Effective Assessment Development Workshop, January 22-23, 2025

Effective Assessment Development: From Initial Planning to Practical Use

This 1.5-day workshop led by assessment expert Dr. Kristen Murphy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will boost your teaching effectiveness and spring productivity. We will discuss and practice the full process of assessment development and implementation and leave with (1) a completed test specification for a spring exam; (2) the start of a test; and (3) detailed plan on how to use results including a free book to help you properly evaluate the results. 

Register

When, Where, What's Served 

Wednesday, January 22, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm (includes lunch), 320 Laws Hall

Thursday, January 23, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (includes breakfast & lunch), 320 Laws Hall

Bonus

Participants recieve a free copy of Assessment 101 in Higher Education: The Fundamentals and How to Apply Them.

Workshop Description

In this workshop, we will discuss and practice the full process of assessment development and implementation. We will start with discussing course objectives or learning outcomes and how these form the backbone of our assessment plan. From here, we will build a detailed test specification and practice writing a few items. We will collaborate on editing each other’s items embracing the notion that assessment development is best when it is collaborative. The implementation of the assessment, although discussed in concept only, will include the practicalities of giving the test to scoring, reporting and grading. Finally, we will discuss how we are going to use our assessment results for grades, reflecting on or evaluating our classroom practices, participating in programmatic assessment, and contributing to evidence-based program change. It is hoped that we will all leave with a completed test specification for one of our upcoming exams, a start on writing our test and a detailed plan on how we will use our results.

Facilitator Bio

Dr. Kristen Murphy

Professor and Chair (UW-Milwaukee); Director (ACS Exams Institute)

Kristen Murphy has served as the Director for the American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Chemical Education, Examinations Institute since 2015 and previously as the Associate Director since 2005. During this time, she has developed expertise in assessment development, administration and psychometrics. The Examinations Institute develops standardized exams and study materials for all levels of chemistry from second-year high school through senior level undergraduate. Additionally, she has led research projects both through work with the Institute and in her faculty role at UW-Milwaukee incorporating theories of cognition into the assessment process, examining larger groups of trial-testing performance using item response theory, subgroups of performances using differential item functioning and the investigation of an introductory chemistry student’s conception of scale. She received the UW-Milwaukee Faculty Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2012, the ACS Henry Hill Award in 2013, the ACS Women Chemists Committee Rising Star Award in 2018, the UW-Milwaukee Faculty Distinguished Service Award in 2024 and was inducted as an ACS Fellow in 2023. She has also led many professional development activities including faculty workshops for assessment specification development, criterion referencing and programmatic assessment and program alignment.