Presenter:

Karen Singer-Freeman: Director of Academic Planning and Assessment, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Dr. Singer-Freeman is the Director of Academic Planning and Assessment at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Previously, Dr. Singer-Freeman served as the Chair of the Psychology Department at Purchase College, State University of New York where she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her research examines educational interventions that support underserved students. At Purchase College Dr. Singer-Freeman served as Project Director of the MARC U*STAR Honors Program and Associate Director of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Program.

Presenter:

Christine Robinson: Executive Director-Office of Assessment and Accreditation, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Dr. Robinson is the Executive Director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Robinson leads a team that promotes continuous improvement in student learning, educational practices, and support services and facilitates an institutional culture of ongoing and systematic self-evaluation and improvement. Previously, Dr. Robinson served as Director of Academic Affairs, Associate Dean and Dean of Business and IT departments, and Dean of Planning, Assessment and Quality Improvement. Her more than 17 years of experience as an administrator includes collaborating with and leading faculty and staff in the assessment of educational practices and institutional effectiveness.

Additional Presenter:

Harriet Hobbs: Director of Assessment Systems and University Accreditation, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Harriet Hobbs is the Director of Assessment Systems and University Accreditation at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Before joining UNC Charlotte, she served as the Director of Institutional Planning, Assessment, Effectiveness and Research at Johnson C. Smith University and was the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning at Bladen Community College where she was honored as the staff member of the year. Harriet holds a M.S. in public administration and is completing her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Her research examines the role of non-cognitive factors and assessment practices in the success of underserved students.

Description:  

To achieve equity, we must examine the extent to which assessment choices contribute to the perpetuation of achievement gaps. Montenegro and Jankowski (2017) assert the importance of employing culturally responsive assessment as a means of increasing equity in higher education. In this workshop we will teach participants about a model of culturally relevant assessment (Singer-Freeman, Hobbs, & Robinson, in press) and evidence-based methods of assessment that measure learning equally in all groups of students. We will share innovative uses of data from our campus in which we have disaggregated assignment grades to reveal areas in which assessments appear to evoke false achievement gaps. Participants will leave the workshop with, an understanding of the role of assessment choices in the perpetuation of achievement gaps, methods of identifying achievement gaps using campus data, and a set of best practices to support increasing equity in assessment.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify questions about inclusive assessment and student learning that can be addressed using existing sources of campus data.
2. Participants will be prepared to use data triangulation to evaluate student learning outcomes attainment.
3. Participants will be prepared to communicate the results of data triangulation analyses to different audiences.