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Assessment
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Program Assessment Questions

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The answer to education improvement lies with the impact upon the student. The student’s objectives in seeking education services are paramount. The student’s interaction with the teacher (faculty), the material taught (education programs), and the school (resources and administration) need to be tracked. Experiences are recorded not only by student but also in terms of faculty and resource performance. The aggregation of student experiences is compared with a model for success in order to quantify education performance. It becomes possible to make continuous improvement in student education once performance has been identified and tracked.
 
 
 

Educators Fail
Performance Assessment

Most educators use student assessment as a substitute for assessing their own performance in providing education services. The notion of relying only on student performance as a substitute for teacher performance is silly. Yet this flawed logic has established itself as the cornerstone of today's education performance assessment. The CEA provides an alternative with the means to consider other factors such as resources and faculty performance in addition to student outcomes.

Most educators do not understand the true meaning of the word assessment. Educators tend to equate “assessment” to “outside interference” from non-educators who do not understand the teaching profession. The CEA supports an assessment process that is ongoing and includes an unbiased review of performance. Assessment is not an adversarial exercise. Assessment is an exercise that should lead to improvements by sharing and applying knowledge gained over time.

The idea that educators have insufficient funding to establish effective assessment tools is rubbish. The truth is that educators use a herd mentality by choosing to purchase expensive external assessment services instead of managing internal data and resources more effectively. To make matters worse many institutions require students to pay additional fees for assessment data collection and processing. Equivalent computer processing is much less expensive when educators provide it as an internal administrative service. In addition cost savings are generated by an effective assessment process.

As a result of nine years assisting educators with assessment the CEA has come to question whether some educators are willing or able to use basic assessment techniques. Is it possible that some educators want to keep their performance data from others? Maybe the incentive for educators to account for their performance is missing?

The CEA’s stand is that schools, colleges, and universities have an obligation to use their private and public funding as effectively as possible. Effectiveness requires the collection of performance data and its use to improve education programs. The Center for Education Assessment has found that many educators deserve a failing grade, "F", in assessing their performance and sharing it with others.

The Center for Education Assessment provides direction on organizing and using existing data. The Center has a library of logical relationships that educators may draw upon for analysis and reporting. Assistance with using web-based software to expand data and reporting capabilities is another service available through the CEA. Using data-management, analytical, and reporting tools to enhance assessment practices is unfamiliar to most educators. It is, however, the specialty of the Center for Education Assessment.

Program improvement presentations:

CEA education assessment method.
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Ideas on the effective use of data.
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Manage education program data.
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Education assessment information systems.
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News

Measure for Standards and Performance
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Evidence of Student Learning
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An educator's perspective on assessment.
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An information technology perspective on assessment.
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Use facts to influence thinking.
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Gathering assessment data..
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Education Assessment for the Layperson.
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Organizing Data for Education Assessment
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Take Control of YOUR Assessment System.
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Take an assessment system test.
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Avoid costs and extend the life of your system.
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Articles previously published on this website.
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Copyright © 2010, Center for Education Assessment
All rights reserved. The CEA combines education and technology experience in order to capture, process, and report data that leads to education program improvement. Over 80 years of practical experience has been focused upon the growing need for better assessment information. Teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, and the public benefit from better education information made possible through CEA contributions.

center@educationassessment.org