The Use of Course Grades in the Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes for General Education

Abstract

The reliability and validity of course grades as measures of general education learning outcomes were assessed using the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) proposed by Campbell and Fiske. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were assessed on college undergraduate students over a 12-year period. Two procedures were used to test the MTMM. The first procedure was a nested confirmatory factor analysis proposed by Widaman. The second procedure, proposed here, was a direct method to assess discriminant and convergent validity. The analyses were calculated on two different data sets. The data sets included discipline majors and general education categories. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were supported.