This study examines how institutional actors describe and enact the use of assessment information and how those descriptions compare to formal documentation of assessment use. Drawing on a multi-case study of three public universities recognized for excellence in assessment, findings show that assessment influence most often unfolds through relational, interpretive, and temporal processes that are underrepresented in formal reports. Using Jonson et al.’s multidimensional framework of influence and the ACCELERATE Assessment Principles for Best Practice as an interpretive lens, the study highlights how assessment use is cultivated through practice rather than captured through linear documentation.
Emily Braught (Mon,) studied this question.