Assessment

Types of Degrees Assessment Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many educational assessment graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,520
Graduate Certificate	328
Doctor’s Degree	290

What 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

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to assessment:

• 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

Assessment majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a 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 Assessment?

The major attracts more women than men. About 80% 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	102
Black or African American	96
Hispanic or Latino	183
White	659
International Students	363
Other Races/Ethnicities	117

Geographic Diversity

Assessment appeals to people across the globe. About 23.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Assessment

Some degrees associated with assessment may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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 Assessment Programs

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	93	31
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	92	25
Post-Master’s	22	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	68	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Assessment

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

Major	Number of Grads
Teacher Education Grade Specific	106,652
Educational Administration	43,921
Teacher Education Subject Specific	40,101
Special Education	34,843
General Education	27,845
Curriculum & Instruction	20,472
Student Counseling	14,512
Instructional Media Design	8,912
Teaching English or French	5,030
Other Education	4,693
Teaching Assistants	2,942
Multilingual Education	1,654
Education Philosophy	959
International Education	317

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.