Humanizing Assessment Reporting: Challenging Prevailing Reductionist Approaches

ABSTRACT Dismissive of the realities, challenges, and variables that affect the processes of teaching, learning, and making meaning of students’ assessment results, prevailing assessment reporting standards or requirements prioritize reductionist reporting approaches. After identifying the limitations of reductionist approaches, the author proposes institutions develop a humanized assessment reporting approach. With evidence informed by those on the front line of teaching and learning, this approach is anchored in (1) accompanying bare-bones quantitatively reported assessment results with complementary evidence about the range of learning challenges that underlie students’ underperformance patterns; (2) identifying either currently implemented efficacious practices aimed at assisting students overcome specific challenges or learning about the efficacy of implemented research-informed practices within contexts for teaching and learning; and (3) collaboratively designing with other campus experts, a real-time interactive longitudinal program-level assessment reporting platform or dash board with filters to explore relevant complementary evidence. This visual means of documenting students’ progress enables constituencies to develop a broad view of the specific challenges students face or faced and collaboratively identify and leverage practices that enable students to overcome those challenges, reported by individual faculty and often substantiated by students themselves. A humanized approach to assessment is based in reality rather than compliance.