70 likes | 169 Views
www.sheeo.org. U.S. Participation in the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) OECD’s Study of the Scientific and Practical Feasibility of Assessing Baccalaureate-Level Student Learning Outcomes Across Nations Association for Institutional Research Orlando, Florida
E N D
www.sheeo.org U.S. Participation in the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) OECD’s Study of the Scientific and Practical Feasibility of Assessing Baccalaureate-Level Student Learning Outcomes Across Nations Association for Institutional Research Orlando, Florida May 29, 2014
U.S. Participants’ Roles • National level • U.S. Dept of Education is member of OECD Education Governing Board • SHEEO—National Project Manager (NPM) and representative on project advisory board--Group of National Experts (GNE) • NCHEMS prepared sample files and will analyze national data • Foundations provided initial funding and remain interested • State level • SHEEO agency provided project leadership, coordination, and oversight in Connecticut, Missouri and Pennsylvania • Institutional level • AHELO Institutional Coordinator and “team” • IR office prepared student/faculty population files • Test Administration—recruitment, scheduling, monitoring • President, provost, faculty, media relations, graduate students
US Feasibility Study Results • Institutional participation • Extremely small, voluntary, non-representative sample, but still highly variable participation (hard to generalize domestically or internationally) • Student motivation and participation • Middling at 31% (719/2296), U.S. high of 68% ( highly variable internationally <10% to>95%) • Contextual factors dominate, highly variable across nations and difficult to examine
IR Challenges Raised by AHELO • Lack of consistency in institutional and national data on students and faculty • Limitations in institutional and system-level analytic capacities and variable interests • Theory-application gap—Disconnects between psychometric feasibility/requirements and practical limitations/policy applications • Relevance to teaching and learning • Implications for higher education policy
Should there be an AHELO be in our future, then—one participant’s perspective • Assessment needs focused purpose clearly understood and communicated • International input and development of assessment design and instruments • Greater involvement by data providers and explicit attention to ultimate users • Stronger international leadership, adequate financing and demonstrable value
Thank You Charles S. Lenth State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Boulder, CO clenth@sheeo.org AHELO project repository and links: http://www.sheeo.org/projects/assessment-higher-education-learning-outcomes-ahelo