New Jersey Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Technical Writing Assessment

What do we test for and why? This question is one of central importance in the rapidly changing field of technical communication. Do we test for grammar? Do we test for graphics? At NJIT, we have instituted a loop of continuous assessment, criteria modification and curriculum change that has culminated in a new rubric, or set of criteria, and a new method of assessment: reading online portfolios.

Guided by statistical patterns and feedback from the ongoing assessment, within the past two years we instituted the following changes:

1. We required a common textbook (Spring 2003).
   
   
2. We required common modules: a manual, a proposal, oral presentations, and technical marketing material (Fall 2003).
   
   
3. We required that each student have at least a single webpage on the NJIT servers (Spring 2004).
   
   
4. We required that each student have an online portfolio with links to all of his or her work on the web (Fall 2004).
   

Our program assessment has evolved from holistic best paper readings in the 1980s to analytic scoring of online portfolios in 2004. This evolution required a redefinition of the rubric, via a modified Delphi, into new set of assessment criteria for the technical communication classroom. Some of the details of this process can be seen in our 2004 MLA panel paper “Technical Communication and Poststructuralism: Conducting Research under Contingent Conditions” and our 2004 ASEE panel presentation "Beyond Cut Scores: Portfolio Assessment in Program Evaluation." Upcoming info will be shared at the Best Assessment Processes VII, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, April 2005: "Cycles of Improvement: Assessing Validity in Technical Writing Programs Using Online Portfolios" in sunny Terra Haute, IN.