LSAC Academic Assistance Training Workshop June 13 – 16, 2012 OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT – THE BASICS Janet W. Fisher Suffolk University Law School

Outcomes Assessment is about continuously improving student learning.

Intended outcomes for this session By the conclusion of this session we will: 1.Understand some basic Outcomes Assessment concepts and terminology 2.Share information about what is happening in Outcomes Assessment at our law schools 3.Reflect upon how Outcomes Assessment connects with our work in academic assistance

What is the conceptual foundation of Outcomes Assessment?

Outcomes Assessment involves a fundamental shift in emphasis from measuring inputs (such as faculty credentials, technology, test scores of incoming students, and content coverage in the classroom) to measuring student outcomes (what our students are actually learning).

Outcomes Assessment asks, “What are the intended learning outcomes of this institution/program/course and are our students achieving those outcomes?”

Outcomes Assessment can be done at any level of education institutional programmatic course and ideally is done at all three levels.

Steps in Outcomes Assessment 1.Setting student learning outcomes 2.Determining where in the curriculum or course this learning will happen 3.Gathering information about how well students are achieving the outcomes 4.Using that information to take action to improve student learning

Step #1 Setting the student learning outcomes Learning outcomes are usually categorized as: Cognitive: knowledge and thinking skills Behavioral: performance skills Affective: perspectives and values

Step # 1 continued To set the learning outcomes ask: “What should students know and be able to do and what attitudes and values should shape their work at the conclusion of this degree/program/course?

Step #2 Determine where in the curriculum or course this learning will happen. This is called curriculum mapping.

Step #3 Design measures to gather information about how well students are achieving the outcomes. These measures can be direct or indirect.

Direct measures: those in which students demonstrate their learning (e.g. traditional exams, writing samples, portfolios, clinical or capstone performances) Indirect measures: involve reports of student learning from students themselves or others (e.g. follow-up surveys of graduates or employers, focus groups)

Step #4 Use the gathered information to improve student learning There should be a system in place to review and analyze the information and make sure that it reaches the appropriate decision makers.

Outcomes Assessment is a loop of continuously setting learning outcomes, designing curriculum, gathering information and then using that information to improve student learning.

How would course-based Outcomes Assessment work?

Backward Design A number of authors have written about backward design, a/k/a teaching by design, including L. Dee Fink, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, and Michael Hunter Schwartz. See “Resources for Getting Started in Outcomes Assessment” on the workshop flashdrive.

Steps in Backward Design 1.Set the learning outcomes for the course 2.Decide how to assess whether the student are achieving the learning outcomes 3.Plan the course materials and teaching and learning experiences that will prepare student to achieve the outcomes.

Start by deciding not what to “cover” but what you want your students to know and to be able to do and what perspectives or values you wish them to develop by the end of the course.

The course assessments should be designed to measure how well students are achieving/have achieved the course outcomes and should be both formative and summative.

Formative assessments provide students with feedback to help them improve their performance as the course progresses. Summative assessments provide students with evaluative feedback such as a grade.

Is legal education a pioneer in Outcomes Assessment?

“[i]n the history of legal education in the United States, there is no record of any concerted effort to consider what new lawyers should know or be able to do on their first day in practice or to design a program of instruction to achieve those goals.” R OY S TUCKEY ET AL., B EST P RACTICES FOR L EGAL E DUCATION : A V ISION AND A R OAD M AP 3 (2007).

Will the ABA require law schools to engage in Outcomes Assessment?

The ABA likely will require law schools to: 1.Articulate learning outcomes for the institution 2.Design a curriculum that will produce graduates who are competent in the outcomes 3.Use formative and summative assessment methods to provide meaningful feedback to students 4.Gather, review and use information on student learning as a measure of institutional effectiveness

What is happening in Outcomes Assessment at your law school?

How does Outcomes Assessment connect with our work in academic assistance?

A law school with a culture of assessment is one in which we would regularly ask ourselves, “What are my students supposed to be learning?” and “How can I help them to learn more effectively?”

Please complete the session evaluation form. Thank you.