Assessment

A column statistics report can be created about any gradable item and will display the spread of scores like the table shown below, it will also provide the minimum and maximum value received, range, average, median, standard deviation and variance. To generate this report, go into the Full Grade Center, select the pull down menu associated with the grading column, and select column statistics.

Course reports can provide expanded information by comparing different gradable activities like assignments, tests, and discussion board forums. To create the report shown below activities must be aligned with the same goal, then select Evaluation, Course Reports, and Course Performance. This allows faculty to evaluate students’ scores on different activities that all assess the same outcome/objective.  This report also includes specific individual student scores (the student data shown below is fictitious).

To learn more, visit Blackboard's' Goals ».

Two statistics reports are available for Blackboard tests. Use these reports to examine the results for a test that covers objectives used in assessment. Using the pull down menu next to the column name in the full grade center, choose Attempt Statistics or Item Analysis.

• Attempt Statistics shows response statistics on each question for the class.
• Item Analysis provides statistics on overall test performance and individual test questions. For more information, visit Blackboard's Item Analysis . See the partial report below:

Rubrics can be associated with any gradable activity. Once all activities are graded, the instructor can run a Rubric Report that generates the following information.

If the grading rubric is different than the assessment rubric, two rubrics can be associated with one activity (one for grading and one for secondary assessment). A rubric report can be generated from either rubric by selecting the rubric report you desire from the pull down menu next to the appropriate grading column title (see below).

Outcomes Assessment only works if faculty have created an Assignment in Blackboard where students are able to attach different file types or type into a text box. (No reports can be generated from tests, discussion boards, wikis, blogs, journals, etc.)

Recommended Use of Outcomes Assessment

Outcomes Assessment is designed to work best following these criteria:

• Faculty create “Assignments” in Blackboard. These assignments must be set to individual submissions, single attempts, and aligned to a goal.
• A rubric is standardized where all artifacts will be assessed with the same rubric. This rubric is created in the Outcomes Assessment area, not inside the course.
• A secondary group will complete the assessment. (NOTE: If your assessment plan does not allow for a secondary group to evaluate but rather relies on instructor evaluation, you might consider the following "Alternative Use of Outcomes".)
• Once all artifacts have been evaluated by the assessment team, data is analyzed and reports are generated by Outcomes Assessment. Reports have data like the rubric report but also include a detailed spreadsheet which includes information like the student name, reviewer (to allow for norming), scores provided, and feedback, if included when assessing:

Alternative Use of Outcomes

If the teacher completes both grading and assessment of artifacts, it is possible to still utilize the Outcomes Assessment functionality and detailed spreadsheet reports, it just requires a bit more planning and work.

• The faculty create assignments that must be set to individual submissions, single attempts, and aligned to a goal.
• A grading or secondary rubric can be used for assessment. This rubric resides in the course as opposed to the previous use of OA where the rubric is stored in the Outcomes area.
• Faculty complete assessment.
• An Outcomes Assessment administrator is able to generate a report for each class. This must be done individually, so if a department wants to look at multiple sections of the same course, they would need to merge the spreadsheets generated from this method.