Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics
The SAUM project ended in 2007. To continue gathering and providing information on assessment to MAA members, the MAA formed a new Committee on Assessment in early 2008.
The Committee on Assessment is charged with gathering information on appropriate assessment methods in university mathematics of all types, including programmatic assessment (major, service courses, general education/quantitative literacy, developmental, overall program, etc.), formative and summative in-class assessment, and assessment of teaching effectiveness; and disseminating this information to the mathematical community as well as encouraging departments to become aware of, and engage in, effective assessment.
The MAA's Committee on Assessment continues the work of the SAUM project (Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics), an NSF- and MAA-sponsored project to help departments of mathematical sciences develop effective assessment plans for the range of programs they are responsible for (the major, clusters of courses for mathematics-intensive majors, courses for pre-service K-12 teachers, quantitative literacy programs).
Upcoming Activities
PREP workshop
“Developing Your Departmental Assessment Plan”, immediately following MathFest 2009, in Corvallis, OR (August 8 - 11, 2009) and MathFest 2010, in Pittsburgh, PA (August 7 - 9, 2010).
In this two-year workshop, departmental teams will develop either a first version or a substantial revision of an assessment plan. In the first summer, teams will develop preliminary versions to be refined in consultation with their departments, with the assistance of project personnel, during the intervening year. In the second summer, teams will finish development of the assessment plans, which will be implemented during the upcoming year at their institutions. Participants must apply in teams of at least two faculty members from a given institution.
Panel at MathFest 2009 in Portland OR
"Assessment of Learning in College Algebra or Pre-Calculus Courses," organized by Bonnie Gold, Monmouth University, and Barbara Jur, Macomb Community College
College Algebra/Pre-Calculus is one of the most ill-defined courses AND one of the most under-assessed. Although there have been many calls to "reform" these courses at the post-secondary level, there are only a small number of papers that report assessments of the effectiveness of these reforms. There are lots of things that people say from their experiences teaching these courses -- but there is very little that is true assessment. This panel will give some cases of significant assessment from people working in this area. Panelists will include Andrew G. Bennett (Kansas State University), Marilyn Carlson (Arizona State University), and Barbara Edwards (Oregon State University).
Contributed Paper Session at JMM 2010 in San Francisco, CA
"How Assessment Results Changed Our Program," organized by Dick Jardine, Keene State College, and Barbara Edwards, Oregon State University
The purpose of assessment in higher education is to improve student learning and to improve our programs. Is there evidence that program assessment has made a positive difference in student learning mathematics? This session will provide faculty teaching mathematics or quantitative literacy/reasoning courses the opportunity to disseminate how they have “closed the loop” in program assessment, making changes that have resulted in improvements in their programs, in their teaching, and ultimately in student learning.
Other Committee Activities
The committee is also beginning discussions on developing a new volume on assessment. Meanwhile, see the two current MAA volumes on assessment, Assessment Practices in Undergraduate Mathematics and Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics.
Assessment Publications
Assessment of Student Learning in College Mathematics: Towards Improved Programs and Courses
This volume from the Association for Institutional Research, edited by Bernard Madison, includes 10 case studies representing a sample of assessment activity in U.S. mathematics departments.
An MAA Project
Sponsored by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM)
Supported by a grant from the NSF Program on Assessment of Student Achievement