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ARTICLES Lessons Learned: Assurance of Learning Is Primarily About Learning, Not Assurance Iris Berdrow Transforming Course Evaluations into a Meaningful Measure of Student Outcomes Achievement Christopher A. McCullough Assessing Student Understanding in and Between Courses in Chemistry Jennifer Claesgens, Kathleen Scalise, Mark Wilson, Angelica Stacy Have You Been Flossing? An Analogy for Educational Program Assessment Marcus Jorgensen Assessment of Progress for Undergraduate Majors in Small Departments: A Faculty‐Student Assembly Kenneth R. Albone COLUMN Community College Strategies Rosalie V. Mince, Tara Eisenhauer Ebersole     

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ARTICLES Took Survey. Got Shirt: Using Effective Educational Practices to Maximize NSSE Response Rates Matthew L. Feldmann and Keli Jackson My Own Worst Enemy: Five Ways My Best Intentions Impair Assessment Jeremy D. Penn Repairing a Broken Assessment System Christie Hill Magoulias Assessment in Times of Turbulence: Using Assessment Tools to Understand and Change Processes in Student Services Jennifer Massey, Bruce Griffiths, and Nanci Corrigan COLUMNS Assessment Measures: The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Surveys Gary R. Pike Community College Strategies: Improving Faculty Ownership of General Education and Its Assessment Rose Mince, Lynne A. Mason, and Nancy Bogage     

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Expanding Assessment Perspectives: The Importance of Student Leadership in Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Call for Contributions Empowering Faculty and Students with Assessment Data Including Faculty in Accreditation Preparation: Boon or Bane? Relating Students' Grades and Measures of Specific Outcomes Assessment Measures: The AAC&U VALUE Rubrics Community College Strategies: Creating Change and Buy‐In for Assessment through Faculty Learning Communities     

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SLO‐Based Grading Makes Assessment an Integral Part of Teaching Call for Contributions Editor's Notes: Assessing Assessment's ROI Assessment Plans: A Tool for Sanity Lessons from Multiple Institutional Assessment Measures of Specific Student Learning Outcomes and Satisfaction Assessment Measures: The ACT Engage Survey Community College Strategies: Student Learning Assessment: A Program‐Level Model     

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ARTICLES Collaborative Online Assessments for Validity and Reliability Merilee Griffin Editor's Notes Trudy W. Banta Implementing the Class‐Level Survey of Student Engagement: First Impressions and Findings Ronald F. Rogers, Patrick F. Cravalho, Jonathan G. Boyajian Recognizing Progress in Degree‐Program Assessment: The Seals of Assessment Achievement and Excellence Thomas W. Paradis, Thomas M. Hopewell Building a Culture of Assessment: Ode to Musun, Baker, and Fulmer Jo‐Ellen Asbury COLUMN Community College Strategies Robin Anderson, with Keven Hansen and Joyce M. Ray Memo Bob Smallwood     

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Student Interpretation of Selected Degree Qualifications Profile Outcomes Call for Contributions Editor's Notes: Ingenuity: A New Super Skill, a New Assessment Challenge, a New National Conversation Applying Qualitative Techniques to Assessment in Student Affairs Developing and Implementing a Multidisciplinary Approach to Assess CT in General Education Assessment Measures The Updated National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)     

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Launching E‐Portfolios: An Organic Process Call for Contributions Editor's Notes: Envisioning Learning Promoting Student Affairs Buy‐in for Assessment: Lessons Learned Working at Assessment Making the Case for Formative Assessment: How it Improves Student Engagement and Faculty Summative Course Evaluations From the States Assessment on Steroids: Colombia's National Testing Program     

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“Just Right” Outcomes Assessment: A Fable for Higher Education Call for Contributions Editor's Notes: Helping Faculty Members Learn Focus on the Bottom‐Line: Assessing Business Writing Including Students in Student Assessment Using Curriculum‐Embedded Assessments of Student Learning: Establishing a Model for Internal Benchmarking Assessment Measures: ExamSoft® Examination Management     

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ARTICLES Contra Assessment Culture Daniel J. Ennis Assessment on the Road: Benchmarking Student Services Through Site Visits Peter A. Konwerski, Andrew C. Sonn, Brian F. Hamluk Embedded Assessment: Using Data We Already Have to Assess Courses and Programs Suzanne Weinstein, Yu‐hui Ching, David Shapiro, Rose L. Martin Online Course Evaluation: Student and Instructor Perspectives and Assessment Potential Christian M. Reiner, Kimberly E. Arnold COLUMN Community College Strategies Ronald R. Pennington, Barbara H. Keim FEATURE Resources Susan Kahn     

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Do Good Assessment Practices Measure Up to the Principles of Assessment? Call for Contributions Healthy Assessment: What Nursing Schools Can Teach Us about Effective Assessment of Student Learning Development of a National Survey for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education Programs From the States: New Looks in Specialized Accreditation Community College Strategies: Curriculum‐Level Assessment: Finding Meaning and Focus for Real Results     

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ARTICLES Growth in Disciplinary Resources for Assessment in the Liberal Arts Theresa Ford Changing the Climate for Assessment David S. Martins Using Student Focus Groups to Facilitate Communication and Improve the Learning Environment Kathleen S. Martin, Elda E. Martinez From Consensus to Performance: Formative Course Assessment in Elementary Algebra James Benner, Kathy Kapcsos COLUMN Assessment Measures Gary R. Pike with James C. Thomas     

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Can Assessment Loops Be Closed? A Pop‐Culture–Inspired Assessment of Intercultural Awareness: Reflections from Health Care Education How a Research Faculty Becomes Interested in Assessment A Pedagogical Approach to Assessment Assessment Measures: Developing Surveys of Student Engagement     

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ARTICLES Alternative Assessment in the Cloud Paul Baepler The Deficits of Standardized Tests: Countering the Culture of Easy Numbers Daniel L. McCollum Assessing a Course with “The State of the Union” Address Hilary Fletcher, Alex Heidenberg, Gerald Kobylski Developing an Assessment Plan for a Professional Program: A Collaborative Success Kenneth R. Phillips, Sheila S. Thompson COLUMN From the States: A Coalition of the Willing: The Presidents' Alliance for Excellence in Student Learning and Accountability Peter T. Ewell FEATURE Recommended Reading Susan Kahn     

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ARTICLES Perspectives From Campus Leaders on the Current State of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Jillian Kinzie Editor's Notes Trudy W. Banta Peer Review of Program Assessment Efforts: One Strategy, Multiple Gains Margaret Fong Bloom Assessing Doctoral Applicants' Readiness for Doctoral‐Level Work Michelle A. Maher, Benita J. Barnes COLUMN From the States Peter T. Ewell FEATURE Recommended Reading Susan Kahn     

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Through the Rearview Looking Glass: Collaborative Writing and the Accreditation Self‐Study Call for Contributions Editor's Notes: Another Glimpse of Evaluation in China Assessment is Not a Spectator Sport: Experiencing Authentic Assessment in the Classroom Faculty Development for Online Institutions Developing Meaningful Collaborations with Faculty to Sustain Assessments From the States: Wherever They Go: WICHE's Multistate Student Tracking Project Recommended Reading     

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ARTICLES A Survey of Attitudes About Methods of Assessment David A. Eubanks, Kenneth D. Royal Editor's Notes Trudy W. Banta A Kind of Heresy: Assessing Student Learning in Philosophy Charles W. Wright Program Portfolio Analysis: Evaluating Academic Program Viability and Mix Vernon B. Harper Jr. COLUMN From the States: Aligning Academic Standards: The Lumina Degree Profile Peter T. Ewell     

Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada

Developed in response to examples of unacceptable assessment practices, the Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada contains a set of principles and guidelines generally accepted by professional organisations as indicative of fair assessment practice within the Canadian educational context. Assessments depend on professional judgment: the ’Principles’ identify the issues to consider in exercising this professional judgment and in striving for the fair and equitable assessment of all students.     

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ARTICLES Mission Accomplished! The Development of a Competence‐based E‐portfolio Assessment Model Shelley Schuurman, Scott Berlin, Jamie Langlois, Julie Guevara The Third Rail of Assessment—Dangerous but Powerful Dale L. Mort Video Killed the Radio Star—Video Created the Student Star! Vicki Harvey, Alex Avramenko Assessing Ed.D. Programs for Program Evaluation and Improvement and Impact on PK—20 Learning Environments Marilee J. Bresciani, Cynthia L. Uline COLUMN Community College Strategies June F. Prince FEATURES Probation Outreach Program Rose A. Wedemeyer Recommended Reading Susan Kahn     

Graduate instruction: Three viewpoints

Educational Research Methods. G. D. McGrath and others. (New York: The Ronald Press, 1963. Pp. 301. $5.50.)

The Experience of Student Teaching. John W. Devor. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964. Pp. 358. $3.95.)     

Applying the ECTS System to the Childhood Education Teaching Degree in Andalusia

This article presents the research conducted as part of a Pilot Experiment regarding the application of the ECTS to the Childhood Education Teaching Degree taught at the University of Cordoba (Spain). It analyses the Experiment, which was carried out in the Education Faculty over the course of three academic years (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07). The research questions were: (1) How much do the students taking part in the Pilot Experiment know about the different competences? (2) How much time do the students need to prepare each subject? and (3) What are the methodological skills used by lecturers as a means of improving autonomous learning? Several tools were used: Initial Student Assessment for the ECTS Pilot Experiment in Childhood Education, and three Likert Scales: a) Competence Assessment Scale for UCO's Childhood Education Teaching Degree, b) Competence Achievement Assessment Scale for UCO's Childhood Education Teaching Degree, c) Assessment Scale for Subject Methodology in relation to the Application of ECTS and the organisation of Focus Groups. The most important conclusions were: (1) The specific professional competences established in the educational profile of this degree course are very highly rated by the students; (2) According to the students, the workload for certain subjects, in terms of the number of hours devoted to them, is excessively high and not proportional to the number of credits they account for, and (3) There has been an acceptable level of exchange among teaching staff regarding the instruments and methodological strategies used to promote students' autonomous work.