Educational Assessment

Types of Degrees Educational Assessment Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many educational assessment graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	643
Graduate Certificate	302
Doctor’s Degree	270

What Educational Assessment Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to assessment and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Assessment Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in assessment should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Assessment Majors

When studying assessment, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Assessment Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a assessment student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Educational Assessment Major?

People with a assessment degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
Education, Training, and Library Workers	10.8%	$42,080
Social Sciences Professors	9.8%	$71,600
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Educational Assessment?

The major attracts more women than men. About 74% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of assessment majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	32
Black or African American	53
Hispanic or Latino	104
White	270
International Students	150
Other Races/Ethnicities	34

Geographic Diversity

Assessment appeals to people across the globe. About 23.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Taiwan
• India

How Much Do Educational Assessment Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in assessment was $43,149 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $37,845 (25th percentile) and $46,131 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a assessment degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $46,680 to $85,750 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to assessment. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Educational Assessment

Some careers associated with assessment require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to assessment have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	38.6%
Master’s Degree	17.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.0%
Doctoral Degree	43.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.0%

Online Educational Assessment Programs

In 2020-2021, 151 schools offered a assessment program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	78	14
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	84	17
Post-Master’s	20	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	59	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Educational Assessment Worth It?

The median salary for a assessment grad is $73,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 85% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $675,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Educational Assessment

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to assessment.

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific	34,451
Special Education	25,158
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Curriculum & Instruction	19,784
Student Counseling	13,840
Instructional Media Design	8,387
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Paul J. Phelps under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.