Guide · step by step
Programme outcome attainment is calculated from the attainment rates of the learning outcomes in the programme's courses, taking into account each course's contribution to the programme and its weight. The attainment rate shows how many of the measured students reach the achievement threshold on the questions that measure the outcome. The course grade does not enter this calculation. The value at graduation combines course measurement with the views of employers and graduates.
Six steps
Each step uses the result of the one before. Values such as the threshold, target and weights are institutional decisions and may vary between institutions.
A student's achievement on a learning outcome is derived only from their scores on the questions that measure that outcome. If a question measures more than one outcome, its marks are shared between them.
Why does it matter? Unlike the course grade, achievement shows where the student stands in that competence. The blank score of a student who missed the exam is not counted as zero.
The attainment rate shows how many of the measured students pass the achievement threshold set by the institution for that outcome. The result is compared with the target rate.
Why does it matter? This is the number that goes into reports. Average achievement is supplementary: a few high scores can hide the majority who missed the threshold. If the number of students is below the minimum group size, the result is not shown.
The Bloom level of the questions measuring an outcome is compared with the outcome's target level. If the questions are clearly below the target, the result is not published or is published with a limitation statement.
Why does it matter? A high attainment rate measured with questions below the target is misleading: the student has not been tested at the level the outcome requires.
The attainment rates of a course's learning outcomes are carried to a programme outcome according to the strength of each outcome's contribution to it.
Why does it matter? Only outcomes that pass the validity gate are included. A single course does not represent the programme; the programme value combines all courses.
A programme's value for an outcome is calculated from all the courses that feed it together. The courses' workload and whether they are elective or compulsory are taken into account.
Why does it matter? Because not every student in the programme takes an elective course, its contribution is kept lower than that of compulsory courses. The result represents all students in the programme.
A programme outcome at graduation does not rest on course measurement alone. Course measurement, the employer survey and the new graduate survey are combined with weights set by the institution.
Why does it matter? If the layers diverge clearly, the result is cautiously pulled down, because it cannot be known which one is right. Without course measurement, a programme outcome is not declared from surveys alone.
Tuzaklar
| Error | Consequence | What is correct |
|---|---|---|
| Averaging course grades | A compensating grade hides the gap in the outcome. | Attainment rate from the scores on the questions that measure the outcome |
| Counting a blank score as zero | A student on medical leave looks like a failure and the rate drops. | Leaving a blank question out of the calculation |
| Converting a survey scale to a percentage as if it started at zero | Results look higher than they are. | Treating the most negative answer as the start of the scale |
| Counting a question that measures two outcomes in full for both | The question is counted twice. | Sharing the question's marks between the outcomes |
| Reporting the average achievement | A few high scores hide the majority who missed the threshold. | Attainment rate (share above the threshold) |
| Rounding at every step | The deviation builds up step by step. | Rounding only for display |
| Ignoring the level of the questions | Questions below the target level inflate attainment. | A validity gate that compares question levels with the target |
Frequently asked questions
No. The course grade is compensatory: a strong topic covers a weak one, and non-outcome components such as attendance or bonus points can enter it. Programme outcomes rest on attainment rates calculated from the scores on the questions that measure learning outcomes; the course grade does not enter this calculation.
No. A blank score means “did not sit the exam”, and that question is left out of the calculation. A zero means “sat the exam and could not do it”. Counting a blank as zero makes a student on medical leave look like a failure and artificially lowers the attainment rate.
Graduate and employer surveys are added to the programme outcome as separate evidence layers; course measurement remains dominant. When a survey scale is converted to a percentage, the most negative answer must be treated as one, not zero; otherwise results look higher than they are.
It should not. If the threshold equals the pass mark, outcome measurement adds nothing beyond “did the student pass?”. The threshold is set above the pass mark by institutional decision.
No. A programme outcome calculation has many steps; rounding at each step can build up into a noticeable deviation. Rounding is applied only for display.
SixBloom calculates the whole chain on the server and locks the result as a run that cannot be changed. The data behind every number opens on screen; the accreditation report rests on these runs.
Related: Bloom's Taxonomy Verb Dictionary · Learning Outcome Builder · ECTS workload calculator
Sources: Biggs (1996) constructive alignment; Messick (1995) validity; Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) cognitive taxonomy. Parameter values are institutional decisions and may vary between institutions.
SixBloom Course Design Studio calculates the whole chain, locks the result as a run that cannot be changed and shows where every number comes from.