Holistically Assessing Critical Thinking and Written Communication Learning Outcomes with Direct and Indirect Measures

Elise Demeter, Christine Robinson, and John G. Frederick   |    Volume Fourteen  |   

Students at many higher education institutions are expected to acquire effective written communication skills and strong critical thinking skills. Although these student learning outcomes are common, these skills are complex. Assessing students’ attainment of these outcomes at an institutional level can be difficult as many approaches to measuring student learning have inherent flaws or biases. This study uses direct and indirect measures of student learning to triangulate freshmen and seniors’ attainment of written communication and critical thinking outcomes. The data collected through these complementary methods allowed institutional stakeholders to examine student learning through different lenses and to create a detailed and nuanced portrait of student learning within the institution.

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