Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

Sturm College of Law

Keywords

ABA Standards, Accreditation, Student learning, Law school assessment

Abstract

There has been much discussion recently in legal education circles about the need for improvements in assessment. Recently, the American Bar Association has responded by adding an assessment requirement to the accreditation standards, making the subject even more urgent. Because most of us in the legal academy are new to the language and methods of assessment, there have been misunderstandings. And further, because there are different levels of assessment and each level usually has different goals, sometimes the discussion can become confused. It is imperative that we understand the different levels and goals of assessment projects, so we may communicate more effectively with each other and meet the new ABA Standards in an efficient manner. This article will attempt to clarify and simplify the discussion of assessment as it applies to law schools. If we all understand what we are talking about and what we are doing in this area, we can share information more readily and accurately, and advancements will be quicker and more effective.

Publication Statement

This article originally appeared in Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing, published by Thomson Reuters. For more information please visit http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/signup/newsletters/perspectives/



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