Selected Literature and Resources

A succinct resource for those starting assessment for the first time is:

Walvoord, Barbara E., and Foreword by Trudy W. Banta. Assessment Clear and Simple: a Practical Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010.  

Other selected literature:

Bryan, C., & Clegg, K. (Eds.). (2019). Innovative assessment in higher education: A handbook for academic practitioners. Routledge.

Crawford, E. (2019). Curriculum Mapping: Program Outcomes, Course Learning Outcomes, Alignment, and Assessment. In S. Carliner (Ed.), Proceedings of E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 243-247).

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Does your assessment support your students’ learning. Journal of Teaching and learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 1-30.

Lehrer, H. R. (2018). Assessing educational outcomes: another hurdle in the accreditation process. The Collegiate Aviation Review International, 10(1).

Palomba, C. A., & Banta, T. W. (1999). Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education. Higher and Adult Education Series. Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation

• In particular, see
• Standard III - Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experienceand
• Standard V - Educational Effectiveness Assessment

In short, Middle States requires that the institution

• Define clear and meaningful program objectives and defensible standards for evaluating whether students are achieving those objectives
• Demonstrate that students are accomplishing educational goals as defined by the faculty
• Use assessment results to continuously improve educational effectiveness

New York State Education Department  
Education Law, Rules and Regulations

State University of New York
Academic Programs,  Planning and Assessment