Primary Trait Analysis: Anchoring Assessment in the Classroom

Abstract

The assessment of learning and teaching is a valuable endeavor, however onerous or ominous. Unfortunately, the difficulty of assessment often prevents potential assessors from beginning the project, even though the necessity of public accountability forces action. The assessment of a general education should be designed, implemented, and evaluated by faculty in colleges where departments have considerable autonomy, but must still cooperate at the institutional level. The ownership involves faculty designing, implementing, and evaluating student learning. It is our position that three issues are central to assessment: First, general education must be defined appropriately in the context of the students' academic programs. Second, assessment must have a direct relationship with teaching and learning. Finally, and most important, the process must be centered where the actual teaching and learning take place, that is, in the classroom. Only when these three issues are addressed will the students, faculty, and administrators find an assessment process that all can support. We propose Primary Trait Analysis (PTA) as the process that unites the assessment goals of students, faculty, and administrators and anchors general education assessment in the classroom.