NSSE Benchmarks and Institutional Outcomes: A Note on the Importance of Considering the Intended Uses of a Measure in Va
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NSSE Benchmarks and Institutional Outcomes: A Note on the Importance of Considering the Intended Uses of a Measure in Validity Studies Gary R. Pike
Received: 13 June 2012 / Published online: 7 December 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
Abstract Surveys play a prominent role in assessment and institutional research, and the NSSE College Student Report is one of the most popular surveys of enrolled undergraduates. Recent studies have raised questions about the validity of the NSSE survey. Although these studies have themselves been criticized, documenting the validity of an instrument requires an affirmative finding regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of score interpretation and use. Using national data from NSSE 2008, the present study found that the NSSE benchmarks provided dependable means for 50 or more students and were significantly related to important institutional outcomes such as retention and graduation rates. Keywords
Surveys Validity Engagement Retention Graduation
Surveys of undergraduates’ college experiences play a prominent role in assessment and institutional research. A recent survey of chief academic officers by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) found that 76 % of the respondents reported that their institutions made use of surveys in assessment (Kuh and Ikenberry 2009). The National Survey of Student Engagement’s (NSSE) survey, The College Student Report, is among the most popular surveys of enrolled undergraduates, having been used by almost 1,500 institutions since 2000 (National Survey of Student Engagement 2011a). Several studies have documented the adequacy and appropriateness of using NSSE data for institution- and group-level decision making (Kuh 2001; Kuh et al. 2001, 2007; National Survey of Student Engagement 2010a, b, d, e, g, h, 2011b; Ouimet et al. 2004; Pascarella et al. 2009; Pike 2006a). In addition, a wide variety of institutions have identified
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 2012. G. R. Pike (&) Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, 1100 Waterway Boulevard, WW53, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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improvements to undergraduate education that have been made using NSSE data (Banta et al. 2009; Kuh 2005; National Survey of Student Engagement 2009, 2011b, c, f). Recently, several studies have raised questions about the reliability and validity of NSSE and other surveys (Campbell and Cabrera 2011; DiRamio and Shannon 2010; Gordon et al. 2008; Korzekwa and Marley 2010; LaNasa et al. 2009; Lee 2010; Nora et al. 2011; Porter 2011; Porter et al. 2011). These studies have raised questions about the accuracy of students’ self-reports, the structure of the NSSE benchmarks, and whether the benchmark scores are related to important educational outcomes. Although the studies critical of NSSE have themselves been the objects of criticism (see Ewell et al. 2011; McCormick an
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