Measuring course learning outcomes

Abstract

Accreditation criteria of programs require effective learning outcomes, assessment with documented procedures, tools, results, and actions to close the assessment loop with broad faculty involvement. This article describes a methodology for providing quantitative measurement of a course’s learning outcomes. The methodology uses a linkage matrix that associates each course learning outcome to one or more course assessment tool. The approach adopted provides a numeric score between 0 and 1 for each learning outcome with respect to each assessment tool and a combined score be calculated for each learning outcome from the tools associated with that outcome. The proposed methodology also provides insights into the consistency of the various assessment tools used to measure the achievement of a particular course learning outcome. The methodology described here has been successfully adopted in obtaining accreditation and reaccreditation to all programs offered by College of Computer Engineering at University of Tehran.