In any educational scenario, the key measurement is not what was taught, but what was learned. Information literacy is no exception. As schools and libraries make an effort to teach information literacy, they are also ramping up their efforts to assess this type of knowledge.
Assessing information literacy ranges from the informal to the formal, and it varies based on the institution doing the assessment. This post will cover some of the efforts made by school and academic libraries to measure their information literacy programs.
Why Assess Information Literacy?
When institutions make plans to measure the information literacy of their students, one of the first questions they must ask themselves is why exactly are we assessing this information. Reasons can and do vary. Some want to track what students are learning; they want to use the assessment tool to determine what concepts students understand and what areas need more instruction and practice. Another reason to assess is because librarians want to improve their instruction. “Without assessment, program weaknesses cannot be easily identified or corrected.” (Oakleaf & Kaske, 2009, p.277) Additionally, librarians need to be accountable to the larger institution, such as the university or the school district. (Furno & Flanagan, 2008) Scores on information literacy tests can even affect accreditation. (Oakleaf & Kaske, 2009) The reason for the assessment will help determine what measurement tools are used.
What Needs to Be Assessed
Creating an assessment program begins by determining what skills need to be measured. The skill sets measured will vary, of course, depending on the education level of the students; high school students will be asked to be proficient at different things than college students. Some of the skills assessments try to measure include the following:
Ability to use Boolean search strategies
Understanding of controlled vocabulary
Ability to find appropriate print and electronic articles
Creation of key search terms
Critical evaluation of web sites
What Assessment Tools to Use
One of the most complicated areas for library instructors is determining what tools to use for assessment. The options are seemingly endless. Libraries can create their own tools, or they can implement one of the tests already available. Furthermore, libraries need to decide what type of test to create.
There are a multitude of ways to evaluate student learning. While there is not space here to detail the benefits and disadvantages of each type, it is important to delineate the options available for librarians.
Fixed Answer Assessments
One format most of us are familiar with is the fixed answer, often known as multiple choice, test. (Oakleaf, 2008) Here, students select from a set of predefined answers. Libraries can create these on their own, even tailor them to the specific instruction session, and for the most part they are relatively simple to create and score. For example, James Madison University requires all freshman to meet standards on the Information–Seeking Skills Test (ISST) that they developed themselves.
In addition to creating their own assessments, libraries can also use some of the standardized options available. Two possibilities include the following:
Created in 2002 at Kent State University, Project SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills)is intended to assess college students. (Seymour, 2007) The web-based exam is primarily used to measure groups of students; in fact, data is not available on a per-student basis. Even so, it can give colleges and universities an idea of how their students are performing compared to students at other schools. (Project SAILS)
TRAILS (Tools for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills), also developed by Kent State, is similar to Project SAILS except it is tailored for high school students. Here, librarians and teachers can see how each student performed. The tests are administered online. (TRAILS)
Performance Assessments
Performance assessments attempt to mimic real-world experiences in an evaluation, letting students display their skills in an information-seeking environment. These types of evaluations can take on a number of formats. For example, librarians or instructors can simply assign students a task, watch them complete it, and evaluate their success. (Oakleaf, 2009) Another option is to review the actual bibliographies of student assignments and critique their value. University of Connecticut tested a research portfolio assessment, giving students a research topic and having them keep detailed notes of their search strategies and results. (Sharma, 2007)
Rubrics
Rubrics are a set of criteria used for judging a project or assignment. Different categories are outlined, with student expectations listed for each; students are then scored based on how well they meet each objective. (Oakleaf, 2009) For information literacy, an example assignment would be for students to create a bibliography of resources on a certain topic. Categories to be measured may include quality of sources, use of search terms, proper citations and the like.
What Is In Store for Information Literacy Assessment
In 2004, Educational Testing Services (ETS) began a pilot program for its latest test called iSkills, a test designed to measure information literacy. (Katz, 2007) The 75-minute test used a performance-based model, presenting test-takers with different scenarios, then asking students to solve the information need using software that mimics what students see in the real world. There are currently two different testing levels; core is aimed at graduating high school seniors and first- or second-year college students, while advanced is intended for upper-level college students. (Educational Testing Service)
The test is not intended to determine college placement. Instead, it is “an assessment tool that will assist schools in determining whether their students have information and communication technology skills and their level of competency.” (Kenney, 2006)
Knowing that ETS, the same organization that develops other high-stakes assessments such as the SAT and the GRE, is participating in the information literacy arena indicates that information literacy assessment is gaining ground. As our society continues to be saturated with news and research, libraries will continue to make plans for information literacy assessment.
References
Ann Jason Kenney. (2006, March). The final hurdle? School Library Journal, 52(3), 62-64,9. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1010873521).
Educational Testing Service. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from http://www.ets.org.
Furno, C., & Flanagan, D. (2008). Information literacy: Getting the most from your 60 minutes. Reference Services Review, 36(3), 264-271. doi:10.1108/00907320810895350.
Information-seeking skills test.Retrieved July 17, 2009, from http://www.lib.jmu.edu/gold/isst.htm.
Katz, I. R. (2007). Testing information literacy in digital environments: ETS's iSkills assessment. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(3), 3-12.
Oakleaf, M. (2008). Danger and opportunities: A conceptual map of information literacy assessment approaches. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 8(3), 233-253.
Oakleaf, M., & Kaska, N. (2009). Guiding questions for assessing information literacy in higher education. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 9(2), 273-286.
Project SAILS. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from https://www.projectsails.org/.
Seymour, C. (2007). Information technology assessment: A foundation for school and academic library collaboration. Knowledge Quest, 35(5), 32-35.
Sharma, S. (2007). From chaos to clarity: Using the research portfolio to teach and assess information literacy skills. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(1), 35-127.
TRAILS. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from http://www.trails-9.org/.
