CHAPTER 2: Quantitative Assessment of Service-Learning Outcomes: Is Self-Reported Change a Reasonable Proxy for Longitudinal Change?

Service-learning faculty, practitioners, and researchers alike are interested in the learning and development that stem from students’ experiences with service-learning. The easiest way to assess this growth is by simply asking these students how much they have gained on a variety of outcomes since the beginning of their course. Compared with conducting longitudinal assessments, this technique is cost-effective, requires minimal time and effort, and yields results quickly. This approach is used quite often to examine outcomes related not only to service-learning coursework (Gosen & Washbush, 2004), but also to the entire college experience (Gonyea, 2005). However, some research has cast serious doubt on the validity of college students’ self-reported gains as a proxy for longitudinal learning and development (Bowman, 2010a, 2010b; Pascarella, 2001; Pike, 1993, 1999). This study explores the validity of service-learning students’ self-reported gains on numerous attitudinal outcomes. More specifically, to what degree do students’ estimates of their growth during service-learning coursework correspond with longitudinal gains on the same outcomes?