Toward a validational framework using student course papers from common undergraduate curricular requirements as viable outcomes evidence

Writing across the curriculum: A longitudinal assessment of psychology majors’ writing development.

“…In terms of the assessment design, a longitudinal study allowed us to detect improvements in writing skill that were not revealed through an earlier cross-sectional design, likely due to individual differences in writing and possibly cohort effects. As others have noted, writing development is highly contextual (Kelly-Riley, 2015; Sparks et al, 2014), so creating an assignment that was similar across classes led to better comparability of the results and allowed us to target a specific type of writing, namely the ability to critically assess and synthesize psychological literature.…”

“…A limited number of studies have longitudinally assessed writing across the college career to examine whether students are making gains in their written communication skills (Arum & Roksa, 2011, 2014; Haswell, 2000; Kelly-Riley, 2015; Oppenheimer et al, 2017; Roksa & Arum, 2015; Roohr et al, 2017). Again, these studies used a variety of writing assessment methods.…”

“…Some examined standardized multiple-choice tests (Roohr et al, 2017) or standardized assessments of writing skills integrated with critical thinking and problem solving (Arum & Roksa, 2011, 2014; Roksa & Arum, 2015). Others examined course papers or placement exam prompts (Haswell, 2000; Kelly-Riley, 2015) or developed writing prompts for the purpose of the assessment (Oppenheimer et al, 2017). Most examined holistic writing scores, but a few used more detailed rubrics, although these only assessed writing mechanics and objective measures like sentence, word, and essay length (Haswell, 2000; Kelly-Riley, 2015).…”

“…Others examined course papers or placement exam prompts (Haswell, 2000; Kelly-Riley, 2015) or developed writing prompts for the purpose of the assessment (Oppenheimer et al, 2017). Most examined holistic writing scores, but a few used more detailed rubrics, although these only assessed writing mechanics and objective measures like sentence, word, and essay length (Haswell, 2000; Kelly-Riley, 2015). In general, these studies have shown small-to-moderate improvements in writing across multiple years in college; however, these studies did not assess writing specific to a program or major.…”

Assessing Advanced Writing with AAC&U's VALUE Rubric: A Four‐Institution Collaboration

“…Many colleges and universities require that students take courses in writing and composition in their first year. These foundational courses are often supplemented with advanced, discipline‐specific writing courses enabling institutions to examine the development of competencies at the individual level, as well as affording an inter‐institutional comparison of student writing over time (Kelly‐Riley 2015). Rubrics such as the Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AAC&U) Written Communication VALUE Rubric (2009) allow educators to evaluate student writing ability.…”