The relationship among learning outcome measures used in higher education

Abstract

Although grades are still considered important signifiers of graduates' quality, greater attention has been paid to other measures of learning outcomes in higher education. This shift in attention is attributed to an increased focus on study quality, employability, quality development and accountability. This paper examines how grades relate to different measures of self-reported learning outcomes in engineering, health programmes and education programmes. Longitudinal data from national surveys in Norway are analysed in combination with data from public registers. Selfreported learning outcomes are related to student engagement and factors indicative of effective educational practices, while grades are related more to student background characteristics. Self-reported learning outcomes therefore measure individual gain or value added, using the personal starting point as a reference In this regard, this paper argues that it is important to critically discuss what kind of measures should be used as learning outcomes.

Placement training and learning outcomes in social work education

“…However, the variables also highlight the individual aspects of educational outcomes, in addition to the structural characteristics of study programmes. Furthermore, the relationships are not always straightforward, as shown in school grades' negative direct impact on all three learning outcomes, in line with previous research findings (Caspersen and Smeby 2018). The reasonable explanation is that a self-reported learning outcome measures the subjective experience of knowledge gain.…”

“…As discussed in the introduction, self-efficacy and individual characteristics, such as gender, age and grades in upper-secondary school, have proven important for learning outcomes in previous research (Caspersen and Smeby 2018). However, the variables also highlight the individual aspects of educational outcomes, in addition to the structural characteristics of study programmes.…”

“…Self-reported learning outcomes are measured using the same three dimensions highlighted in the EQF: knowledge, general competence and skills (European Commission 2018). The three dimensions come from a larger group of items examining higher education outcomes and have also been used in previous research on learning outcomes in higher education (Caspersen et al 2014;Caspersen and Smeby 2018).…”

“…To examine the two perspectives on placement, we have conducted path-regression analyses based on data from a longitudinal student survey in Norway. In addition to information on students' self-reported learning outcomes, our data also include information on individual factors that have been singled out as important for student outcomes, such as the students' generalised self-efficacy, age, gender and grades in upper-secondary school (Caspersen and Smeby 2018).…”

An innovative framework for higher education to evaluate learning gain: a case study based upon the discipline of marketing

“…These behavioural, sociocultural, psychological and holistic perspectives (Maskell and Collins 2017;Neves and Stoakes 2018;Parker 2018;Standford et al 2017;) map directly on to Kahu's framework of student engagement (2013). Normative measurement (individual performance), instead of ipsative testing (relative performance), can be the most effective way to compare the learning of students (Evans, Kandiko Howson and Forsythe 2018) and assessing such student learning is now one of the drivers for measuring student performance in terms of value added and learning gain (Caspersen and Smeby 2018).…”