Recently got copy of an email sent out by McGraw-Hill’s “Assessment Research Project.” In part it said:
As a quick reminder, we are conducting this nation-wide study to learn about assessment practices that are actually being used by professors of Introductory Sociology. We are seeking a copy of your syllabus, mid-term and final exams. If you do not assess cumulatively, please submit your mid-year and end-of-year exams along with your syllabus.
The recipient was assured that the material would be kept confidential and not published in any of their teaching materials (interesting that they even need to say this) and was asked to be sure to “please be sure to let me know if you would like to receive a Certificate of Participation and/or an honorary mention in our research”! Maybe you could include that in your tenure file.
There’s money in them thar hills, folks, and even though the accreditation agencies, think tanks, washed-up academics who’ve become assessment entrepreneurs, and standardized testing organizations have a head start (since they are the ones who get to set the agenda), textbook publishers are starting to realize that if we are up against the wall we’ll love to order textbooks that come with “integrated assessment plans” of some kind.
Onward and upward!
See also…
You can earn over $100k and live in Monterrey, CA: Director, International Research and Development
