Write Assessment Reports
An Assessment Report is the culmination of the assessment cycle. In it you will document the path that you have taken from the initial considering and writing of learning outcomes to your analysis of evidence and conclusions. The outline for the assessment report should look very similar to the assessment plan and might include:
- How the learning outcomes were developed - e.g. how faculty and students were involved, and what the process was.
- How evidence was identified and collected.
- Who analyzed the data and what did they find?
- What conclusions did you draw from the analysis?
- What are the next steps?
Some points to consider.
1. Don't shy away from mistakes made - Acknowledging mistakes is important and expected and part of understanding the process you went through and what you learned from it. Sometimes one of the conclusions you draw from a whole assessment cycle is that you have the wrong learning outcomes, in which case you can start the whole cycle over with that phase.
2. If you feel your results warrant the need for more resources for certain programs, then make your case for them here.
3. Be clear about what you are going to do with this assessment report. Who will you give it to; when will you revisit it; who is going to act on it? Put action items into the document that give certain people specific responsibilities to take the recommendations from the report and act on them. This makes the report a living, breathing, useful document.
4. Send us (mark dot standre at utah dot edu) a copy of the document so we can populate our page with great examples!
Thank you, and good luck.