Equity-Focused Assessment involves using existing institutional and department-focused data to identify equity-focused questions for PRP and PLO assessment. Some departmental data requires access to UCSB Tableau. If faculty members/departments do not have Tableau access, contact ladler@ucsb.edu.
Institutional Data: Start Here
Programs/departments should begin reviewing the equity dashboard guide. Next, examine Department Profiles, Equity Dashboards, and Course Grade Distributions (contact ladler@ucsb.edu). Programs/departments will also want to examine additional institutional data available from UCSB and/or UCOP.
Available data are described in the UCSB Data Dashboard Inventory. Click here for a list of initial questions for which the specific dashboards can provide answers.
If you see a dashboard to which you would like access and it is not available to you, contact Linda Adler-Kassner (ladler@ucsb.edu).
Using Data for Equity-Focused Assessment
Download Equity Assessment Planning Guide
Use the Equity Assessment Planning Guide as you work through the following steps:
STEP ONE
List the most pressing questions you have about undergraduate and graduate learning in your major or program. Aim for at least five questions.
STEP TWO
UNDERGRADUATE:
Review UCSB Tableau Dashboards: Course Grade Distribution Dashboard, Department Equity Dashboards, and Course Complexity Dashboards. NOTE: All department chairs should have access to Tableau using a login/password provided by Institutional Research. Contact IR if you do not have this access.
GRADUATE:
Review UCOP graduate data dashboards. (Be sure to toggle to UC Santa Barbara.)
STEP THREE
List between 4-7 things that you noticed in the data that you found interesting. Briefly describe why you found them interesting -- i.e., what they made you wonder about.
Interesting thing(s)
Sample: I notice that a higher percentage of students experiencing 3 effectors switch out of the major than students with 0 effectors.
Why interesting
Because I am interested in the experience of different student populations in the major.
STEP FOUR
Rank the list you made in step 3 in priority order, listing each item and why it is of interest in separate rows.
Prioritized list
Sample: I notice that a higher percentage of students experiencing 3 effectors switch out of the major than students with 0 effectors.
Why interesting
Because I am interested in the experience of different student populations in the major.
Prioritized list
Sample: I notice that 10% of 0 effector students earn C- or lower in <course name>, but 60% of 3 effector students earn C- or lower at the same rate
Why interesting
Are we serving students with 0 effectors more effectively than those with 3 effectors?
STEP FIVE
Review other data in the dashboards and, in the third box, enter other data that might provide more useful information to you regarding items in your prioritized list.
Prioritized list
Sample: I notice that a higher percentage of students experiencing 3 effectors switch out of the major than students with 0 effectors.
Why interesting
Because I am interested in the experience of different student populations in the major.
Other data
Detailed “switching in/out” data - what happens in the quarter before 1-3 effector students switch out?
Prioritized list
Sample: I notice that 10% of 0 effector students earn C- or lower in <course name>, but 60% of 3 effector students earn C- or lower at the same rate
Why interesting
Are we serving students with 0 effectors more effectively than those with 3 effectors?
Other data
Rates of switching in/out of the major; major completion
Course complexity: If students have to repeat the course (because they’ve earned C- or lower), their likelihood of completing the major on time drops by 60% because they cannot enroll in <this course>, which then throws them off for <these subsequent courses>
STEP SIX
If you are developing question(s) for a PLO assessment: Write 2-3 questions you might ask as part of your PLO assessment to learn about at least one item on the prioritized list. These should be related to courses and/or instruction in your department. The assessment team can help you connect these interests to a PLO.
Sample: <PLO> is a central outcome for our major, and our curriculum map shows that it is introduced in <course/s> and practiced with in <course/s>. In those <course/s>, how does students’ work with <central outcome> change, so that we can be sure they will have achieved <outcome> by the end of their major?
- Direct evidence: analysis of student work in course a (introduced) and course b (practiced).
- Indirect evidence: surveys/interviews with students (and, potentially, faculty) to learn about their experience learning <key outcome> in course a/b.
If you are working on a program review self-study: Reviewing the questions/interests you’ve described in step 5, describe activities your department has undertaken related to these prioritized interests and how they have contributed to the major/graduate program (if they have). If you have not, describe what you would like to do/learn to take action on them. Finally, describe resources necessary for you to take more definitive, equity-oriented action on these items.
As you review the data, remember that quantitative data can help you to identify what is happening, but it cannot tell you why something is happening. That requires qualitative investigation such as surveys, focus groups, or interviews. Once you identify questions (via this process), UCSB’s assessment coordinator, Josh Kuntzman, is available to assist with qualitative research for your PLO assessment and/or PRP self-study.