What Graduating Student Questionnaire data can contribute to formation assessment

FacultyEducational Assessment and Accreditation Liaison OfficersFormation Directors/Student Life StaffInstitutional Senior LeadersResearchers (including IR/IE)Other Institutional AdministrationField Education / Contextual Ed Supervisors

Oct 1

Written By Tidy Studios

DESCRIPTION: Formation assessment can be difficult when schools rely on individual survey items or a single overall measure to represent complex student outcomes. Drawing on a peer-reviewed analysis of 5,528 theological school graduates and a follow-up analysis of the class of 2026, this article shows how ATS Graduating Student Questionnaire data can illuminate distinct dimensions and patterns of formation—including spirituality, social justice commitment, intercultural competence, self-identity, interdisciplinary integration, and well-being—and offers practical ways schools can incorporate these findings into locally meaningful assessment strategies.

KEYWORDS: assessment; formation assessment; Graduating Student Questionnaire; GSQ; spiritual formation; social justice; intercultural competence; self-identity; interdisciplinary integration; student well-being; theological education; educational assessment; student outcomes; survey data; institutional effectiveness

CITATION: The, Christopher M. n.d. “What Graduating Student Questionnaire Data Can Contribute to Formation Assessment.” The Association of Theological Schools.

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