1. What outcomes will you focus on?

1. Which outcomes are important assessment criteria for JMUs psychology major?
Consider the outcomes all majors should have when they graduate. What should majors
be able to do when they graduate? Make sure you explain why you have chosen those
criteria.
1. Outcomes that are important assessment criteria are those that the curriculum is
currently set to hold as objectives for students to achieve before leaving the
major. These outcomes are listed below (Curriculum Objectives, 2016).
1. Knowledge Base of Psychology. Students will demonstrate familiarity
with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and
historical trends in psychology. Students in the psychology major must
have knowledge of psychology after spending almost 4 years studying it.
2. Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology. Students will respect and use
critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the
scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental
processes. Critical thinking is in important life skill and therefore we
hope students will possess this skill after they graduate.
3. Application of Psychology. Students will understand and apply
psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues. As
a psychology major, students must have a well-developed understanding
of topics in psychology and must be able to apply these concepts.
4. Communication Skills. Students will be able to communicate
effectively in a variety of formats. Communication is an important skill
for every major to have and is crucial to every area of life.
5. Personal Development. Students will develop insight into their own
and others behavior and mental processes and apply effective strategies
for self-management and self-improvement. As a psychology major,
students should have a well-developed understanding of behavior and
should be able to extend this understanding to their interpersonal
relationships. We hope psychology majors will also use these strategies
for purposes of introspection.
6. Well-Being: Social, purpose, financial, community and physical wellbeing. We hope our majors learn strategies through our program that help
them find Well-Being in all five areas and help them lead a fulfilling life.
7. Workplace engagement: Being actively engaged in and satisfied with
your work. This is important to assess to see if the major has provided
students will tools to discover and pursue their interests.
2. Secondly, outcomes that would be assessed would be those of the sociocultural
awareness objectives that are required in courses identified under the
sociocultural domain section of the JMU Psychology major (Curriculum
Objectives, 2016). Integration of assessment of the sociocultural domain
would likely integrate into portions of the assessment, such as well-being,
personal development, communication skills, and workplace engagement. With
an increasing understanding of the differences in the world and the increased
awareness to the prejudices that are held systemically, it is important for JMU
Psychology majors and college graduates alike to obtain key concepts
involving the sociocultural perspective.
1. Students will be able to describe the sociocultural contexts that influence
individual differences.
2. Students will be able to explain how individual differences influence
beliefs, values, and interactions with others and vice versa.

ii.

3. Students will be able to explain how privilege, power, and oppression

may affect prejudice, discrimination, and inequity.
4. Students will be able to recognize prejudicial attitudes and
discriminatory behaviors that might exist in themselves and others.
Which outcomes are important to predict for JMUs graduates? Which life outcomes
does your team think JMU students should have after they graduate? You will be using
the performance in the assessment center to predict certain life outcomes. Explain why
you chose those outcomes.
Professional Skills
Professional development is integral for future success in that students
who graduate should be able to thrive in a professional environment.
This outcome is important for JMU graduates as to be able to thrive in
any form of graduate program or function in any working environment.
Having the curriculum foster this skill set says that the JMU psychology
program is setting students up for professional success.
Personal Skills
Personal development throughout the curriculum would be predictive
that students are growing individually both in and out of the major, with
incorporation of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills sets and are
motivated to move through material, course work, and developing
relationships with others around them. Future success relies heavily on
the motivation that these individuals have and the relationships that they
are able to form and create for better stabilization.
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is important for further success of our graduates in that
we know that workers do better in an environment that they enjoy. We
hope that our curriculum accommodates students in their field of study,
but also giving them a wide breadth of studies to try out. Also, being able
to work with many different individuals and learn a wide variety of
information would be predictive of being able to pursue the career of
choice and understand what work environment would work best for
them.
Well-being
Social, purpose, financial, community and physical well-being. We hope our
majors learn strategies through our program that help them find Well-Being
in all five areas and help them lead a fulfilling life. Having a positive wellbeing would greatly benefit many aspects of their life, including their social
connections and their professional career.
Diversity education & Sociocultural awareness
JMU graduates should have a greater sense of individuals that are different
then who then themselves, but also have an understanding of the underlying
biases that are systemic in our culture. Sociocultural awareness allows for the
better understanding of individuals that a student may encounter later in life,
in their career fields of choice, and knowing the world is different in the eyes
other individuals.

b. What KSAOs will you measure? Select 8-10 most important KSAOs
a. In paragraph format write a description that includes what the KSAO is and why you selected it.
Note how each KSAO acts as a criterion, predictor, or both. Your KSAO should be clearly linked to
some of the outcomes you noted above.

i.

Communication skills - predictor

This includes being able to effectively present information to other
people in a professional manner as well as active listening.
Communication skills will ensure students are prepared for either a job
setting and working with co-workers as well as faculty and other students
in a graduate school setting, therefore serving as a predictor variable for
success in either graduate school or in a job setting.

ii.

Teamwork and collaboration - predictor

Teamwork and collaboration are important for any job. They are also
important in graduate school, especially when working on research
projects. Teamwork and collaboration are predictor variables and
outcomes such as job satisfaction are especially dependent on whether or
not an employee is able to work well with others.

iii.

Desire and ability to learn - criterion

The desire and ability to learn is an important criterion of student success
for students who move through the curriculum. Students must be willing
to learn and retain information. The desire and ability to learn are
predictors of job satisfaction as well as well-being because it motivates
people to make the most out of every situation and learn new things.

iv.

Adaptability to changing situations - predictor

Being adaptable is an important predictor for success in the job market.
Students should be able to adapt and still perform tasks to the best of
their ability despite impediments. Adaptability is both a predictor and
criterion variable of well-being because it gives people the opportunity to
broaden their horizons and explore other options instead of being fixated.

v.

Critical Thinking skills both predictor and criterion

Critical thinking is an important predictor of success in both graduate
school as well as in terms of getting a job. Education at the graduate
program level requires students to be able to think critically and apply
their knowledge. Decision-making in a job situation also involves critical
thinking and evaluating options and consequences. Critical thinking
skills are a major criterion of the psychology major. Development of
these skills is an important skill to develop before moving onto postgraduation life. Assessing that the curriculum is teaching these skills in
integral in assessing our overall program.

vi.

Problem Solving both predictor and criterion

Problem solving is an important skill for students entering the workforce
as well as those going to graduate school. Problem solving is used to
resolve difficult scenarios that could occur in a workplace as well as any
obstacles that may arise while a student is in graduate school, therefore
serving as a criterion variable. Further, problem solving strategies and
skills are integral to success throughout the curriculum, especially during
high-stakes exams that determine moving onto further material.

vii.

Time management - predictor

Time management is predictive of success in graduate school as well in a

job setting. Students going to graduate school must be able to complete
assignments in a timely manner. Students entering the workforce must
also be able to meet deadlines as well as manage other aspects of their
job.
viii.

Basic knowledge of psychology - criterion

Students must be able to exhibit basic knowledge of psychology. Those
going to graduate school should be able to build onto basic concepts to
attain an advanced understanding of the subject. In a job setting, the
basic knowledge of psychology is helpful when interacting with people
and understanding other points of view. Knowledge of psychology is a
predictor of social and purpose well-being, as well as job satisfaction
because students will be able to apply concepts and strategies learned at
JMU to enhance their own lives and find more meaning or purpose.

c. What data would you collect to measure student attainment of each of these KSAOs?
Tasks should measure multiple KSAOs.
The format should be as follows:
i.
Paper and Pencil Test (Muchinsky, 2012) -- 1 hour
Individuals will be given an exam testing their knowledge on basic and
foundational topics in psychology. We chose to conduct a written test to
assess the students basic knowledge of psychology and critical thinking
skills. The time constraint of the test will be predictive of time
management skills. We believe this test is an accurate measure of the
KSAOs listed below which will predict future success including, a job
and being in graduate school.
1. Basic Knowledge of Psychology
2. Critical Thinking Skills
3. Time Management
ii.
Group: Performance (Muchinsky, 2012) - Role Play (Timeframe: 1 hour)
Individuals will be split into groups and given a problem to solve within
an hour - the problem presented would be related to life after college
where conflict is presented. Students will need to act out the open-ended
scenario given to them by the proctor in which they choose the solution
in a consensus. This task was chosen to allow students to demonstrate
their abilities to collaborate and find a solution to problems presented to
them at the time. A student's ability to work within a group effectively to
correctly solve a problem would demonstrate the communication and
problem-solving skills obtained throughout their college career. The time
constraint of the group task will illustrate the students time management
skills. The role play will also be predictive of the students ability to
change to new hurdles. Each member will bring a new and differing
perspective to the group, so ensuring that a consensus is reached is key.
Presentation of a novel problem and the creation of a solution would
demonstrate students desire and ability to learn. KSAOs the group role
play task will be criterion of:
Time Management
Critical Thinking Skills
Problem Solving
Teamwork and collaboration

Communication Skills
Adaptability to changing situations
Desire and ability to learn
d. What criterion measures would you use to evaluate the effectiveness of the Assessment
Center?
o Explain the purpose of your assessment center (e.g., are you trying to decide who was
successful at passing the major?)
The overall purpose of this assessment center is to gather information on the
knowledge and skills that students are receiving from the Psychology major.
Thus, asking the question, are our students meeting all of the objectives and are
they set up for life outside JMU, whether that be in a graduate program or the
workforce? The assessment would collect information on whether or not
students have properly completed goals set forth by the Psychology major. The
assessment at hand doesnt necessarily need to assess whether students have
attained specific grades in their core classes, but that they have obtained the
knowledge and skills the curriculum has pre-determined as final objectives.
Lastly, this information would be purposeful as to improve upon aspects of the
major - the courses themselves, course objectives, and skills being taught - that
arent meeting goals of the major.
a. Describe the criteria measures you would use and why you chose them.
Criterion measures that would be utilized would be power, individual and
paper-and-pencil tests for part 1 of the assessment and, power, group, and
performance tests for part 2 (Muchinsky, 2012). These methods should gather
information on the specific KSAOs students have attained from the curriculum
and their ability to recall and apply specific KSAOs. Specifically, each of the
three tests to be used will allow students to fully demonstrate their knowledge,
abilities, and skills. For part 1 of the assessment, students will be graded on
their ability to answer questions correctly based on knowledge obtained from
the curriculum. Questions will be related to foundational and basic concepts,
where questions will repeatedly touch on information. Have students record
their information increases the interrater reliability of the test and decreases the
chance for error. For part 2 of the assessment, students will demonstrate their
ability to choose a solution to an open-ended problem while working in a group
setting. Having students work together can better demonstrate their
interpersonal skills that they have obtained throughout their time at JMU. The
assessment of all KSAOs in this portion of the assessment will be recorded by
individuals observing the groups and their ability to work towards a consensus.
a. Explain how you would analyze the validity of your assessment center. Concurrent
validity or predictive validity? Why?
To analyze the overall validity of the assessment center, we would analyze data with
concurrent criterion-related validity where we would look at how well our predictors would
measure future criterion (Muchinsky, 2012). Because students taking the assessment are
graduating, we may not necessarily be able to predict future performance in graduate programs
and jobs. However, the assessment can be used as a tool to improve the overall effectiveness of
the curriculum in meeting objectives set-forth by the department or even changing the objectives
if they are not able to be reached.
Describe the validity assessment process
To assess the overall validity of the our assessment process, we would want to examine
the construct validity. To assess construct validity, prior to examination information and research

should be collected on how to properly ascertain information from students during an

examination of their knowledge of psychology as well as research on already known models and
then have students take our assessment. The assessment scores from previous models and the
current (new) model should then be correlated. With a high correlation, means that our new
measure would be similar to those previously used. Having a high correlation here also entails
that there is strong content and face validity with this new measure. Meaning that our questions
and information being presented is accurate in measuring core knowledge of psychology.
5. What decision-making strategy would you use to determine which students are
successful? Describe the decision-making process you would use and why. Related to
chapter 5 (e.g., multiple cutoff, multiple hurdle)
The questions would touch upon multiple different of KSAOs to assess the overall outcomes
each student obtained. The assessment at hand will have multiple hurdles for students to move
through. The assessment should include both criterion cutoffs that describe the success of the student.
The criterion cutoffs will determine successful from unsuccessful students, meaning what areas did
the students excel in or what areas were missing from their education.. The multiple hurdle portion
required of the students would be to attend the assessment center, participate in the individual portion,
and then actively participate in the group portion. Since the assessment at hand is not high stakes and
students wouldnt be prevented from graduating, unless they do not attend the assessment, there will
be no selection process in determining those who will graduate and those who will not. Knowing this,
we chose to move forward with a multiple hurdled assessment to ensure that students were properly
demonstrating all KSAOs set by the psychology major.

6. How should we motivate students to perform at their best on this assessment center?
Students performance and abilities would be evaluated at the assessment center. In order to
ensure that students are present to take the exam and that students try their best, proctors would offer
an incentive to motivate attendance and effort. In this case, proctors would offer the students pizza
after the completion of the exam. This relates to the goal-setting theory of motivation. Upon arrival at
the testing center, the student will be aware that the goal (pizza) is available if he or she shows up to
the testing center and takes the exam. The student must then determine whether the goal is worth it,
and whether he or she is prepared to perform the work in order to achieve it. Because students lack
the funds necessary to regularly treat themselves to pizza, and because students are simply food
driven, the pizza is a factor that will promote high motivation and performance.
7. How should we use the information from the assessment center?
The results and information acquired from the assessment center should be shared with James
Madison Universitys College of Health and Behavioral Studies as well as the professors within the
psychology department. Both parties could use the information to compare progress as years
progress and graduating classes continue to take the exam. Faculty can note strengths and weaknesses
based on students scores and use analyses to maintain strengths and devise a program to enhance
shortcomings. By recognizing strengths and weaknesses in the test, the program can better understand
how to better instruct and format classes in a way that best supports student achievement.

References
Curriculum Objectives - JMU. (2016) Retrieved from
http://www.psyc.jmu.edu/undergraduate/curriculumobjectives.html

Great Jobs Great Lives - Gallup Purdue Index Report (2014) Retrieved from
https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/galluppurdueindex-report-2014.pdf
Muchinsky, P. M. (2012). Psychology applied to work. (10 ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press.
th

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A. Wallace, Robert L. Williams, Sherri B. Lantinga, Angela Kroez Visser, Jane Marantz Connor,
Richard A. Griggs, Cynthia L. S. Pury, Emmanuel Akillas & Linda M. Isbell (2003):
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