Plan - Aligning Course Outcomes with Course Assessments with Course Content

Since course outcomes are what you want students to know or to be able to do by the end of the course, you need to make sure the following things are happening:

  1. Students need to be evaluated (assessed) on each of those outcomes.
  2. Content and activities need to be built into the course so students can succeed on the assessments.
  3. The content, activities, and assessments need to be aligned, or matched to each other. 

For every course outcome, there should be at least one course assessment. Each assessment should, in turn, align to an outcome. One assessment may be used to assess multiple course outcomes. Once you have an assessment identified, add the content and activities students will need to demonstrate mastery on the assessment.

Aligning Learning Outcomes to Instruction and Assessment Links to an external site., from the Center for Innovative Learning at the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, will guide you through the process of aligning your course outcomes, course activities, and course assessments.  

Here are some sample course outcomes from a selection of Highline courses with possible assessments and possible content. Notice the "backward design:" Determine what you want students to know (outcomes), how students are going to demonstrate that knowledge (assessments), and how students are going to acquire that knowledge (content). 

Sample Course Outcome , Assessment, and Content Alignments
Course  Course outcomes Possible assessments  Possible content
CHEM& 121 Perform measurements and observations using basic laboratory techniques Students conduct a lab and write a lab report. Video demonstrations of laboratory techniques.
CMST& 101 Demonstrate effective interactions within intercultural and multi-faceted dyads and groups Students work in intercultural pairs and small groups. Afterwards students complete a rubric that assesses their own and their partner(s)' communication. Readings about intercultural communication within pairs and small groups. 
ART& 100 Identify the formal elements of an image and describe their interaction according to the principles of design Students write a short essay that explains the principles of design as those principles relate to an image students have been given. A rubric can be used to score the application of those principles. Video showing students the principles of design in a selection of different artworks. 
HIST& 146 Students will locate cities, colonies, states, territories, bodies of water, and other key geographical and historical features on outline maps Students take an exam where they must identify these features on maps Video explaining how to read geographical and historical maps. 
PFT 120 Students will be able to teach correct exercise technique for resistance, stretching and aerobic/anaerobic conditioning Students record themselves teaching these exercise techniques to a family member or friend. Instructor assesses the technique demonstrated using a rubric.  Video and readings that illustrate proper exercise techniques carefully noting common errors. 
LEGAL 135 Demonstrate competency with trial preparation software such as Smartdraw Students are given specific tasks to complete within the software. Screenshots of completed tasks or a screen recording of the student completing those tasks are scored using a rubric. Tutorial on how to use Smartdraw.

Be sure you are using the current outcomes for your course. You can find them by clicking on your course name in the Highline class schedule. 

Orphan outcomes, assessments, and content

If you have an orphan outcome -- an outcome without an assessment, consider adding an assessment and corresponding content for that outcome. If the outcome is unimportant -- perhaps it's out-dated -- work with your department to change the outcome for the course. 

If you have an orphan assessment (an assessment not tied to a course outcome), consider removing the assessment or work with your department to add a course outcome that addresses the assessment. If it's an assessment without content, consider adding content where students can learn more about what they are being assessed of having learned.

If you have orphan content (content not tied to an assessment or course outcome), consider why the content is there. If the content is important, consider tying it to an assessment and an outcome. Not all content needs to be tied back to outcomes/assessments. You may choose to make some content available for students who would like to read more about a topic, but that topic is not central to your course. 

Close the assessment loop

Track how students do on your assessments. Do students routinely get a particular exam question or set of exam questions wrong? Within a rubric, do students typically score poorly on the third criterion? 

Once you've identified a pattern, look at the assessment. Are the instructions clear? Is it a good multiple choice question? Ask a colleague to read the assessment. Any of us in Instructional Design (id@highline.edu) are happy to look at your assessment, too. 

If you're confident the assignment is good, consider modifying content. Perhaps students need more practice with a particular concept or skill. Or perhaps students need more scaffolding where they first achieve the beginning steps toward understanding a concept or doing a skill before moving on to the more complex final concept or skill.

After implementing the change in your course, look at student performance on your assessment again. Are students doing better on those exam questions or on rubric criterion three? If yes, great! If not, it's time to try something else, such as a different video, a different reading, or different scaffolding. In assessment parlance, this is called "closing the loop."

For more information

Alignment and Backward Design Links to an external site.Alignment and Backward Design [Note: their "learning objectives" are the same, in practice, as our "course outcomes.]

Highline Assessment Committee

The Highline Assessment Committee website includes basic information on how outcomes are used to maintain a cycle of continuous improvement in your course.