Writing Measurable Outcomes
In contrast to goals, which are general, broad, and often abstract statements of desired results, outcomes are specific and measurable and must reflect the curriculum. They express a benefit or "value added" that a student can demonstrate upon completion of an academic program or course.
An outcome contains all three of the following elements:
- Measurable: What is to be learned (knowledge, skill, attitude).
- Criteria/Standard: What level of learning is to be achieved.
- Conditions: Under what conditions the learning is to be demonstrated (environment, support, etc.).
Steps to Writing Measurable Outcomes
- Review K-State's Undergraduate Learning Outcome or Graduate Program Review statements.
- Define the outcomes (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) you want students to display as a result of their educational experience and best reflect the goals of your program. These should come from consensus among faculty/staff, including students and alumni.
- Consult the website for your professional/disciplinary organization, as many are developing student learning outcomes for degree or service programs.
- If your program is affected by entities such as outside accrediting agencies or potential employers, include the following steps:
- Step A: Review internal and external policy statements for information relevant to educational values.
- Step B: Identify values important to students, accrediting agencies, employers, and the community.
- Step C: Review common themes in instructional materials.
- Step D: Ask, "What should the learner expect to gain from the program?"
- Key Phrase: "The student will..."
- Statement of Desired Behaviors: An action verb and a description of that action. The more specific the verb, the better the outcome. Consider the level of difficulty and cognitive processes according to Bloom's Taxonomy.
- Statements about Conditions: Under what circumstances and in what environment will the student perform?
- Statements about Expected Rigor: At what level or to what criteria must the student perform?
Understand that the outcome will be revised several times before becoming definitive and will change over time to stay current with the discipline or service area and the changing needs and characteristics of students.
Poor Examples of Measurable Outcomes:
- Knowledge: The student will understand the relationship between theory and practice.
- Skill: Critical Thinking.
- Attitude: The student will enjoy music.
Examples of Measurable Outcomes:
- Knowledge: The student will solve formula, ingredient function, processing, production, and customer problems making decisions based on relevant and objective scientific information to meet quality, safety, and economic expectations.
- Skill: The student will use a variety of effective verbal and non-verbal communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
- Attitude: The student will demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other forms of diversity in domestic society, exemplifying significant interaction in a global community.
- Post the student learning outcomes within two clicks of your program homepage.
- List the student learning outcomes on every syllabus for the required courses in your degree program, indicating which outcomes will be covered in each course.
- Include annual discussions of student learning outcomes at faculty, curriculum development, and strategic planning meetings.
- Gather feedback from students in each course or service program about how well they perceive that student learning outcomes were addressed.
- Assess student learning by designing assignments specifically geared to measure achievement of each outcome designated for each course, degree program, or service area.
- In light of this data, meet with faculty, staff, and students at the end of each semester or academic year to revise the list of outcomes, teaching methods, curriculum, and/or program.
- Repeat the above steps regularly to improve student learning.
*Source/Reference: These steps were derived from information collected at various conferences by Dr. Cia Verschelden. She tailored the information to fit the approach that was implemented at Kansas State University in the fall of 2002.
Practical Suggestions for Program Outcome Development
- Review your list of potential outcomes, asking, "Can any of these outcomes be combined?" and "Are each of these outcomes essential to our program?"
- Include only essential outcomes in your assessment plan.
- Externally accredited programs may necessarily have more outcomes than non-accredited programs.
- Consider developing a matrix of program outcomes and courses. Identify which course(s) or activities will assess each outcome.
- Establish a timeline for assessing each outcome, ensuring all outcomes are assessed at least once during the program review cycle.
- Reflect how students authentically demonstrate their learning in various ways to measure outcomes.
- Assessment is the responsibility of all faculty, though not all coursework leads to programmatic assessment reporting. Program faculty are responsible for establishing the recency, relevance, and rigor of the SLOs for their degree programs. As the curriculum evolves, so do the learning outcomes.
Course-level Student Learning Outcomes
Student learning outcomes at the course level identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students are expected to acquire by the end of the course. Some outcomes should connect to those for the degree program, while others may be specific to the course, such as learning a set of techniques for conducting an experiment.
*Source: Huba, M.E., & Freed, J.E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.