Assessment Resources
APUS faculty members employ a variety of methods to assess student learning outcomes. There are a great number of resources that can help us assess and promote student learning. The following resources are of special use or interest to faculty. If you don't find what you are seeking or would like to contribute other resources, please contact Dr. Jennifer Stephens, Dean of Assessment, jstephens@apus.edu.
Curricular Mapping
Curricular maps are used as part of our triennial program review process to ensure alignment of courses with degree program and institutional student learning outcomes. By more clearly defining and aligning our student learning outcomes at all levels of the institution, this better enables students and faculty to define expectations and measure stated objectives.
Rubrics
Writing rubrics are made available to Faculty on three levels for APUS courses:
To establish standards in measuring and evaluating the development of APUS student's writing skills, rubrics have been developed to measure student competencies in the following areas:
- Focus/Thesis
- Organizational Skills
- Grammar/Style/Mechanics
- Content/Subject Knowledge
- Critical Thinking Skills
- Use of Computer Technology/Applications
- Synthesis/Analysis
Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives is a way of expressing different types of thinking in a qualitative manner. It is used as a classroom planning tool and is one of the most universally applied models across all levels of schooling and in all areas of study. The major idea of Bloom’s taxonomy is to assist in establishing what educators want their students to be able to know or do upon completion of a course and/or program. The taxonomy chart presented here represents a hierarchy of sample verbs from less to more complex at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
Data Driven Decision Making
To ensure data drive decision making, APUS provides evidence to the public on the success of achieving outcomes, the soundness of the operation, and overall effectiveness of the institution. Similarly, the institution listens, involves, and responds to the feedback the public provides. Feedback from constituents is used for both day-to-day activities and long-range endeavors. In addition to shaping the curriculum, student feedback and assessment data have led to a number of policies, procedures, systems, services, and features to accommodate the interests and needs of our constituents. The sharing of this information for decision-making purposes promotes the continuous improvement of teaching and learning, and assists in assuring quality at all levels of the institution.
Assessment Glossary
The following document lists definitions and terms of assessment that you will find helpful in assessing and promoting student learning.
Additional Assessment Links
The following Website, run by the University and Planning Analysis office at North Carolina State University, is the premier source for web links related to higher education outcomes assessment. Many of the pages on this list have links to other resources and to each other. The links are annotated with brief descriptions, so you can use your browser's Find (Ctrl-F) function to locate information about a particular topic.