1. Assessment and Evaluation: An Interview Analysis
Crystal Blackshear, Joan Bruce, Niya Sims, Sean Strong
October 30, 2017
CUR/518
George Carroll

2. What is Assessment? Assessment is the ongoing process of:
Establishing learning goals for students
Giving students opportunities to learn
Analyzing the students’ learning
Employing the results
“Establishing clear, measurable expected outcomes of student learning” (Suskie, 2009)
“Ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve those outcomes” (Suskie, 2009)
“Systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well student learning matches our expectations” (Suskie, 2009)
“Using the resulting information to understand and improve student learning” (Suskie, 2009)
Resource:
Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

3. Interviewees
Mr. Richard Snapp, IT Documentation and Training Specialist, Westrock Corporation, Norcross GA
Tiffany Eades College Facilitator, Ivy Tech State College, Evansville, IN
Liz Dickerson, Claims Trainer, Auto Club – Insurance
Jeremiah Boyle, New Development Trainer, Comcast University, Atlanta, GA

4. 1. What are you looking for as you evaluate assessments
1. What are you looking for as you evaluate assessments? What are ways you use the information?
Snapp
Trends in low-rated responses.
By downloading data from the application and building trend analysis
Eades
Understand what learners already know
Use as she is developing material
Dickerson
Check for information retention
Use to better instruction
Boyle
Depth of understanding
Uses data to improve instruction
Though the interviewees represent varied industries, it is clear there was consistency in the purpose of developing assessments for learning. The focus in each case was to use the information to gage learning and to improve instruction. There was variance was in implementation (some formative and some summative) but the overall goal was the same.

5. 2. What types of assessments do you use most frequently and why?
Snapp
Kirkpatrick 2 following training
Kirkpatrick 4 as a follow-up 4 – 6 months later
Eades
Focuses on open ended questions
Has been less successful when using closed-end
Dickerson
Uses formative assessments throughout training
Partially driven by the mass of material to be taught
Boyle
Uses informal questioning and written answers
Here we see a contrast in the implementation of assessment tools. Again, while the end result is consistent (gaging level of learning) the means to measure learning differs. This may be driven by the discipline that is being taught or other factors upon which the instructor makes design choices.

6. 3. How do you hold yourself accountable for your students’ achievement based on your assessment methods?
Snapp
Consistently offering a survey at the end of each class
Eades
Uses the results of the assessments she creates
Dickerson
Through employee feedback and surveys
Boyle
By the informal and written answers of students
Here we can see consistency with using surveys to hold oneself accountable using feedback and assessment results.

7. 4. Have you ever felt that an assessment technique did not give you accurate results of your students’ academic progress?
Snapp
Yes, so an expanded survey including subareas of main points was created
Eades
Yes, closed-ended questions have given the least accurate results
Dickerson
Yes, employees with prior work experience in the field would score high on pre-assessments
Boyle
No, all assessments can still determine where a student is at mentally
Here we can see that with the exception of one, all respondents stated they have had experience weher a survey did not yield the accurate information. Thus the startegy is genarally to ask better questions.

8. 5. In your years of being a trainer, what have you seen are the benefits of assessment?
Snapp
The assessment provides validation that the purpose of training has been fulfilled. Establishing clear Return on Investment (ROI) is always difficult when justifying the need for training. Follow-up assessments are good tools to help establish ROI.
Eades
Understanding what your training participants already know and what they expect of the course helps you tweak it to their needs.
Dickerson
The benefit of assessment is that it allows opportunity for everyone in the training process to grow (both learner and facilitator)
Boyle
The benefit of assessment has always been the ability to determine if your teaching was effective.
The consistent theme here is that trainers saw value for both themselves (to improve their own craft) as well as for the learner (to improve their understanding)

9. 6. What does the term assessment mean to you and how do you incorporate that meaning into the learning environment?
Snapp
An assessment is a measure of progress against an establish standard. Therefore, explaining what is expected at the beginning of each class, helps the students understand the direction the class is expected to go and goal to reach at the end.
Eades
Assessment means analyzing training needs. In other words, what is it that training participants need to learn in order to do their job successfully
Dickerson
An assessment just means evaluating level of knowledge and understanding
Boyle
Assessment is any tool that allows the teacher to diagnose the level of learning by a student in a particular area.
Not a lot of mystery on this all agree that assessment is the gage for teaching and learning effectiveness. Purposefully integrating assessment frames the expectations within the learning environment.

10. 7. Are assessments always necessary when learning and instructing
7. Are assessments always necessary when learning and instructing? Why or Why Not?
Snapp
Assessments are not always necessary in less formal, spontaneous training situations.
Eades
Yes, you always need to know what your participants already know so you train to their needs accordingly.
Dickerson
Not always. Dependent on knowledge level of learners
Boyle
Yes. Even if the assessment is not formal, an assessment of some kind is necessary to determine if learning actually occurred.
Here trainers are divided in their responses. However, it is clear that there is merit in each response and in the end it is incumbent on the trainer to know where to draw the line regarding assessments or no assessments. Nonetheless, assessments are generally better than no assessments.

11. 8. How do you stratify an assessment in an ethical manner to maintain an unbiased response?
Snapp
We typically use a more quantitative approach, such as the Likert 1-5 numbering system.
Eades
Using open-ended questions. I want to ask questions that gather the most amount of information. Therefore, the information is unbiased.
Dickerson
Using quantitative means of assessment. This leave little room for bias.
Boyle
Make sure questions are not leading and offer the opportunity for a broad response type.
Here we see what seems, on the surface, to be a bit of a disagreement in responses (quantitative versus open-ended). However, an open ended response can still be quantitative if a rubric for that question is being used.

12. Conclusion
Whether a trainer or a learner, assessments, like a GPS, helps one find out where they stand in the learning process
Assessments are a great tool to take a look at how something is going and if changes could and/or need to be made
Whether the outcome of an assessment seems positive or negative, the information it can provide has the potential to do good for all involved

13. References
Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.