Library Assessment Fundamentals: Introduction

A short list of common assessment terminology:

• Assessment: Research used to provide feedback for making improvements. Assessment is intended to lead to improvement. 
• Direct Assessment: The use of tests or other methods to directly assess the skill or thing being measured, such as student learning. 
• Formative Assessment: Research conducted throughout a project, course, etc., to measure how progress is being made or how someone is learning. 
• Evaluation: Research used to collect data and make judgments about performance. Evaluations are intended to lead to decision-making.
• Indirect Assessment: A survey, rating, or other instrument used to infer impact on the skill or thing being measured, such as student learning. 
• Mixed Methods Research: This type of research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. 
• Needs Assessment: A needs assessment compares the current state of learning or of a project with the desired future state, in order to determine the steps or actions needed to progress towards that future state. 
• Reliability: The measure of how consistent a test is. 
• Summative Assessment: Research conducted at the end of a project, course, milestone, etc., to measure how much progress or learning has occurred. 
• Qualitative Research: This type of research relies on non-statistical data collection. It uses things like impressions, opinions, and views in order to describe a phenomena or understand its context.  Qualitative methods often include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and review of documents.
• Quantitative Research: This type of research relies on structure data and numbers. It uses fixed responses or hard data to test or measure something in a replicable way. Quantitative methods often include surveys, structured interviews, and review of usage data. 
• Validity: The measure of whether or not a test is measuring what it is intended to measure. It measures accuracy. 

Direct Assessment (Direct examples of the work/results)

• Capstone projects
• Exhibits
• Test scores
• Statistics measuring program improvements (program attendance, leadership skills demonstrated, etc.)

Indirect Assessment (Indirect measures that are not direct examples of work)

• Surveys
• Exit interviews
• Focus groups
• Feedback surveys