Miami Dade College determined that 1) the best approach to assess general
education outcomes for a college with seven campuses and approximately 2,000
graduates for each of the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (approximately 6,000
graduates annually from the Associate and Baccalaureate programs) was to identify
students who would be completing their general education requirements and/or be
eligible to graduate at the end of a given term, 2) development of general education
assessment tasks and the scoring of student responses to these tasks by faculty was
critical to the assessment process, and 3) faculty scoring of the student responses by
means of a rubric would provide results that would identify strengths and opportunities
for improvement in student attainment of the general education outcomes.
Content:
Validation of Assessment Tasks and Scoring Rubrics
General Education Outcomes Assessment Process
Future Reporting of General Education Outcomes Assessment Results
Validation of Assessment Tasks and Scoring Rubrics
A retreat occurred September 29-30, 2006 for the faculty who represented the
campuses and disciplines and who accepted the Provost for Academic and Student
Affairs´ invitation to serve on the General Education Assessment Team. The retreat was
facilitated by three consultants, Mr. Pat Nellis, Valencia Community College; Dr.
Virginia Johnson, Towson State University; and Dr. Robert Mayes, University of
Wyoming, who assisted the General Education Assessment Team in the construction of
assessment tasks and scoring rubrics based on scoring rubrics utilized at other institutions
and examples provided by the consultants. The faculty agreed with the suggestion of the
consultants that the scoring rubric categories be positive. The faculty also determined
based on examination of rubrics used by other community colleges and universities that
there should be four categories — emerging, developing, proficient, and exemplary.
Most tasks developed by the faculty assessed multiple general education
outcomes as indicated in the following table.
| General Education Outcome |
Task 1 (Response on Computer |
Task 2 (Paper and Pencil) |
Task 3 (Oral Presentation) |
Task 4 (Paper and Pencil) |
Task 5 (Paper and Pencil) |
CSP Test |
| Communicate
effectively
using listening,
speaking,
reading, and
writing skills. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
| Use
quantitative
analytical
skills to
evaluate and
process
numerical
data. |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
| Solve problems
using critical
and creative
thinking and
scientific
reasoning. |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
|
| Demonstrate
knowledge of
diverse
cultures,
including
global and
historical
perspectives. |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
| Create strategies
that can be used
to fulfill
personal, civic,
and social
responsibilities. |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
| Demonstrate
knowledge of
ethical thinking
and its
application to
issues in
society. |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
| Use computer
and emerging
technologies
effectively. |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
| Demonstrate
an
appreciation
for aesthetics
and creative
activities. |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
| Describe how
natural systems
function and
recognize the
impact of
humans on the
environment. |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
Students in each selected class were given one of the tasks to complete during the
50 minute class period. The content of each task is described below.
| |
Task 1: Asks the student to read information about oil extraction in the local
environment and respond on a computer to three prompts about the proposed
drilling for oil. |
| |
Task 2: Asks the student to read and interpret four charts concerning international
energy consumption. |
| |
Task 3: Asks the student to prepare and give a response orally to an ethical
dilemma. |
| |
Task 4: Asks the student to choose one of the following groups of work:
architecture, literature, or visual arts, and respond to three prompts about the
creativity, beauty, and cultural perspective of the work. |
| |
Task 5: Asks the student to respond to three prompts about information literacy. |
Based on the results of a field test conducted for the general education outcomes
assessment, MDC determined that the assessment of the general education outcome
pertaining to the use of emerging computer technologies was better assessed through the
on-line Computer Skills Placement Test, developed and distributed by ICDL. This test is
administered in the Campus Testing Departments and is also used by MDC to determine
proficiency of computer skills for students who wish to test out of the MDC computer
course for general education purposes.
Concurrent with the general education outcomes approval by the College
Academic and Student Support Council, a general education outcomes assessment
process was developed and implemented as described below:
(top)
General Education Outcomes Assessment Process
The general education outcomes assessment process adheres to this schedule. |
Year 1 |
|
June |
Faculty selected to a General Education Assessment Team (appointed by
the Provost for Academic and Student Affairs) to review general education
assessment tasks and scoring rubrics for each general education outcome.
The Team creates working groups for this purpose. |
September |
Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment selects student sample of
sufficient size to obtain completed tasks for at least 10% of potential term
graduates. The selected students will be assessed using three of the tasks.
Students will be selected from the pool of students who will have
completed 100% of general education and degree requirements by the end
of the Fall Semester. Classes in which students are enrolled are identified
and faculty of these classes are invited to assign general education
assessment tasks to the class. Invited faculty will meet and be briefed by
the Provost for Academic and Student Affairs about their role. The
General Education Assessment Team will also emphasize the importance
of validity in the administration of the assessment tasks. During the
briefing, faculty will be asked to review the tasks and rubrics so they can
see specifically what they are being asked to administer. |
November |
The Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment in conjunction with the
Academic Deans distributes General Education Assessment Tasks to
selected faculty who assign the tasks to their classes.
Completed Assessment Tasks are returned by the faculty to their Campus
Academic Deans, who will forward to the Director of Learning Outcomes
Assessment. Tasks for selected students are pulled, names removed, and
identifier codes assigned in preparation for the scoring sessions.
General Education Assessment Team through its Working Groups utilizes
scoring rubrics to assess student responses to the assessment tasks. The
Working Groups will consist of two faculty who are trained to score
student work for each task with the scoring rubrics. In cases where faculty
ratings do not agree, a third faculty will score the student work with the
two common scores used to determine the final rating. |
December |
General Education Assessment Team completes assessment of tasks and
forwards rubric assessments to the Director of Learning Outcomes
Assessment.
The Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment begins to compile report
of General Education Assessment results. |
Year 2 |
|
January |
Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment selects student sample of
sufficient size to obtain completed tasks for at least 10% of potential term
graduates. The selected students will be assessed using the remaining two
tasks and the Computer Skills Placement Test. Students will be selected
from the pool of students who will have completed 100% of general
education and degree requirements by the end of the Fall Semester.
Classes in which students are enrolled are identified and faculty of these
classes are invited to assign general education assessment tasks to the
class. Invited faculty will meet and be briefed by the Provost for
Education about their role. The General Education Assessment Team will
also convey how important this is, how they need to find ways to motivate
students and establish as much consistency as possible in administration.
During the briefing, faculty will be asked to review the tasks and rubrics
so they can see specifically what they are being asked to administer. |
February |
The Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment completes compiling
results from Fall Semester. |
March |
Assessment Results shared by the General Education Assessment and the
Directors of Learning Outcomes Assessment with CASSC, Academic
Deans, Student Deans, and at Conference Day. Action plans developed by
the General Education Assessment Team in collaboration with the
Academic Deans.
The Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment, in conjunction with the
Campus Academic Deans, distributes General Education Assessment
Tasks to selected faculty who assign the tasks to their classes.
Completed Assessment Tasks are returned by the faculty to their Campus
Academic Dean, who will forward to the Director of Learning Outcomes
Assessment. Tasks for selected students are pulled, names removed, and
identifier codes assigned in preparation for the scoring sessions.
General Education Assessment Team through its Working Groups utilizes
scoring rubrics to assess student responses to the assessment tasks. The
Working Groups will consist of two faculty who are trained to score
student work for each task with the scoring rubrics. In cases where faculty
ratings do not agree, a third faculty will score the student work with the
two common scores used to determine the final rating. |
April |
General Education Assessment Team completes assessment of tasks and
forwards rubric assessments to the Director of Learning Outcomes
Assessment. |
(top)
Future Reporting of General Education Outcomes Assessment Results
In the third year of implementation, the cycle of reporting is as follows. |
Fall/Spring |
General Education Outcomes Assessment Conducted. |
February |
Assessment Results from the previous Spring and Fall
Semesters will be reported by the General Education
Assessment Team with assistance from the Director of
Learning Outcomes Assessment to the General Education
Committee, Academic Deans, Student Deans and CASSC. |
March |
Assessment Results reported by the General Education
Assessment Team with assistance from the Director of
Learning Outcomes Assessment during Conference
Day. |
Spring—Summer |
Action Plans developed by the General Education
Committee and General Education Assessment Team in
collaboration with the Academic and Student Deans. |
Several indirect measures will also be considered in the assessment of general education
outcomes.
Level 2 Grade Reports: The Florida state universities have developed an Academic
Learning Compact to assess the domains of communication, critical thinking, and
discipline content knowledge of graduates of programs offered at the state universities.
The Department of Education provides to Miami Dade College a level 2 report that
compares MDC transfer students and native state university students´ grade performance
in their selected major. These reports will be examined by MDC.
MDC Graduate Survey: Items on the MDC graduate survey asking respondents about
their attainment of general education outcomes will be considered. The survey is
administered by Institutional Research.
Community College Survey of Student Engagement and Faculty Survey of Student
Engagement: These national surveys contain items about student engagement with best
practices that encourage student learning in a variety of areas including general education
outcomes.
Schools/Disciplines Annual Reports: An item will be included in these annual reports
asking the School or Discipline about its contribution to and course or sequence level
assessment of general education outcomes.
Program Review: The MDC Program Review Questionnaire will include an item about
assessment of general education outcomes of the program´s students.
(top)
|
