, and classroom assessments.
  • When we say understand, we do not mean that Teagle Assessment Scholars should necessarily be able to understand the details of multivariate analyses or grounded theory approach to qualitative analyses. Instead, they should be able to glean actionable information from these summary reports and have a sense of what the evidence both does and does not suggest.
  • Be able to clearly explain summary assessment evidence to individuals with different kinds and levels of academic training. They will be able to explain the meaning of assessment evidence without relying on assessment jargon and be able to articulate what the assessment evidence does and does not explain.
  • Be able to look across data from various sources (e.g., quantitative data from different survey reports, qualitative data from conversations with students, faculty, and administrators), find patterns and common themes, develop narratives about the institution and its students from the combined data, and explore and refine these narratives in conversations with representatives from an institution.
• The ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, and administrators from colleges and universities to identify actions that will improve student learning. Specifically, Teagle Scholars will:
  • Be acquainted with the range of institutional types and the variety of roles that people play across institutions.
  • Be familiar with different approaches to faculty development at institutions.
  • Be acquainted with the range of governance structures existing within and across different types of institutions.
  • Be able to differentiate between the kinds of institutional responses that require the engagement of formal institutional governance (i.e., consideration and approval by standing committees, actions that need to be voted on by faculty) versus those that can be enacted by simple administrative action.
  • Be able to ask questions of institutional representatives that help bring to the surface the governance structures, individual roles, and administrative processes that function at an institution.
  • Be able to ask questions that reveal the tacit assumptions behind an institution’s structures, processes, and professed strengths and weaknesses.
  • Be able to suggest simple follow-up actions that can clarify the meaning of ambiguous assessment evidence.
  • Be able to work with students, faculty, staff, and administrators to identify a small number of relevant and actionable findings from their accumulated assessment evidence.
• An understanding of the broader trends and events that influence an institution's capacity and interest in using evidence to improve student learning. Specifically, Teagle Scholars will:
  • Be familiar with a range of national organizations that represent different segments of US higher education.
  • Be familiar with the governance structure and administration of accreditation.
  • Be conversant in the national conversation about assessment and accountability.
• The ability to work collaboratively with other Teagle Scholars to help institutions improve student learning. Drawing on the skills described above, Teagle Scholars will be able to work in collaboration with other Teagle Scholars to:
  • Develop an understanding of what they know, as well as what they don’t know, about the institutions and evidence with which they are working, and realize when they need to ask questions and consult with others.
  • Form sound recommendations about next steps an institution can take to improve student learning.