Using a Comprehensive Third-Party Exam for ABET Student Outcome Assessment

In anticipation of an ABET accreditation visit, our computer science department contracted with an independent external testing organization to perform an assessment of our students' proficiency in computer science. We used this external assessment to supplement our own internal assessment and have continued using since our site visit. In this paper, we talk about the comprehensive test, how it was administered, the steps we took to validate the results of the external assessment, and how we integrated the results into our ABET self-study report. We also explore insights we gained from the testing about our program and our students, as well as some of the limitations of the test.