Key aspects of assessment's rise as an issue are reported, and several lines of inquiry labeled assessment (and their assumptions) are examined. Concepts of assessment originated decades ago, but until recently people in higher education hearing the word did not view it as they do today. The early 1980s saw the argument that traditional gauges of…

Results of a 50-state survey of statewide or systemwide approaches to assessment and outcomes measurement in postsecondary education are presented. Respondents were members of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) organization. The January-February 1987 survey of SHEEO academic and executive officers indicated that two-thirds of…