The charges to the Working Group on Educational Outcomes are to promote "the development and dissemination of resource materials to assist member programs in the development and implementation of meaningful educational outcomes" programs, and to provide "feedback to ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation regarding accreditation standards and guidelines pertaining to educational outcomes." Members of this Working Group for 1998-1999 are Brooke Hallowell (Chair), Nan Lund, Nicholas Bankson, and Robert Augustine. During 1999-2000, Cynthia Bartlett will replace Robert Augustine in the Working Group.

During 1998-1999 the Working Group on Educational Outcomes has undertaken four major tasks, briefly described below.

1. Work with ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) regarding accreditation standards and guidelines pertaining to educational outcomes Working Group members Lund and Hallowell worked with outgoing CAA Chair and Working Group member Bankson in the development of training materials related to educational outcomes assessment. As the new academic accreditation standards (effective January 1999) entail specific outcomes foci, there is an ongoing need for consensus among program evaluators regarding what constitutes "quality" in outcomes assessment practices. A workshop was offered for the CAA members at the ASHA national office in the fall of 1998. Another workshop was presented to the CAA as part of site visitor training at the ASHA national convention in November 1998. Hallowell and Lund proposed specific guidelines for evaluating the quality of educational outcomes assessment programs. According to ASHA representatives, these guidelines will be provided to site visitors in future training workshops
2. Dissemination of outcomes assessment materials at the CAPCSD conference

The Working Group established an outcomes assessment resource exchange that was active throughout the April, 1999 conference. Prior to the conference, member program representatives were invited to bring copies of outcomes assessment materials to share with other conference attendees. Master copies of all instruments donated are now maintained by the Working Group chair.

1. Continued collection of outcomes assessment materials and consideration of appropriate means of dissemination or materials

The Working Group has continued to collect assessment materials from many programs, from within and outside of our field(s). We welcome additional contributions. Cost of photocopies, mailing, and faxing of instruments continues to be a barrier to having the Working Group serve as an ongoing clearinghouse for outcomes assessment materials.

2. Generation of a specific action plan for our work together during the upcoming year

In the upcoming year, our main goals are to continue work in: fostering the sharing of outcomes assessment resources and methods across member programs; continuing consultation with CAA members and site visitors regarding educational outcomes assessment issues; interfacing with ASHA’s SID 10 regarding educational outcomes assessment issues; and providing consultation with ASHA Standards Council members on issues pertaining to outcomes-focused standards for certification in speech-language pathology currently under development.