高校基于学生学习成果的专业评估——以美国詹姆斯麦迪逊大学为例

Student Learning Outcomes Based Program Assessment in Higher Education: The Case Study of James Madison University of USA

Conducting higher education assessment for accountability and self-improvement is a challenge across the world， including China. A model for conducting assessment for both purposes can be found at James Madison University (JMU) in the United States. This article explains how JMU is organized to support assessment. An important feature is meta -assessment: an internal process by which programs receive feedback on their assessment quality. Assessment quality consists of student-centered learning objectives， mapping of learning experiences to objectives， selecting systematic methods for evaluating progress on objectives， presenting and interpreting results， sharing results with faculty/stakeholders， and using results for improvement. An important aspect of this assessment design is to provide enough guidance to promote quality but enough flexibility to allow academic programs to have unique character. To achieve the last step of the assessment process - using result for improvement - JMU has coordinated curriculum， teaching， assessment， and scholarship of assessment. Implications for China are discussed.