Quality, Content, and Context in the Assessment of Student Learning and Development in College

This report focuses on assessing the quality of undergraduate education. A framework for thinking about the topic is provided, followed by a discussion of the ways in which educational context is typically organized and student achievement is typically measured, with suggestions for new indicators and measures. Of educational and instructional quality, a systematic and comprehensive inventory of student activities is currently available. Then the significance of contexts and processes is noted, with ten suggested measures of process and context variables. Moving beyond the college years, suggestions are made for enriching the content of alumni surveys. The paper concludes with a discussion of quality issues in relation to concerns for accountability, standards, evaluation and assessment, with emphasis on how assessment can best contribute to learning and improvement.