Assess student work with Learning Outcomes in D2L Brightspace

Summary

How could I use learning outcomes to assess and track student learning in my course? What types of student work in D2L Brightspace can be assessing using a learning outcome?

Body

Overview

Use the Learning Outcomes tool to help you assess students’ learning outcomes and determine if they have acquired the intended knowledge, skills, and abilities from a learning experience. Learning Outcomes help track information about the knowledge, skills and abilities students acquire as they participate in courses or other learning experiences. Learning Outcomes are an inventory of skills and knowledge, rather than measures of how good students are at something. Review the Align outcomes to learning activities or rubrics to get started with Learning Outcomes.

Assess using an outcome when evaluating student work in an assignment folder

  1. Navigate to the Assignments tool.
  2. Find the assignment with an outcome, and then select View Submissions from the assignment’s menu.
  3. Click the Go to Evaluation link for the student’s evaluation page.
  4. Assess the student’s work.
  5. Under the Outcomes section, select the level the student achieved for each outcome.
    Outcomes section with the achievement scale listed
  6. When ready to save, click Publish or Save Draft on the evaluation page.

Assess using an outcome when evaluating student work in a discussion topic

  1. Navigate to the Discussions tool.
  2. From the topic with an outcome, and then select Assess Topic from the topic’s menu.
  3. Click the Topic Score link for the student’s evaluation page.
  4. Assess the student’s work.
  5. Under the Outcomes section, select the level the student achieved for each outcome.
    Outcomes section with the achievement scale listed
  6. When ready to save, click Publish or Save Draft on the evaluation page.

Assess using an outcome when evaluating a set of questions in a quiz attempt

  1. Navigate to the Quizzes tool.
  2. Find the quiz that contains questions aligned to an outcome, and then select Grade from the quiz's menu.
  3. Click the Attempt link for the student’s attempt at the quiz.
  4. Assess the student’s work.
  5. Under the Outcomes section, select the level the student achieved for each outcome.
    Outcomes section with the achievement scale listed
  6. When ready to save, click Publish or Save Draft on the evaluation page.

Assess using an outcome when an outcome rubric is attached to a student learning activity (assignment, discussion, written response in a quiz)

  1. Navigate to the tool that contains the attached outcome rubric.
  2. Find the activity (assignment, discussion, quiz) and navigate to the grading page:
    • For Assignments, select View Submissions > Go to Evaluation.
    • For Discussions, select Assess Topic > Topic Score.
    • For Quizzes, select Grade > Attempt link.
  3. When assessing the student’s work, assess using the outcome rubric.
  4. Under the Outcomes section, select the level the student achieved for each outcome.
    Outcomes section with the achievement scale listed
  5. When ready to save, click Publish or Save Draft on the evaluation page.

Review learning outcomes progress from Class Progress

In Class Progress, instructors and students have access to the individual student’s progress toward Learning Outcomes in the class. A student can review their own individual progress, including the trend and evidence for each outcome.

  1. Navigate to Class Progress from the Other Tools course navbar menu.
  2. Click the Learning Outcomes page in the left-hand panel.
  3. Outcomes are listed, including whether the student has been assessed against them.
  4. Click on an outcome to review the progress.
    The Learning Outcomes Progress page with an arrow pointing to an outcome
  5. Review the trend data and evidence data.
    Note that evidence is only accessible to the student if that item is still accessible to them.
    The Learning Outcome Progress page with a drill-down to an outcome's trend and evidence page

Review student outcome achievement from Mastery View in Grades

In Grades, instructors have access to the Mastery View. You can review student outcome achievement for specific outcomes, including checking evidence for each outcome and leaving overall feedback for the outcome assessment.

  1. Navigate to Grades tool.
  2. In the Grades page, click the Mastery View tab.
    The Mastery View tab next to the Grades tab
  3. Outcomes are listed as long as they have been added/aligned to learning activities (review the steps in Align outcomes to learning activities or rubrics).
  4. Click on a student’s outcome evaluation to review the trend data, evidence data, and whether to leave overall achievement feedback for the outcome.
    The Mastery View drill-down into a student's outcome evaluation page

Details

Details

Article ID: 152
Created
Fri 4/11/25 3:47 PM
Modified
Fri 4/11/25 3:58 PM
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How To

Related Services / Offerings

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The online learning platform for Minnesota State. D2L Brightspace is the product, which includes third-party integrations with Minnesota State enterprise systems.