Documenting and Assessing Learning in Informal and Media-Rich Environments: A Report to the MacArthur Foundation

This report summarizes an extensive review of the literature on assessment of learning in such informal settings as after-school programs, museums and science centers, community-based organizations, and online communities. In addition, we convened three expert meetings involving a total of 25 participants to discuss key issues, identify successful approaches and outstanding challenges, and review summaries of prior meetings in the series. Our aim is twofold: first, to offer to those who design and assess informal learning programs a model of good assessment practice, a toolkit of methods and approaches, and pointers to the relevant literature; and second, to offer to the Foundation and other supporters and funders of projects recommendations concerning good practice in project assessment and identifiable needs for developing improved assessment techniques.