Abstract
As the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (‘QAA’) has noted, ‘With an increasing tendency to see higher education as a product with a price tag, there is understandably growing interest in the extent to which academic programmes of study promote students’ employability and earning power.’ (QAA, 2013, para. 1) In this chapter, we address the ‘basics’ underpinning the notion of learning gain including the best means for its measurement and the motivations behind the need to both quantify and attribute the various changes in our students as brought about by their university learning experiences. A larger question remains: if we wish to measure (some) gains in learning, arguably we firstly need to define what it is that we are actually seeking to measure, rather than starting from a position of what might be measurable in the hope that something can be found. This in turn means that the concept of learning gain may become a very different thing according to the instrument of measurement used. This then leads on to a further issue: if we measure learning gain in one particular way, this clearly says something about the type(s) of learning that we most value, and what gain(s) may exist within them.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Ernest T. Pascarella & Charles Blaich (2013) Lessons from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 45:2, 6–15, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2013.764257.
- 2.
See further https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk (accessed 10.11.18).
- 3.
‘Alis’ is a value-added measurement, described by Durham University’s Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) as ‘providing detailed value-added progress information for each student and subject at the end of the course.’ (CEM, 2017, para. 1). Alis was originally a straightforward value-added system: currently, more sophisticated versions are available whereby a test adapted according to student responses can be used to provide a learner benchmark.
- 4.
See The Office for Students (OfS) website https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/teaching/learning-gain/ (accessed 09.11.18).
- 5.
Indeed, one student guide to the CLA + suggests that (for $89) students ‘will be able to demonstrate to employers how your 21st century skills attainment compares to students nationwide.’ Council for Aid to Education (CAE) (2012). Student Guide to CLA + . (https://s3.amazonaws.com/StraighterLine/Docs/studentguide_straighterline.pdf (accessed 10.10.18).
- 6.
Ibid, p. 1.
- 7.
See further https://athinkingperson.com/2012/12/02/who-said-what-gets-measured-gets-managed/ (accessed 30.11.18).
References
Arum, R., & Roska, J. (2010). Academically adrift: Limited learning on college campuses. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.
Benjamin, R., & Clum, M. (2003). A new field of dreams: The collegiate learning assessment project. Peer review, 5(4), 26–29.
Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of Education, 50(1), 75–87.
Blackmore, P., & Kandiko, C. (2012). Change: processes and resources. In P. Blackmore & C. Kandiko (Eds.), Strategic Curriculum Change, Global Trends in Universities. Abingdon: Routledge.
Boud, D. (2018). Assessment could demonstrate learning gains, but what is required for it to do so? Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), 54–56.
Cameron, A., Wharton, Y., & Scally, J. B. (2018). An investigation into the comparative learning gain and ‘value added’ for students from widening participation and non-widening participation groups: A case study from sports degrees. Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), 83–102.
CEM. (2017). Alis. Retrieved from https://www.cem.org/alis.
Council for Aid to Education (CAE). (2012). Student guide to CLA+. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/StraighterLine/Docs/studentguide_straighterline.pdf.
Clarke, M. (2017). Rethinking graduate employability: The role of capital, individual attributes and context. Studies in Higher Education.
Gibbs, G. (2010). Dimensions of quality. International Journal. Retrieved from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/evidence_informed_practice/Dimensions_of_Quality.pdf.
Gossman, P., Powell, S., & Neame, C. (2018). Pain, gain—Mission. Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), 7–9.
Hart Research Associates. (2015). Falling short: College learning and career success. Washington, D.C.: Hart Research Associates.
Hefce. (2015). Higher Education Funding Council for England. Retrieved from: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/newsarchive/2015/Name,105306,en.html.
Jääskelä, P., Nykänen, S., & Tynjälä, P. (2016). Models for the development of generic skills in Finnish higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1(13), 1–13.
McGrath, C. H., Guerin, B., Harte, E., Frearson, M., & Manville, C. (2015). Learning gain in higher education. Cambridge, UK: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR996.html.
OECD. (2013). Assessment of higher education learning outcomes, feasibility study report. Volume 1 – Design and implementation, Executive Summary. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/AHELO%20FS%20Report%20Volume%201%20Executive%20Summary.pdf.
Rogers, K. (2016). A new final exam for college seniors. Fox Business. Retrieved from: http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/a-new-final-exam-for-college-seniors.
Sands, D., Parker, M., Hedgeland, H., Jordan, S., & Galloway, R. (2018). Using concept inventories to measure understanding. Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2018.1433546.
Shavelson, R. J., & Huang, L. (2003). Responding responsibly to the frenzy to assess learning in higher education. Change, 35(1), 11–18.
Sin, C., & Neave, G. (2014). Employability deconstructed: Perceptions of Bologna Stakeholders. Studies in Higher Education, 41(8), 1–16.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. (2013). Skills for employability. Retrieved from: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/skills-for-employability.
Thompson, D. (2018). Value added measures in performance tables: A recap of the main issues for primary schools—FFT Education Datalab. Retrieved from: https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2018/05/value-added-measures-in-performance-tables-a-recap-of-the-main-issues-for-primary-schools/.
Wheadon, C. (2013). Where’s the value in ‘value-added’? Retrieved from: https://cerp.aqa.org.uk/blog/bloggers/christopher-wheadon.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gossman, P., Powell, S. (2019). Learning Gain: Can It Be Measured?. In: Diver, A. (eds) Employability via Higher Education: Sustainability as Scholarship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26342-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26342-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26341-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26342-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)