Assessing Student Outcomes for Psychology Majors

Abstract

Numerous state legislatures, accrediting agencies, and public interest groups now require postsecondary institutions to produce evidence that they are providing a quality education for their students. One quality indicator is a measure of the “value added” to the cognitive development of students by the educational program. This approach emphasizes the educational gains made by students in each academic major and from the general education portion of their degree. Psychology departments are often expected to take the lead in assessing educational outcomes because learning assessments are a natural outgrowth of several fields of concentration in psychology–human learning, adult development, psychometrics, and program evaluation. When outcomes are used to improve psychology curricula or departmental policies, they become a powerful tool for improving teaching and learning.