Some Perspectives on Assessment of Student Learning

The last twenty years have seen considerable accomplishments in the area of the assessment of student learning. I discuss some of the most significant of these achievements while also considering certain open questions that have arisen over the years and that remain in need of further analysis and resolution. Remarks are structured into three sections: Past, Present, and Future. Past chronicles the progress made toward developing a culture of assessment; Present focuses on the results of current research on student learning of interest to the assessment community; and Future considers several current issues that demand our collective attention.