Vol. 2 No. 1 (2021): The Journal of Assessment in Higher Education

Welcome to the second edition of the Journal of Assessment in Higher Education.

We are pleased to present four articles from authors across the fields of higher education who represent a range of perspectives, research, practice, and institutions.

Student course evaluations can be a high stakes measure for faculty. Calvin D. Carpenter, Western Carolina University, shares his institution’s systematic approach to examine the process and use of student course evaluation data. Their work resulted in significant changes to how this information is used.

Rating scales are a primary assessment tool used in medical education to gather evidence of student competency acquisition. Chosang Tendhar, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, shares a study of the utility of intern self-appraisals and Program Director ratings. Tendhar’s analysis reveals some areas of agreement in both rating approaches, and the results provide validity evidence for the use of these tools for this purpose.

Teacher educators prepare students for success in the classroom, and this includes teaching students how to use and apply assessment effectively in teaching.  Kelly Anne Parkes, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Jared R. Rawlings, University of Utah, present their examination of what music teacher educators in higher education (N = 149) understand about assessment and their assessment pedagogy efficacy. They discovered that music teacher educators hold varied understandings about assessment but have a generally high level of personal and programmatic assessment pedagogy efficacy.

As institutions work to institutionalize assessment processes and practices, a primary focus is to engage existing technology to the extent possible to automate this process. Fred Burrack and Dorothy J. M. Thompson, Kansas State University, share their institutional use of the Canvas Learning Management System to make the data collection and submission process easier for faculty. The authors provide a clear model of how they maximize Canvas features to facilitate faculty assessment data reporting on their campus.

We hope you find that these articles contribute to the advancement of your work and research as well as to the growing body of literature on assessment in higher education. Our next volume will present selected papers from the March 2021 annual University of Florida Assessment Conference. Until then, Laura and I wish you a safe and happy year.

Timothy S. Brophy, Co-Editor, Journal of Assessment in Higher Education