1. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment This taxonomy has been used with permission from the Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6 (November/December 1989), p. 648. Copyright 1989 by The Ohio State University Press. All rights reserved.

2. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment The ‘who’ of assessment is determined by understanding the assessment question. Will the question require data on all students in all target groups (e.g., freshman, sophomores, majors, etc.) or can the question be answered by collecting data on strategically determined samples of the student population for the purpose of making inferences about the population? How are the data going to be used? If data are going to be used to make an evaluation of individual students, then the target is individual students and not groups of students. For an explanation of the different elements, click on the mouse to advance through the model.

3. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment The ‘why’ of assessment is related to how the data are going to be used. Are data going to be used for the purpose of identifying issues that need to be addressed during the educational process so corrections can be made while the student is progressing through the program (formative assessment)? Or, are the data going to be used to determine whether or not the end goals for student learning have been met (summative assessment)? This can be viewed as the difference between class quizzes and midterms (formative) v. final examinations (summative).

4. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment The ‘what’ of assessment refers to the object of the assessment activities. Is assessment focused on collecting data on student knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and/or behaviors? Assessment of these characteristics can take place in any of the four quadrants

5. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment In this quadrant individual students are being assessed for the purpose of understanding individual needs and competencies. Most institutions test incoming students to determine special needs so they can be placed in classes which maximize the likelihood of their success by making early educational adjustments (formative assessment).

6. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment In this quadrant the results for individual students are aggregated to identify the characteristics of a given cohort (e.g., incoming freshmen, underrepresented minorities, athletes, etc.). These data are used for the purpose of determining the types of services or programs that may need to be offered to enhance the likelihood of academic success. These services might include such things as providing additional tutoring services, remedial courses, advanced classes, or a review of admissions processes.

7. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment In this quadrant individual students are being assessed for the purpose of determining their individual success in achieving a predetermined standard of performance. This type of testing is a ‘high stakes’ assessment as it determines the individual student’s ability to progress in a given area.

8. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment In this quadrant data are collected to determine the success of a cohort of students (e.g., seniors, business majors, fraternity members) in achieving success toward achieving predetermined goals for performance for academic achievement. The assessment is generally designed to evaluate the effectiveness of institutional services and programs. Data may be gathered during the time of study or after graduation depending on the focus of the assessment.

9. Competency-Based Instruction Assessment-Based Curriculum Individual Perf. Tests Placement Advanced Placement Tests Vocational Preference Tests Other Diagnostic Tests “Gatekeeping” Admissions Tests Rising Junior Exams Comprehensive Exams Certification Exams Campus and Program Evaluation Program Reviews Retention Studies Alumni Studies “Value-added” Studies Program Enhancement Individual assessment-- results may be aggregated to serve program evaluation needs Level of Assessment (Who?) Individual Group KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE SKILLSSKILLS ATTITUDES&VALUESATTITUDES&VALUES BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Object of Assessment (What?) Learning/Teaching (Formative) Accountability (Summative) Purpose of Assessment (Why?) (Terenzini, JHE Nov/Dec 1989) Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment This taxonomy has been used with permission from the Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6 (November/December 1989), p. 648. Copyright 1989 by The Ohio State University Press. All rights reserved.