The second edition of Assessment for Excellence arrives as higher education enters a new era of the accountability movement. In the face of mandates such as results-based funding and outcomes-based accreditation, institutions and assessment specialists are feeling increasingly pressured to demonstrate accountability to external constituencies. The practice of assessment under these new accountability pressures takes on special significance for the education of students and the development of talent across the entire higher education system. This book introduces a talent development approach to educational assessment as a counter to prevailing philosophies, illustrating how contemporary practices are unable to provide institutions with meaningful data with which to improve educational outcomes. It provides administrators, policymakers, researchers, and analysts with a comprehensive framework for developing new assessment programs to promote talent development and for scrutinizing existing policies and practices. Written for a wide audience, the book enables the lay reader to quickly grasp the imperatives of a properly-designed assessment program, and also to gain adequate statistical understanding necessary for examining current or planned assessment policies. More advanced readers will appreciate the technical appendix for assistance in conducting statistical analyses that align with a talent development approach. In addition, institutional researchers will benefit from sections that outline the development of appropriate student databases.
About the Author: Alexander W. Astin is the Allan M. Cartter Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emeritus at UCLA and the founding director of UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. Astin has been identified as the most frequently cited author in the higher education field, has earned awards from 14 different national associations, and is the recipient of 11 honorary degrees. anthony lising antonio is associate professor of education and associate director for the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research at Stanford University. He writes and teaches courses on access to college, student development and assessment, and multicultural issues in higher education.