Program Assessment
Any attempts to improve the treatment and success of adult learners within postsecondary writing programs must begin with program assessment. Beyond its obvious utility of providing information on a given program’s operation, assessment is a statement of a writing program’s priorities (Anson 9). That is, who and what is being assessed reflect the populations and outcomes that are valued by a particular writing program, and how a program chooses to act on its assessment data likewise reflects the extent to which these populations and outcomes are valued. As a result, assessment can be both “threat and promise, weapon and tool” for adult learners, capable of both perpetuating and counteracting their traditional marginalization (Gallagher 30).
In order to achieve this latter result, WPAs must actively assess how adult learners navigate their writing programs and the extent to which their writing programs account for the various learning needs adult learners possess. This can prove somewhat challenging given the potential difficulties in identifying adult learners to begin with, as well as the ways in which adult learners tend to enroll in postsecondary institutions (see Adult Learner Basics); however, these challenges are not insurmountable. With these considerations in mind, therefore, below are some suggested guidelines for assessing adult learner success within college and university writing programs.
Questions for Consideration
Articles & Resources
In accordance with Harrington’s contention that assessment must begin with questions (203), the following queries offer several areas for consideration when assessing how adult learners navigate postsecondary writing programs. Worth noting, however, is that this list is not intended to be exhaustive, nor may every question apply to every writing program. These questions are instead designed to generate discussion and provoke additional questions concerning the extent to which any particular writing program accounts for the adult learners whom they serve.
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How does the institution define who constitutes an adult learner and thereby track adult learner enrollment? Does the writing program have access to this enrollment data?
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What courses (if any) do adult learners transfer into the institution, and how do these transfer courses affect adult learner placement within the writing program?
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What courses do adult learners typically enroll in within the writing program? Do these courses differ from
those traditionally-aged students enroll in?
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What is the retention rate for adult learners within the writing program, and how does it compare with
retention for traditionally-aged students?
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What systems of support are in place to help guide adult learners through the writing program and thereby facilitate their success (e.g. tutoring services, instructor office hours, online resources)? Are these services and resources readily accessible to adult learners?
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How well-prepared are instructors to teach adult learners? Are they aware of best practices in adult education?
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How do instructors determine what activities and assignments are best suited for adult learners?
- What kinds of professional development initiatives are needed to train and support instructors in educating
adult learners?
- How satisfied are adult learners with their experience in the writing program? Do they feel they have adequate
program resources and support?
Soliciting Student Feedback
Because adult learners often enroll in distance education courses and on a part-time basis (see Adult Learner Basics), involving them in program assessment can be difficult. Nevertheless, because these are the students such program assessment is for, WPAs should make every effort to ensure that they participate. This may be as simple as offering a digital survey for adult learners to complete or as in-depth as in-person focus groups. As with everything in WPA work, there is no one-size-fits-all method; program assessment is always local and situated within specific institutional contexts.
Involving Instructors
Assessment is at heart an educational activity, and while adult learners are often relegated to the periphery of many colleges and universities, program assessment affords WPAs and writing instructors a unique opportunity to learn about them as much as they would the writing program itself. Of the varied and abundant assessment methods WPAs may use to capitalize on this opportunity, Juergensmeyer’s and Peirce’s procedure for “becoming the learner” in particular possesses great promise for involving instructors in this learning process. It entails WPAs and instructors assuming the role their students do by experiencing, to some extent, what their students do as they move through the writing program (Juergensmeyer and Peirce 30-31). This is not to say that WPAs and instructors complete course assignments as their students would; rather, they leverage the same skill sets necessary for their students to successfully complete the program’s curriculum – for example, reflective journaling, textual analysis, persuasive writing, etc. (Juergensmeyer and Peirce 38-44). In so doing, WPAs and instructors enact their program’s curriculum from the students’ perspective, thereby enriching their understanding of the students they teach as well and the writing program within which they and their students operate.
Beyond the benefits conferred to instructors via their involvement in program assessment, there are also benefits to be gained from instructors. As Anson maintains, “individual instructors have more opportunities to engage in situated, authentic assessment” than WPAs and university administrators, enabling them to contribute program insights that might otherwise be missed (11). Furthermore, “writing faculty members are likely to have the most detailed knowledge of existing practices and [program] needs (Brady 80), and they are also more likely to be invested in any subsequent program changes if they are involved in the assessment process that prompted them. Overall, therefore, instructors are both benefactors and beneficiaries of program assessment, and it is for this reason that WPAs should involve them in assessment of adult learner success within writing programs.
