Assessment

The Missouri Department of Higher Education has supported a broad range of initiatives by institutions, organizations, and other stakeholders to strengthen assessment of student learning across postsecondary education in the state.

While the MDHE does not directly mandate any specific student assessment, a robust culture of assessment at the postsecondary level is encouraged by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, as well as directed and evaluated by institutional accreditors and other state agencies responsible for professional licensure. The MDHE has also coordinated state initiatives designed to promote meaningful student assessment, and the Department annually collects data to measure the scope of student assessment across public institutions.

In addition, the MDHE worked collaboratively with a number of Missouri colleges and universities to establish the Missouri Consortium for Measuring Value-Added Student Learning (MVASL). The consortium, funded by a generous grant from the Kauffman Foundation, in partnership with the Council on Aid to Education (CAE), engaged in a two-year pilot project which employed the CAE Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) to study the assessment of value-added student learning at participating institutions, as well as to contribute to development and sharing of best practices in assessment at the state level.

The MDHE is also a participant in the Missouri Assessment Consortium, an independent forum for discussion of "issues and importance of stability and advancement of higher education assessment". Recently, MAC has worked collaboratively to develop and publish a statement of Guiding Principles on Assessment, designed to provide guidance regarding assessment policy, purposes, and appropriate use.

Finally, the MDHE continues to support work to strengthen student assessment and relevant data collection, especially insofar as these initiatives will contribute to the development of a broader accountability framework in Missouri higher education. The MDHE looks forward to working with all interested stakeholders to further these efforts.

CBHE Agenda Items

The following CBHE Agenda items detail recent work in assessment and accountability at the state level:

December, 2006
April, 2006
December, 2005
October, 2005
April, 2005
December, 2004
October, 2004
June, 2004
April, 2004
February, 2004

For additional information or data, please contact Jeremy Kintzel at 573.751.1798 or email jeremy.kintzel@dhe.mo.gov.