October 2020 OPA Blog

Assessment of TTU's Core Curriculum

When faculty and staff think of OPA, they likely automatically think of SACSCOC compliance. However, OPA staff are involved in a variety of assessment activities, with one of those being assessment of the Texas Tech University Core Curriculum.

The Texas Tech University Core Curriculum complies with Texas statutes and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) rules. The State of Texas has identified six core objectives to be addressed through the core curriculum: critical thinking skills, communication skills, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, social responsibility, and personal responsibility.

At our institution, the core curriculum is designed to expose all Texas Tech University graduates to areas of study that are “traditionally regarded as basic to the intellectual development of a broadly educated person.” These areas of study include coursework in life and physical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; mathematics; language, philosophy, and culture; creative arts; American history; political science/government; and communication.

So, what do we use to measure student learning in relation to the core? Over the years, our office has partnered with the Office of the Provost and the Core and Multicultural Committee (CMC) to develop assessment practices to assist with collecting core data, summarized below.

Course-level Assessment

Classes that are identified as belonging to the TTU core curriculum areas of study are asked to identify an assignment that measures a student's ability to demonstrate application of that skill (e.g., ability to work in teams.) Assignments are then evaluated using a 4-point rubric, ranging from Work is Inadequate, Work is Basic, Work is Adequate, to Work is Comprehensive. Course instructors then submit a Qualtrics survey identifying how many students scored in each category, and results are reported by core objective as the percentage of students who scored Adequate or higher.

National Survey of Student Engagement

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. Select questions from the NSSE that have been identified as relating to the six core objectives are used to assess student development.

TechQuest

TechQuest is an instrument developed by OPA and the Office of the Provost designed to measure student learning in the core curriculum areas of study. Faculty from each of the core areas provided four questions that students should be able to answer after exposure to the core courses upon graduation as seniors. TechQuest results should demonstrate learning growth upon analysis of first-year scores and senior scores.

ETS Proficiency Profile

The ETS Proficiency Profile is a nationally normed assessment which measures four core skills areas – reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking – as a gauge of general education outcomes. The Proficiency Profile is still in its piloting stage and is only administered to graduating senior students. Thus, OPA and the CMC are still developing expected benchmarks for this assessment.

Combined, these assessments help us evaluate whether the core curriculum at TTU is serving its purpose as identified by THECB. That is, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world; develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world; and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.

All this assessment data is compiled in an annual Core Curriculum Report. Historical reports can be viewed at: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/opa/assessments/corecurriculum/index.php. Questions regarding assessment of the core curriculum can be addressed to Libby Spradlin (libby.spradlin@ttu.edu) or Dr. Jaclyn Cañas-Carrell (jaclyn.e.canas@ttu.edu).